Prominent Louisiana Republican donor becomes primary shareholder of Good Day Farm dispensary March 4, 2022 By Griffin Coop A prominent Louisiana shipbuilder, political donor and philanthropist has become the largest shareholder of a Little Rock dispensary after state regulators approved the change of ownership at their meeting on Thursday. Donald Thomas “Boysie” Bollinger, listed as part of CC Medicinal Retail LLC on the ownership documents, became a 25.51% owner of Capital City Medical LLC, the legal entity that owns the dispensary known as Good Day Farm at 900 S. Rodney Parham Road. Previously, Ann Marie Gray and Lauren Steel each owned 30% of the business and Little Rock lawyers Alex Gray and Nate Steel each owned 20%. Now, the Grays and Steels own less than 2% of the business and 15 other individuals own the remaining amount. The dispensary received approval last year to move to 11600 Chenal Parkway near the The Purple Cow restaurant. From 1985 to 2014, Bollinger served as chief executive of Bollinger Shipyards, which was founded by his father in 1946. Bollinger grew the business in Lockport, Louisiana, into the largest privately owned shipyard in the United States, according to the company’s website. In addition to his business success, Bollinger is a prominent Louisiana political donor and philanthropist. Bollinger served as the finance co-chair of Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns in Louisiana. Bollinger, who has donated nearly $2 million to political candidates and causes over the past 24 years, stood by Trump after the Jan. 6 riots. Bollilnger told Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate that Trump had done some “silly things” but believed that left-wing antagonists may have infiltrated the group of rally goers. “I’m very suspicious about the people who were so rambunctious,” Bollinger said at the time. “If you look at the all the Trump rallies, you’ve never seen that before. It’s odd.” Bollinger also made a $20 million donation to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and a $1 million donation toward building a National Coast Guard museum in New London, Connecticut. The gift to the World War II Museum was the largest in the history of the museum. In other business, the commission approved minor ownership changes at Good Day Farm’s cultivation facility in Pine Bluff, Acanza Health Group dispensary in Fayetteville and Harvest Cannabis dispensary in Conway. The commission also received notice that the dispensary owned by 3J Investments in Van Buren will be known as Good Day Farm Van Buren. Good Day Farm entered into an agreement to operate the facility but Good Day Farm is not the owner, according to commission spokesman Scott Hardin. Hardin also said that the temporary restraining order that prevented the commission from issuing the two remaining dispensary licenses expired Feb. 15. The process to approve rule changes for issuing the permits can proceed, although a lawsuit by Absolute Essence remains active, according to Hardin. Hardin also said a hearing regarding the state’s motion to dismiss the case was heard by Judge Alice Gray on Monday. A ruling had not been issued by Thursday night.
