Shocking Clayton-Linked Murder Charge; Can Any Volume of Gaslighting Save Manufactured Housing Institute CEO Lesli Gooch’s Failed-Flawed ‘Leadership’ at MHI? Plus Sunday Weekly MHVille Recap
A manager at Clayton Homes and his son have been arrested and charged with the brutal murder of a woman who also worked for Clayton at the same facility. Action News Jax said: “A father and son are in custody right now in connection to the murder of a mother in Blackshear, Georgia almost two months ago.” More on that in Part I of this article. Clayton is obviously one of the most prominent, perhaps the most prominent member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). At some point in time, that arguably troubled, deceptive and beclowned trade organization is likely to face a brutal day of reckoning and when that occurs will its conflict of interests and apparently failed CEO Lesli Gooch’s survive? More on that in Part II of this facts-evidence-analysis-truth (FEAT) seeking report.
Part III will feature our traditional Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines in Review.
Part I – According to Action News Jax and Other Sources as Shown – ‘Father and Son Duo Arrested in Connection to Murder of a Blackshear Mother’ and the Clayton Homes Connection
Officers said Tracy Bryant Sr. and Tracy Bryant Jr. were both charged with malice and felony murder. They are behind bars at the Ware County Jail.
34-year-old Kimberly Guess was shot and killed in front of her home in Blackshear back in the early morning of October 17th.
Chief of Police in Blackshear Chris Wright, said the department has worked tirelessly to find the people responsible for Kimberly Guess’s murder. Her family said they are happy these men are locked away; however, it does not make spending the holidays without Kimberly any easier.
“I thought we’d get a break from the pain, but it didn’t help. We are happy to have them off the street and to not hurt anyone else,” said Ricky Thornton, Kimberly’s older brother.
It is said that this is the first murder in that town in 5 years and the officers reported that they discovered illegal drugs as part of their murder investigation.
The Clayton Homes connection follows.
Kimberly’s mother said the family always suspected it was Tracy Bryant Sr. who killed Kimberly, but they were stunned to learn police said his son was also involved.
“This is just terrible. I hope they get what is coming to them. I want the death penalty, he shot my daughter cold-blooded, and he planned it,” said Shirley Lee, Kimberly’s mother.
Tracy Bryant Sr. was Kimberly’s former supervisor at Clayton Homes in Waycross.
Shirley Lee said Kimberly told her that Tracy had been stalking her for weeks before police say he shot her on October 17th.
“She told him that Tuesday before she died that she wanted him to leave her alone and to stop stalking her. He didn’t understand that, and then, that Thursday morning happened,” said Shirley Lee.
The Blackshear Police Department confirms the two started dating and then broke up during their time working together at Clayton Homes.
Action News Jax said they had police documents that demonstrated that Tracy Bryant Jr. drove his father, Tracy Bryant Sr. to Kimberly’s home to allegedly carry out the homicide.
“Our family didn’t back down. I wasn’t going to back down, me and my sons were going to get justice one way or another,” said Lee.
Action News Jax also reached out to Clayton Homes for comment. We have not heard back.
WTOC reported the following.
The morning of October 17th, Guess was getting her car ready to go to work. According to Blackshear Police, that’s when Tracy Bryant Sr. shot and killed her. She was shot several times. Her 10-year-old daughter was forced to call 911 as she watched her mother struggle to move in their front yard.
Following the shooting, the family was desperate for answers, now they’re getting some. Police confirm that Tracy Bryant Sr. was Guess’s former supervisor and ex-boyfriend. Police add the two met at work but had recently broken up.
That report included no mention of Clayton Homes.
According to the family, they had always thought that Bryant Sr. played a part in her death, but were shocked to hear that his son, Bryant Jr. had taken part as well. Police believe that it was Bryant Sr. who took the shot, but Byrant Jr. drove his father to her home that morning.
The first video below is from before the arrest.
A father and son were arrested in connection to the murder of Kimberly Guess in Blackshear, according to the Blackshear Police Department. https://t.co/p5QdYvtOFO
But what the news reports don’t mention is that there was a prior murder that was reported associated with that same Clayton Homes Waycross, GA production facility.
What has not been reportedly asked or answered is this. Is there something associated with that Clayton Homes location or culture that may be contributing to these periodic outbreaks of violence? It will be recalled that the highly touted arrival at Clayton Homes of their Chief People Officer CPO Case McGee ended a year after he began.
But in fairness to Clayton, they are not apparently alone among Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) members (past or present) that have a problematic history with numbers of their own employees, not to mention with numbers of their respective customers.
Which helps tee up the second headline topic about MHI and its apparently troubled – and gaslighting – record CEO Lesli Gooch.
Part II – Can Ongoing Gaslighting Save MHI CEO Lesli Gooch?
1) The basic Google search shown below reveals years of reported controversies involving Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) CEO, Lesli Gooch, Ph.D.
2) Sources that have little or no connection to MHProNews or manufactured housing have reported pages of controversies linked to Lesli Gooch for over a decade. How the MHI search committee miss them? Or is it possible that the MHI search committee wanted just such a person to work for their gaslighting ready organization? Someone who would say or do anything that the MHI insiders wanted her to do?
3) It may be that the incoming Trump 2.0 won’t notice, or may not care, about these MHI controversies. But the reverse is also possible. If Abe Lincoln is right, the gaslighting will only work for so long before it wears off.
Or perhaps it would be better if MHI leaders left their operation just as it is. Surely, at some point, some ambitious journalist(s), affordable housing researcher(s), attorney(s), public official(s), or protest group that is looking into why manufactured housing is underperforming so badly in the 21st century will begin to look more closely at MHI’s role in that picture. If so, they just may stumble upon the various controversies involving MHI and its ‘leadership.’ Tick tock. The clock is ticking. When some in media are pivoting to at least make an effort to appear to be more balanced in their reporting and even mega-billionaires begin to line up to contribute to the Trump Inauguration the winds of change just may blow some fresh air towards what has vexed MHVille for the entirety of the 21st century. Time will tell. Tick tock.
The linked result from left-leaning Bing’s AI powered Copilot is shown below.
That said, Copilot has also confirmed that MHProNews/MHLivingNews are routinely accurate, fact- and evidence-based reports that are a trusted source for news and analysis.
Some have said that journalism is dying or dead. There are those who say that it is legacy or mainstream media that’s dead. Perhaps the more accurate point should be that the kind of corporate/state influenced or dominated media outlets that gave birth to National Public Radio (NPR) or the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) is facing its own reckoning. Be the source some podcast or more traditional print or internet-based news, any news source should be approached with a simple mindset of the importance of separating the proverbial wheat from the chaff.
When we say any, that’s not just the multi-billion-dollar corporate giants or the wanna be trade media and bloggers of MHProNews/MHLivingNews or our ongoing and more wide-ranging series on the Patch. That means this source and our sisters too. All claims should be tested for accuracy. There is no doubt several writers with more talent, better spelling and grammar, and greater support out there. But until they take up the same serious search for facts-evidence-analysis-truth (FEAT) mantra and surpass us, well, you still have moi, your humble reporter to count on.
Programming notes: some keen new insights into the communities’ side of the industry plus more new manufactured home data are among several topics on tap for the days ahead.
Bosses Of the Senate by cartoonist Joseph Keppler circa January 23, 1889, via Wikimedia. Note that near the top right there is an “entrance for Monopolists.” Near the top center-left is a door marked “Peoples’ Entrance” which is shut “closed.” While the professions and industries depicted in Keppler’s cartoon about monopolists have shifted, the concept then could be applied to many professions today. The battle against monopoly-power is not new, it is centuries old. Big business combined with big government often spells trouble for the citizenry.
Our son has grown quite a bit since this 12.2019 photo. All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in our manufactured housing industry related concerns. But Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included the Constitution of the United States, bottled water, and other goodies.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
