Brad Paisley Trashed by Camp Creator

Camp-U-Grow, a youth camp for troubled kids, faced some trouble itself when Brad Paisley purchased the land that the camp owner was renting three years ago.

For eight years, the camp sat on 15 acres in Brentwood, Tenn., and served 6,000 kids. The outdoor character camp also housed 50 animals and dozens of other outdoor stations. Chad Mullin, a child behavioral specialist, believes that kids with problems open up better in open spaces, so he opened Camp-U-Grow.

But in October 2006, Brad and Kimberly Paisley moved in next door to the camp and purchased the 15 acres that on which the camp and Mullin’s rental home sat.

"I went up and met Mr. Paisley and his wife about five different times," Mullin told Nashville's WSMV-TV. "They reassured me I had nothing to worry about."

Mullin understood that the land belonged to Paisley, but he felt that his request of at least a year’s notice if he needed to move wouldn’t be a problem.

Then Paisley’s financial manager, Kirke Martin, asked Mullin for a meeting, telling him that he must vacate the premises.
"He said, 'We want you all to move out by March 1.' So I said, 'OK, is there a reason?' And he said, 'The only reason is we want to build a bus garage here for Brad's buses,'" said Mullin.

Since then, Camp-U-Grow has moved to Willowbrook Academy, now serving 550 kids instead of 6,000. Three years later, there’s just grass growing on the property, though no bus barns or new construction has appeared.

"I don't hold Brad Paisley responsible personally. I think his finance manager had a lot to do with it," Mullin said.

Paisley's publicist said that the singer found out there were ATVs and climbing walls on the property and that his homeowner's insurance wouldn't cover it and was going to cancel Paisley. The publicist said Paisley gave the property amount of notice and offered a free extension.