Letter to the editor

Winter Park Preservation: A Wells Fargo lesson for SunTrust

With two notable exceptions, asking the Winter Park City Commissioners to protect one of the oldest examples of the town’s historic architecture is like asking a fox to run security checks on a henhouse. For more than eight years, I’ve been a “broken record” on the need for a Winter Park Preservation Foundation and historic districts. Preservation laws would have been toughened long ago had it not been for deep-pocketed special interests preventing their implementation. It’s up to the banks now. And, yes, I mean that in the plural.

SunTrust can be a hero here. Just like Wells Fargo was at Cannon Point.

Last year, Wells Fargo literally saved a swath of coastal Georgia (Google, “St. Simons Land Trust Completes Purchase of Cannon’s Point.”). Wells Fargo was owed money. Just like SunTrust is owed money on Winter Park’s Capen House. But, Wells Fargo had the wisdom to turn a lemon into lemonade. They gave the gift of time and came out smelling better than a rose.

“The preservation of this land will have multiple benefits for the community, and we are proud to have done our part to make this a reality,” said Daniel Bartok, executive vice president of Wells Fargo, to the Savannah Morning News. Did I mention that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is the largest Wells Fargo shareholder as well as the largest Coke shareholder? And that Coke’s secret formula [was] kept in an Atlanta SunTrust safe deposit box?

As Jason Alexander exclaimed to Richard Gere in “Pretty Woman,” “Call the bank!”

Will Graves

Founder

Friends of Winter Park