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Baleshed Plantation
April 3, 2014

Mississippi State Board of Contractors
P.O. Box 3202709
Jackson, MS 39232-0279

RE: Parker Builders, Inc.
Yazoo City, Mississippi

Dear Sirs:

I am writing to recommend to you an application for a commercial contractor's license being submitted by Parker Builders, Inc., a Mississippi corporation located in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Parker Builders has performed a significant amount of construction work for me, my family and an entity we operate known as Baleshed Plantation Farms, LLC. Baleshed owns acreage and substantial building improvements along the Mississippi River located on the unprotected side of the Mainline Mississippi River Levee in Issaquena County. Mr. Paul F. Parker, Jr., of Parker Builders, Inc., has performed and coordinated the construction, repair and/or maintenance of all of the buildings located on Baleshed's property for many years.

In 2010, Parker Builders constructed an elevated one story cabin containing approximately 1,360 square feet within a building envelope area at Baleshed. The new cabin was constructed on pilings with a cypress exterior that had to be matched in coloration to a main lodge building and guest house within the building envelope area that had been constructed many years earlier by another builder. Mr. Parker worked very closely with our architect, engineers on the building elevation requirements, our attorney and the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners to complete the project on time, on budget, very capably and without any accidents.

In the Spring of 2011, we experienced a historic flood on the Mississippi River with a crest level that exceeded the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927. Unfortunately, all of the buildings at Baleshed were seriously impacted by the flood, including the new cabin that had been constructed just one year earlier above the elevation level of the 1973 Flood. We called on Mr. Parker and Parker Builders as the River was rising to perform prevention assistance that would help minimize the flood damage since the crest level was changing frequently (sometimes daily) as the Corps of Engineers updated its crest forecasts. Since Baleshed's buildings are located behind the levee, Mr. Parker and his company worked for several weeks prior to the crest date under very difficult and adverse circumstances as the River levels were rising. These conditions included working in water, dealing with displaced wildlife, snakes and other insects in and on top of the water, floating equipment, supplies and personal contents in and out of the job site by boat, etc. I am very confident that Mr. Parker's pre-flood efforts helped to reduce the damage that we would have suffered if he had not been able to assist us during those critical days, particularly with respect to our sizable investment in the main lodge building.

Once the River crested at a level of 57.1 feet on the Vicksburg gage and began its slow fall out of our buildings, we were able to enter the damaged buildings to evaluate the extent of the damage. Our first concern was to do everything we could to prevent molding and then to begin the repair process. The repair project involved four separate buildings that were being worked on simultaneously. Mr. Parker and his company again spearheaded the process while continuing to work and access the property in a flooded condition until the River levels receded to a point where the property was capable of road access. We could not have been more pleased with the quality, volume and level of workmanship that we received from Mr. Parker and his company. The repairs encompassed all aspects of a construction process from budgeting, permitting, supply procurement, electrical, building systems, HVAC, plumbing, sprinkler system work, carpentry, decking, window treatments, painting, masonry on the main lodge, etc. His services were again timely, high quality, on budget and completed without any accidents.

Mr. Parker demonstrated a remarkable ability to exercise effective project management responsibilities on our projects. It is noteworthy to mention that Mr. Parker has depth in his organization that allowed his company to continue to work on other client projects while he worked on our projects. As we worked on the flood repair project, we were simultaneously working with flood insurance adjustors. Fortunately, Mr. Parker is experienced with the insurance claims processes. He was invaluable to us in that aspect of our project as well. Parker Builders has an experienced office staff that maintains thorough and detailed records of his work. We were able to readily provide all the information required by the insurance adjustor to facilitate the processing of our flood claim.

For these reasons, we are pleased to recommend Parker Builders to the Mississippi State Board of Contractors on its application to receive a commercial contractor's license. If you desire any further information about our experiences with Mr. Parker and his company, please do not hesitate to notify me.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Richard D. McRae, Jr.