I have to admit, my feelings are hurt, I have dedicated countless hours into the projects that I’ve been involved with during my stay on the CCSG Board of Directors. The certified letter, dated Jan 25 makes me feel that all that is implied is that I lack intelligence and talent. Concerning both … I know better.
Below, I have briefly touched on all the charges, there is plenty more facts and opinions that I have, but truly believe that to be given a “fair shake” an un-biased party could be assembled as to not make the Us/Them situation any worse than it is now….for Gods sake, we were all friends at one point, and I would find it tragic for friendships to end. That said, I strongly oppose the same people being judge, jury and executioner.
I also think that it’s really a shame that we can’t all meet at the scheduled meeting. Davey and Jan graciously opened their shop to us, as it looks like it will be a very nice gathering…. I think it’s better to have the meeting in a private atmosphere, rather than public (isn’t there enough negative about chainsaw carvers in the public eye already) (Next sentence tongue in cheek – but I couldn’t help myself) Trace suggested maybe meeting at the railroad tracks snapping our fingers (a’la West Side Story )
Furthermore, I feel that I need to indicate that my written words that follow are sincere and from the heart, and at no point do I intend to have these words read as argumentative or bitter…. I think that I have a distinct writing style, which may come across to others as cynical. They are not… Written words are sometimes hard to interpret; you can not hear the tone or inflexion in the writer’s voice. With that said… Let me briefly touch on each charge.
Failure to notify all members of regular meetings in a timely manner
The members of the board are notified when I find out what is going on. Some board members have said that they would inform other board members, to alleviate yet another phone call I would have to make… and have failed to do so. (Example, Steve telling me he’d notify Judy before) When members of the board wait until last minute to inform us that they cannot attend, after it is obvious that a quorum won’t be met, the meeting is cancelled… This cannot be blamed on me, as I have no control over other board members letting their “business and personal life come before that of the guild” and notifying me in less than a timely manner. It’s just a fact, we are all very busy individuals, a sign of the times I suppose.
Failure to notify all members when their dues need to be paid:
All members are and have been notified repeatedly when their dues are due, either by a “Dues are Due” Stamp prominently stamped in red ink (which was how Susan indicated to members on their newsletters prior to my taking over as editor) or by postcard (mailed out once per year) I stamped the Newsletter on the outside by the mailing label once we began hand stamping the mail, which I though would insure members seeing as they thumbed thru the mail on the way from the mailbox, rather than inside the newsletter, hidden from the “bulk mail police” (Susan will understand what I mean) which would make it also hidden from the member, who, more than likely didn’t run to the couch and sit and read the newsletter upon arrival. Again, we are all busy people.
Upon receiving the membership list from Susan, I immediately notified those who’s dues were behind, and gave them several issues time in which to become current, those that did not, were removed from the mailing list to a List of expired members, so we could have their information for future membership drives. The reason that the members went from 500 to 200 was that with Board permission, I thinned down the list to stop mailing newsletters to non-members and therefore reduce Guild money wasted. (See Minutes approving the thin down of the mailing list to only paid subscribers.)
As far as not specifically notifying board members whose dues are due, I have, on individual phone conversations that I would have on a regular basis with most of the board of directors.…. I know for a fact that I’ve talked with Steve (he even joked about when he paid last time….the picture of him being “beaten up” by the Whited’s and Bob King and a running joke that they were extracting his dues at that time. at the Puyallup Meeting in 2004; and who still is behind in dues that became expired November 2005; Susan (who promptly paid), as did Wayne, Bill, and Cindy.) Beyond this, I feel that no further “hand holding” needs to be done. To resolve this problem I would have suggested, that we follow the lead of the UCCG, and make ALL members dues due on ONE DATE, as it stands, the CCSG’s members’ dues are all over the board as far as the date they are actually due.
Failure to send newsletter out to some paid members
As far as others not receiving their newsletters, when I am alerted to the situation, a copy of the newsletter is sent out to them. (See posts printed from various forums thanking me for doing just that) Prior to hand stamping each newsletter with a regular postage stamp, the newsletters were mailed via Bulk Mail and once they left my hands I would not know if they were going to a valid address or not (Bulk Mail with address issues are simply discarded by the post office, if they are delivered at all) (See posts I have found posts from Susan when she was editor, to show that it hasn’t happened with just me.) As far as the reason why some paid members do not get their newsletter, I can’t honestly answer as to why. The mailing labels are printed directly from the members list which I have on an excel spreadsheet (That means the likelihood of me “forgetting” to address a newsletter is virtually nil) My best guess… sometimes they are torn up at the Post Office. God knows I’ve received plenty of mail that has arrived in a plastic bag to hold the pieces that were left of a once whole document.
Actively participating in the changing of the by-laws without following procedure.
All I did is what was typed what was requested of me. At the meeting where changes were made to the bylaws, I believe that all that was done there, was an attempt to be able to have things accomplished. During the last year, it’s been next to impossible to establish a quorum, with Angie and Wayne both living so far away and Judy very ill.
Involvement in altering meeting minutes to suit personal needs
Since taking on the position of secretary, all of the minutes that I have written were approved as written, save the Minutes from the March 13, 2005 meeting where much discussion arouse over the “Judging Committee.” These minutes were changed in an attempt to provide an accurate set of minutes, to support the claims from Cindy as well as Susan, and presented to the board again, for approval. Just like what would be done in a live meeting according to Roberts Rules of Order. That’s why there is a provision in Roberts Rules of Orders for corrected minutes, sometimes things get missed, particularly when people are going fast and furious and not sticking to the agenda 100%. Nothing more, nothing less.
Involvement in the current election fiasco.
Fiasco?? I think that word is a bit strong…The people placed on the ballot were all nominated and approved properly during the October 2005 Online Meeting (See printed posts of October ’05 online meeting Nomination/Election and the voting thereof) All people on the ballot, were either called or emailed to ask if they accepted the nomination. I would have liked personal bio’s to go out on each candidate as well, but after reviewing an election issue which Susan had published, (See Volume IX Issue 1, 2002) it was determined that this was not necessary and that I would continue on to keep the newsletter printing schedule)
I believe that I have not done anything to warrant any humiliation on my part in the “carving world.” It was ok and approved for myself to be nominated for the position of President, this is not the first election where the Presidential nominee ran unopposed (See past newsletter ballots 2004 where Bill ran unopposed and 2002 where Susan ran unopposed) If the destiny of the Guild is to fold, I believe that it should be a dignified end for all involved… everyone involved has spent plenty of time, as well as blood, sweat and tears and we were/are passionate about it.
Allowing the use of the President’s Message column in the newsletter to be used for the purpose of attacking other individual guild board members.
First of all I have no “Personal Vendetta” with anyone on the board… That said, The president’s farewell speech did not appear to seem like a personal attack on anyone when I read and printed it. I knew of no “situation” with Boaz and Bill, and actually have a picture of them together at the last Westport (05) smiling and sitting by each other in the party traile, in fact if I had an opinion about it at all, would say that it was an inside personal joke. How would I know??? Upon hearing that several of the McVays/Backus took this wrong, I called them, (Steve, Judy, Lynn, and Boaz) and expressed that very fact. And each of them conveyed that they understood my position. Boaz himself told me “don’t worry about it”
Using the newsletter and the CCSG web site to promote events and products for self interest and for the benefit of personal friends without regard for the good of the general membership.
I know of not one product sold to benefit myself, nor an event listed that benefits me as well. In fact, truth be told, I actually lose money because of all of the time I spend on the newsletter, rather than scheduling more stump jobs for Trace in the Seattle/Tacoma area.
Being unable or unwilling to promote the purposes for which the guild was established.
Debbie's letter appears to me as an honest attempt to address every concern listed by the board. Whether or not everyone sees the issues through her eyes, she has clearly expressed what she believes and how she arrived at her conclusions, and she is to be commended for her efforts.
Although I feel that there are still some matters that need to be clarified, of the three officers we contacted, Debbie appears to be the only one who is willing to work through the rough areas instead of attacking the board members whose responsibility it is to steer the guild in a legal and proper direction.
who can be mad at debbie for long,no one has to not be freinds,thats a choice made by you, and you alone{whoever you are} the guild is a group of folks who strive for a common good,we/they, dont have to like each other,that would be a social club,it is nicer that way but it dont always turn out that way,this is just a test of sorts,some folks need to filter out their personal thoughts{I would be no exception} and think of what guild will be, can be, could be! those that throw their arms up in the air, and point out others faults,can be counted on to have their own self intrests at heart,this is a complex and interesting time we are going into,debbie has done a good job as editor,I belive that the secutary job should be a different person so the editor can focus more on that job.
Thank you for responding to the the January 22, 2006 letter from the Board of Directors of the CCSG.
I'm sorry that your feelings are hurt and want you to know that none of us consider you a bad person. We just have very different ideas about how the job of Secretary is to be conducted.
I'm sure much of the problem stems from miscommunication and misunderstanding.
For instance, you refer to yourself as being on the Board of Directors. You are not. You are an Officer in the Corporation. You are the Secretary. You are appointed by the Board of Directors, which means the Board of Directors can dismiss you from that position. The fact that we have chosen to ask you to account for your actions instead of firing you is a reflection of the respect we all have for you.
If what you said in your letter about not taking part in the changing of the bylaws or changing the minutes to suit yourself is true, then you have been under the influence of someone giving you bad advice. That's not a good place to be.
The CCSG is governed not just by it's own bylaws, but by the laws of the State of Washington. Some of our Officers seem to think very little of such restraints, whether out of ignorance or greed, and so pursue their own agenda. Beyond the letter of the law, there is that pesky word "ethics", which gives color to rules. There is also the "appearance" of an action. These terms do not need to be applied to your private life, but they are very important in an organization interested in maintaining its integrity and reputation. If an action has the appearance of corruption, it will give the organization an aura of corruption. It will smell "fishy".
You may say "Very well, even though it looks bad, I did nothing wrong." and you may be right, but if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, for all intents and purposes it's a duck. We must all take measures to ensure what we do does not appear to be other than what it is.
For example, the election.
In the on-line meeting of the Board of Directors and Officers, I and other members of the Board of Directors were under the impression that a list of nominees was to be put together for the various offices. Once that list was established, it would be discussed and approved and published in the Newsletter.
Instead, the Officers went directly to publication with a slate that listed only their names as candidates. What it looks like is that you nominated yourselves in secret and sent out the Newsletter (which you didn't send to me) with the ballot.
Plus, you required a signature on the ballot to make it valid. Why would you do that? You only sent the Newsletter to chosen paid-up members. Was it to provide (as someone suggested to me) an "enemies list" of those who didn't vote the way you wanted?
Did you know there was a movement afoot on the part of a few paid-up members to start a write-in vote for a candidate of their choosing? It fell apart when they decided it wouldn't matter because the whole process was corrupt and their votes would never be counted. That's the kind of feelings held by some of our dwindling membership. That's because of what it "looks like".
Do you see what I mean about appearances? You can't say "It's their problem.." because it isn't. It's ours. Our reputation is established by our acts. If our acts seem to be corrupt, they are corrupt. We must always keep everything above board if we are to be perceived as an ethical organization.
You also hold the role of Editor of the Newsletter. This is an area where confusion creeps in. You must understand that it's not a position in the CCSG corporation. It's been handled by outsiders from time to time when we didn't have anyone who wanted to deal with it, as there are quite a few freelance writers and publishers available. It's a paying job. >From the meager information I have about the Guild's finances, you were paid over $2,000 in 2005. You would have been paid more if you had gotten all the required issues out. Your position is an appointed one and you function as an independent contractor.
Do you understand what this means? It means you must do what the Guild wants and needs from the Editor of the Newsletter. Just like a roofer or painter, if you don't do the job, we can get somebody else.
It is once again a reflection of our respect for you that we have not hired somebody else.
You may also take it as a sign of respect that I have taken the time to write this letter. I think you could be a valuable member of any organization, but you need to stop listening to bad advice.
The members of the Board of Directors hope you will join us for our noon meeting on Feb 3, 2006 at Noel's Restaurant.
