MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A vendor that provides food services for Alabama State University contends in a letter to university trustees that president Gwendolyn Boyd's staff threatened to cancel the company's contract after it refused to provide free food and services for Boyd's inauguration.
Nathanial Goldston, the CEO of Atlanta-based Gourmet Services, which has provided food service at ASU for more than 20 years, wrote to recently elected ASU board chairman Larry Thornton on Aug. 31, saying ASU officials had attempted a "shakedown" of his company and asking that the board investigate the actions of Boyd and her staff.
The Montgomery Advertiser obtained copies of Goldston's letter and two previous letters pertaining to the university's contract with Gourmet Services.
In his letter, Goldston states that Gourmet Services executive vice president Alfred Baker met with ASU officials, including Boyd, on Aug. 20, to discuss the school's contract. During the meeting, Baker told Boyd and her staff that Gourmet Services would provide the school with $13,000-$15,000 of "in-kind contributions of food, beverages and catering services" for Boyd's inauguration events.
In response, Goldston said Baker was told by Zillah Fluker, ASU's vice president of institutional advancement, that ASU needed $20,000 of in-kind services. When Baker balked, saying he needed to run that figure by his bosses, he was provided a letter from Boyd indicating that ASU would be terminating its contract with Gourmet Services.