“I was really offended because the experience that I received from my perspective was complete trauma, and if complete trauma is the highlight of your career, then there’s a problem,” an anonymous person on the planning committee said. 

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Controversy still circulates regarding the LCG partnered trip to Washington D.C. to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

The trip was for six days, from Aug. 24 until Aug. 29. 

Shortly afterward, Carlos Harvin, who led the trip and is now former chief of minority affairs, posted his resignation letter on Facebook. 

“I was really offended because the experience that I received from my perspective was complete trauma, and if complete trauma is the highlight of your career, then there’s a problem,” an anonymous person on the planning committee said. 

Due to there being no hotel rooms secured at the time of travel, she decided to take the seven children and five children, including herself, on the trip without Harvin’s crew. 

“The room block was not secured until after we went to the airport, and at that interval, I could not get a refund for my room block,” the anonymous person said. “They charged $400 for the trip, which was supposed to include everything about the trip, including the hotel space, the air travel, transportation, breakfast, and dinner.” 

The anonymous respondent said before they left, they got a text message that transportation to the airport was not secured and it would cost an additional hundred dollars per person. 

“People who stayed at the hotel when they got there realized that breakfast and dinner would not be covered, so those were additional expenses for the people that stayed at the hotel,” the anonymous person said.

“Those additional expenses kind of put some of them out of range to have money to spend on the trip; then, when it was time to come back home, it was not transportation," the anonymous person said.

More money was requested to get back to Lafayette from the New Orleans airport, which was the donation of $50 per chaperone.

The person said, to be fair, some people had a good time and the kids did see some critical points in the experience.

However, the person told News 10, "it was just that it was just so stressful the entire time."

“There are people that will report that they had a good time on the trip, but any time I see kids in distress, and I see people that do not have food. I am not having a good time, regardless," the anonymous person said.

“There was too much stress on the trip; there were too many meals that people did not eat, and I just could not enjoy myself on the trip because of it," the person added.  

The anonymous person said was informed the trip was an LCG event, and everything received had LCG signatures on it. Meetings were held in Harvin’s office at LCG, and the children were even told to write essays about the trip, all on the platform LCG set up. 

“That’s why people trusted the process because of LCG.," the anonymous person said. "That’s why I trusted the process because I thought LCG was backing this trip. I’m very upset that Mr. Carlos or anyone lost their job behind this. I am upset about that. However, if it were any of us that performed in this manner on our own jobs, our jobs would also be at risk.” 

News 10 received the following statement from LCG’s Chief Administrative Officer Cydra Wingerter: “The administration is committed to carefully and thoroughly gathering information on the matter and is still looking into it.”