Wetumpka resident and nationally-known whistleblower Blake Percival is taking values learned in his hometown across the country.
Percival held the first of many stops on a book tour for “Holding on to Integrity and Paying the Price” Tuesday afternoon at Wetumpka City Hall.
Percival caught the eye of national media and the United States Department of Justice when he came forward with information his employer was not properly vetting people to gain security clearances.
He said the decision to report his employer, risk a well-paying job and possibly end his career came down to what he learned as child while living in Wetumpka.
“I’m from here,” Percival said. “Wetumpka is my home. I formed my morals, values and integrity here. I took them with me as I traveled all over this country in my career.”
He informed the audience the root of the book is about integrity.
“I believe our integrity and morals are formed from where we’ve been, what we’ve experienced and what we decide as acceptable to us,” he said. “Quite frankly, I don’t think in Washington D.C. and at the company I was working for knew had to deal with someone who would not bend his morals for the dollar.”
Percival said he and his family eventually came back to the River Region as the case against his former employer progressed.
“I think people will find as we were going through our toughest time — as a whistleblower — me and my family came back home,” he said. “When you find yourself getting ready to fight a fight you are, at least, looking for moral support and that is why we came back here.”
The case was eventually settled December 2015 when the federal government awarded Percival a $6 million settlement.
The City of Wetumpka and Mayor Jerry Willis recognized Percival with a proclamation him for bettering the welfare of Wetumpka and the federal government with his knowledge of the vetting process.
“You would have to know his mom and his dad to know this guy’s character and the integrity he has,” Willis said. “He got it at an early age. I’ve known this guy a long time and I appreciate him and his family.”
Librarian Susan Hayes said she enjoyed setting up the event for the public to learn about Percival’s background and work.
“The turnout has been great,” she said. “I enjoyed reading about the things he’s done. It is a good hometown connection.”
Percival said his new reality as whistleblower and author is a reality he welcomes.
“I believe that we, in the South, have morals, values and ethics that a lot of people in our country walk away from,” he said. “What I enjoy is when the elite or educated want to study me. Who would have ever thought they would want to study me? The question they pose to me is, ‘Why would a man do this?’ I enjoy telling them. For me, it comes back to my faith. That’s what it comes back to.”
He said he hopes the book will inform Americans the federal government depends on good people for it to properly function.
“I had some eye-opening experiences I went through,” Percival said. “Our government is no better than the people who are running the departments you are dealing with. It is all people.
Going into this I thought of the government as an entity that was bigger than people, but it’s really not. You get one bad apple in a position and it could mess us all up. That’s what happened in this instance. You had a few bad apples in key positions that chose the dollar over the security of our country.”
Percival is not quite certain what his future holds after the book tour in which he will visit 30 locations.
“We will definitely be here in Wetumpka,” he said. “We have considered being business owners. I would like to see how this pans out first. There may be further opportunities for books about integrity.”
Percival also established The Whistleblower Assistance Fund, a nonprofit that financially supports whistleblowers.
“Many times, once whistleblowers have come forward, they encounter financial hardships because of their whistleblower action due to no fault of their own,” Percival said.
Percival said after he reported his employer he was blackballed from his chosen profession and had to take on numerous low-paying jobs to support his family.
Visit www.whistleblowerassistancefund.org for more information about his nonprofit organization.
His book, "Holding on to Integrity and Paying the Price," is available online at www.Amazon.com.
