[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Knowledge is always important
- From: "Margery Golant" <mgolant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <InquestGSD@xxxxxxx>, <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <pmick12@xxxxxxxxxxx>, <Bokenkampgsd1@xxxxxxx>, <LeBrowngsd@xxxxxxx>, "'Penny & Bill'" <Ketchy@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 23:35:52 -0400
A number of people have contacted me privately lately to ask what on earth
is going on. They have heard rumors about "charges" and about a demand for
my resignation, thought it extremely odd. I agree completely that it is
very strange. Rather than try to explain piecemeal, it seems that what
makes the most sense, and what I have been asked by a number of people to
do, is to post my responses to the charges. I have no problem with this. I
have done nothing wrong, and have worked very hard to do what is right, and
to do my best to explain to others what is right. "Charges" are completely
inappropriate, and I feel it essential that the membership understand what
is really going on here. It really is time you knew what has been
happening.
I have became very concerned at the increasing secrecy, the increasing
hostility, the increasing paranoia, on the GSDCA Board, toward anyone who
disagrees with certain people, which is inappropriate and excessive. A fair
amount of the time, the secrets are even kept from the Board members,
although there is a small group who sticks together and is in the know. I
was bothered by this trend, expressed my objections, have voted against
every closed session where I had the opportunity to vote, objected to closed
sessions. But, they got closed anyway, and there were numerous times where
we were not even asked, they just closed the doors.
There has been a game going on for almost 2 years now, I have been the
football. The object has been to continue to increase the pressure and to
tighten the screws on me as Recording Secretary, making the job more and
more time consuming, more and more difficult, until I gave in in disgust and
quit. After every meeting's Minutes were done, the game would start. A
small group of people would claim that things that were in the Minutes were
wrong, that they never happened (even though they were as plain as day on
the recording). They would also insist that things did happen that did not
(even though the lack of them was likewise plain on the recording). We
would go around and around, back and forth, wasting time, meeting after
meeting. Then they would tell anyone who would listen that I was "slow" to
get the Minutes done. In other words, sabotage.
I was not at the July Board meeting. Within a couple of weeks immediately
prior to the meeting, I suffered the loss of two of my dogs. Virtually
immediately prior to the Board meeting, my one remaining dog, my special
one, suddenly started showing acute and severe neurological signs which
terrified me, and to which I immediately began a quest for a solution. The
entire Board knew about this. I was not willing to forsake that urgent
effort to travel to Salt Lake City for a Board meeting, and only found out
at the very last minute that I would have to go in the opposite direction.
However, as a precaution I arranged for highly competent coverage, in case I
could not be there. So, when I was not there, apparently they had yet
another closed session, at which the target was yours truly. As someone whom
I very much respect said earlier today "I always thought this club was a
family but not anymore. We all have problems in our life at one time or
another and we need to support each other not turn on each other." When
some say "It's about the dogs", they mean it. Others don't.
I detest the secrecy, the closed doors. Open dialogue, inclusion, democracy
are what this Club needs, not whispers behind closed doors, and warnings to
Board members to tell no one, and NEVER to post it to the List. Those same
people hate the List - it is a means of communication and truth, and they
hate communication and use a fabric of deception to control others, so truth
is their enemy. They are not above using it when it suits their purposes,
but I have nothing to hide, have done nothing wrong, have no reason to want
yet another secret festering mess. So, with all that said, I have included
below my response to the email I received. The email contained a demand for
my resignation, and if I did not resign, scheduled a "hearing" on "charges"
to which I responded. The response has been sent to all Board members by my
attorney, Evan Ginsburg), and in that document are a number of names, and
reference to things that occurred in closed session. I have omitted those
details from the posting here, even though this is a private email List, and
therefore the material I post is not public, but I am willing to tell you
one on one if you want to know and if it is not obvious, who are the people
who have been working to persecute me.
Peggy is right - it is not hard to see what is going on here, or who are the
people pushing the levers. Just look around, do the math.
My response to the Board follows. Please forgive the blanks in a few places
- it will still make sense without those details, and it is not hard to
figure out what is missing.
Margy Golant
To all GSDCA Officers and Board Members:
I received from William Pfeiffer an email with an unsigned Word file
attachment with a number of accusations and asking me to resign, which
asserts that it was signed by 17 Board members and that it had also been
mailed and faxed to me. I have not received a signed copy from any source,
nothing has been either mailed or faxed to me, nor am I clear on why this
was sent by the GSDCA Treasurer, as it is not in any way related to Club
finances.
However, since the document contains six "charges" and numerous inaccuracies
and appears to misconstrue a number of issues, in an effort to clarify and
to correct the misunderstandings, my response is below. Please note that I
felt it necessary to protect myself and the Club and have asked to be
represented in this matter; my attorney in connection with this matter is
Evan Ginsburg. Evan should be copied on all communications relating hereto,
and in the event the GSDCA does proceed with a "hearing" as asserted in the
document attached to the email, notwithstanding the fact that such a hearing
is improperly constituted, Evan will attend as my representative.
To help everyone understand my position, since no notice of the closed
session was given, nor was I there, I have responded to the allegations to
allow everyone time to consider the complaints, and the responses.
1 - The document maintains that "Without Board knowledge or approval, you
attempted to change the Terms and Conditions settlement agreement in the
Hunte litigation case which nearly resulted in the rejection of the Board
approved settlement."
RESPONSE: The first part of this sentence is factually incorrect, the second
part is untrue and without foundation. At the Board meeting in Houston, the
GSDCA President Lew Bunch informed the Board:
_______________________________________________(Deleted as this refers to
something that occurred in closed session). Prior to the closed session,
Board members were asked by Lew to sign the agreement without any board
approval or discussion, the evening prior to the meeting in the hotel bar.
The discussion explanation did not occur. As a Club Officer, it is curious
that, although a number of Officers and Board members had already signed the
document, I had never seen it at all at that point, it ____________________
(Deleted as this refers to something that occurred in to closed session),
and had no opportunity to read it through until approximately a week or more
later. I don't believe any of the Board members had a chance to read it
through before it was signed and accepted by the Board on behalf of the
members.
The language contained in the document I was finally given more than a week
after the April Board meeting contained a number of factual inaccuracies and
statements represented in it as facts which were not ever established as
facts. In addition, the document contained a variety of representations and
promises which were unenforceable and which, if anyone were to attempt to
enforce them, would place such a person in a position of violating the
Constitutional rights of others, including GSDCA members. As an attorney, I
was well aware of these infirmities in the agreement, however at the same
time, wanted to be supportive of the obvious desire of the Board to enter
into an agreement that would conclude the Hunte matter, and to participate
so long as I was not a party to the untrue statements or violation of the
rights of our membership and others.
I discussed this difficulty with the GSDCA attorney and with private
counsel, and was advised to modify anything I would sign to the extent
necessary to render the document acceptable to me. That is what I did, and
it was done solely on my own behalf. I would have liked to bring this to the
attention of the board, but ________(name omitted) did not allow that
opportunity, and in fact I was being continually pressed for my response, so
I had to do what was necessary for my own protection. It did not in any
way modify what already had been agreed to by others, and did not require
the approval or knowledge of anyone else, as it was personal to me.
Furthermore, I have had extensive discussions with the GSDCA attorney who
handled the negotiations and conclusion of the agreement, who indicated that
she understood that the modifications pertained to me only, that Hunte and
his attorney also understood that to be true, that the Agreement was made
whether or not I made changes or executed the document. I do not believe
that there was any time during which my actions "nearly resulted in the
rejection of the Board-approved settlement" as stated in the letter from
Bill, and proof thereof is requested. There was nothing to reject, since
Hunte had signed it, and a majority of the Board had signed it. As a matter
of law, an agreement existed, whether I changed it or not prior to signing
it. This accusation is false. Further, the allegations, even if true,
would not form a basis for any action against me. The Board had never
authorized anyone to negotiate an agreement on its behalf with Hunte, nor
did it ever ratify any such actions or even discuss the terms they had
agreed to. They were literally told to sign it, with the bald promise that
"signing this will get this over with", without any consideration or
opportunity for reflection. This is something done by a few officers
without the approval or agreement of the board.
2 - The document maintains "The minutes from the April 28-29, 2007 Board
meeting were not delivered to the Board per our bylaws within 30 days
following the meeting. In addition, the minutes did not accurately reflect
what occurred at the meeting and needed extensive revision. The request for
an audio recording of the meeting was not delivered after several requests."
RESPONSE: This is untrue. The Minutes were sent out by me on 5/27/07, which
is within 30 days after the conclusion of the April Board meeting. When I
learned on 5/31/07 that there had been an email issue, I resent the draft on
that same day. If in fact the draft was not received until 5/31/07, (32
days after the Meeting), such deviation is de minimis and one with
considerable GSDCA precedent. I am not even sure why it would be brought up,
other than to convince the board that charges should be brought.
_______(name omitted) know well how timely these minutes have been given,
and you all know that I was working extensively to create a web-based area
to review and comment on the Minutes, since I discussed this at length in my
oral report at the April meeting, and that it was going to be used to
present them to you in May. This accusation is made in bad faith. Perhaps
you don't know that ________(name omitted) took it upon himself to interfere
just prior to the live upload and review area going live in mid-May 2007,
and to inform John Ayotte and me to cease working on it.
The Minutes draft I submitted did and do accurately reflect what occurred at
the Board meeting. I have no knowledge of what subsequent revisions were
made by anyone, despite my position as Recording Secretary. However, there
were a number of Officers and Board members, mostly _______, _________,
_________ and __________(names omitted), who took issue with the fact that I
included in the Minutes the Report of the Review Marketing Committee, which
contained a proposal for an Internet e-zine which had been inappropriately
rejected by an individual Officer / Committee Chair, ________(name omitted),
without Board approval prior to the Board meeting. The report was submitted
by the Review Marketig Committee Co-chairs, and so included in the Minutes,
as has been the GSDCA practice for many years, and has been my practice
since becoming Recording Secretary. Numerous sets of Minutes were approved
consistent therewith. After the "controversy" regarding this inclusion
emerged, I indicated to all Board members that, aside from the policy issue
which this represented, I had not received any substantive changes for
another draft. There was an email debate which ensued regarding the policy
of including reports from Committee Chairs in the Minutes, and eventually,
on 6/4 Lew advised us all not to bother discussing this in the interim, and
that the issues which had arisen would be discussed at the upcoming Board
meeting. I suspect that events will ultimately disclose that the "numerous
changes" entail a deletion of that, and perhaps other Committee reports, and
other modifications not supported by the record.
I did not receive, nor did I reject, any requests for an audio recording,
other than something about bringing the recording to the Board meeting
"dumped to tape". I have no idea what that means, nor do I have any ability
to "dump to tape". There is no obligation on my part to provide recordings
to anyone, although I have voluntarily brought them to a number of Board
meetings and would have brought it to the July meeting had I been able to be
there, where it could have been forwarded and rewound just as on tape.
However, as I told you in my April report, I had worked with John Ayotte to
find a way to upload the entire audio recording to the web site, where you
could all hear it and utilize it in your determination of the accuracy of
the Minutes, and ultimately to make it available to the Membership to
provide them a way to attend Board meetings without leaving home,
"virtually". As previously indicated, this process was ready to go, and the
material would have been available to you all in mid-May had not
_________(name omitted) taken it upon himself without discussion with the
Board to interfere.
It is curious that ________(name omitted) told the Internet Co-chairs Bill
and John with whom I had been working on the project not to spend any
further time to make this happen, although the work was virtually all done,
while apparently now claiming that he had needed to hear the recording which
I should somehow "dump to tape". Had the sound files been uploaded as I had
proposed and intended, the audio recording would have been easily available
to all Board members. This is still available, but I understand now
__________(name omitted) does not want it done, although there are no
legitimate technical impediments. As an alternative, as I mentioned at the
meeting, as a temporary measure I had stood ready to post it to my own web
site, to facilitate access to you all. Any discussions that are questioned
could be answered by listening to the recordings, as I have had to do each
time my minutes were questioned. This accusation is also made in bad
faith, since if _______ (name omitted) had really wanted to hear the
recording, the would not have gone out of his way to interfere with the
almost complete project done specifically to make the recordings available
to you all. Further, the allegations, even if true, would not form a basis
for any action against me.
3 - The document maintains: "The minutes from Board meetings for the past
two years have not been timely delivered to members as directed by the
bylaws with any consistency."
RESPONSE: This is incorrect. Further, the allegations, even if true,
would not form a basis for any action against me. During the past two
years, numerous Board members and Committee Chairs have, despite many
requests from me to do so, repeatedly failed to provide their reports
timely, or at all, which are necessary ingredients in creation of the
Minutes, rendering the production of complete, accurate and timely Minutes
difficult or impossible. Board members have submitted proposed additions,
modifications and corrections to drafts late, which inevitably and
significantly delays the production of the next draft. I have done the best
I could with the restrictions of not getting reports, or objections to what
was said or not said, and the requirement of going back and listening to
over 20 hours of tapes to find out what is correct, and to make sense of out
chaotic meetings, where Agendas are not followed, where people speak without
being clearly identified, where despite my many requests, motions are voted
upon without being reduced to writing and read just prior to the votes,
(sometimes resulting in the necessity for re-votes because the Board did not
even understand what they were voting upon), the names of those voting for
and against are not necessarily clearly spoken out, multiple Board members
are speaking across the table to one another, all at the same time. I have
also done the best I can with a position which was difficult when I first
took it on, and to which, during the past two years, those who have wanted
to force me off the Board have continuously devoted efforts to make it more
laborious, more time intensive and more difficult, making bad-faith attacks
on accuracy of material the accuracy of which was clearly supported by the
record, working to thwart my efforts to utilize technology to improve upon
the accuracy and efficiency of the position, on the quality of the result,
and on the accessibility of Board meeting materials to the Membership by
giving them access to virtual "real-time" recordings of the live meetings.
I was targeted, to provide a contrived basis to claim that I am not doing
the job properly..
4 - The document maintains: "At the July Board meeting, the first notice of
your absence was just before the meeting. No officer was notified of your
absence. This absence represents the third meeting that you have not been
in attendance."
RESPONSE: This is incorrect. Since the inception of my current term, I was
present at Board meetings in Beaumont Texas, Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, MO,
Memphis, TN and Houston, TX. I was not present at a meeting in April 2006
in Missouri due to a medical emergency involving my 90 year old mother, and
I was not present at this most recent meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah due to
a serious and late-breaking emergency development involving a serious
medical problem suffered by my dog, having just lost two other dogs.
When I first suspected there might become a problem attending, as a
precaution, I made arrangements with an experienced Board member,
____________ (name omitted), who I knew would be attending and who takes
careful and thorough notes to provide coverage if ultimately necessary, and
indicated that I stood ready and willing to do the Minutes from her notes if
I could not attend. Further, the allegations, even if true, would not form
a basis for any action against me. I had no duty to notify any officer of
my absence, nor is there any specific requirement established by the By-laws
for attendance. I am told that there had at one time been such a
requirement, but that it was deleted long ago. I believe it was changed
when a valued member was unable to attend due to health reasons. If the
board wants to develop a new limitation on attendance, it has to be in the
by-laws, to date that has not been done, and there are numerous reasons why
it should not be done. It is interesting how the rules are subject to
change, depending on whether the desire is to include someone or to exclude
them as a target, as in my case.
5 - The document maintains that there was "Failure to respond to numerous
requests over the past three years to provide equipment identification
serial numbers for Club property."
RESPONSE: This is untrue. I provided such identifying information in
December 2005. Further, the allegations, even if true, would not form a
basis for any action against me. I sent those documents to Evan and asked
that he send them on to all the board members, since he expressed a need to
send a letter anyway as to his position as my attorney. He will send copies
of what I send in December of 2005, and evidently forgotten by Lew.
6 - The document enumerates a "Failure to perform the duties as outlined in
the bylaws and thereby causing other officers to fulfill your duties and
responsibilities. In addition, belligerent behavior on your part to other
officers with regard to the refusal of performing the duties of your
office."
RESPONSE: I am unable to respond to this, having no idea of the specifics
of what is alleged. I am aware that at times I have asked Lew to do things
such as read a motion back before it is voted on, and he refused to do that.
I also have had to argue with _______ (name omitted) and others as to what
the law is, and to try to protect the GSDCA with my thoughts and positions.
That may be thought of as being belligerent, but that is neither a violation
of the by-laws or anything that should be the subject of "charges". As a
matter of fact, my passion is nothing other than an attempt to represent the
members of this Club properly and to protect this club and the board from
potential liability. We have had two attorneys on the board, myself and
Kris. Kris has had to resign as legal affairs head because the board will
not follow her advise. I have had to argue at times with what is being done,
for the same reasons.
I have not resigned, nor do I intend to do so. I know that my presence in
the position of Recording Secretary has added substantial value for the
GSDCA membership. I have, despite continual harassment during the past two
years, produced fair and accurate Minutes, have refused to include things
that should not have been included, have refused to delete things that
should not have been deleted, and I have refused to change things to appear
otherwise than what occurred at the meetings. In this process, I have
withstood insults, sarcasm and belligerence. I have provided legal advice
and expressed numerous concerns about the repeated occurrences of illegal
and improper action and procedure by the Board, and have spoke out about it
to the membership on several occasions. Due to my very busy existence and
to the extremely unpleasant and offensive conduct directed at me by several
on the Board, I had given serious consideration early in the year to not
standing for re-election. However, I was convinced to reconsider and to run
again by GSDCA members' persistent request that I do, that by being on the
Board, I am an asset to the membership. I have not committed any acts which
would provide a basis for any "charges" against me, nor is there any proper
factual or procedural foundation for charges against me. Since the members
of this club have elected me to act on their behalf, I have and will
continue to do so.
Please note that I am a duly elected Officer of the GSDCA, and that as such,
there is no basis for any members of this board, or even the entire board to
remove me. The board does not have the power or authority to remove me.
I have been singled out as the recipient of harassment and discrimination
mostly by ______, _______, _______ and ________ because I have acted
independently and in accordance with the dictates of my conscience and of
the law, which I strongly believe to be in the best interest of the GSDCA as
opposed to my personal benefit, or to that of any Officer or Board member.
Please also note that I have consistently explained to this Board and
Officers of the GSDCA how important it is to act in accordance with the
By-laws. I have often stated that there have been unfortunately many
occasions during the past two years when that has not been the case. I have
objected to unwarranted and inappropriate secrecy and improvident and
unlawful closed door sessions. But, _________ (name omitted) continues to
call for them. I have explained the danger of overusing of the Executive
Committee, and although ___________ (name omitted) pointed it out and
indicated that it should not occur, a small group has tried to run the
business of the club. I have had serious concerns, which I expressed to you
all, that the Club was not being run in accordance with the By-laws, that
correct procedure was not being followed at the meetings, that Officers and
Committee Chairs were usurping functions without authority, While there
are many more, several examples come immediately to mind: In my own case, I
found __________ (name omitted) to be arranging recordings of telephonic
meetings, directing the conference call company hosting Board conference
calls not to deal with me to make recording arrangements and not instructing
them to send the recording which they produced to me. This was highly
problematic, but when I asked _________ (name omitted) to intervene, he
ignored the issue. ___________ (name omitted) also, inappropriately and
without authority, involved himself in communications with Hunte's attorney,
which had very serious repercussions. I was seriously concerned about
Budget and Finance issues, and when I asked questions, received sarcastic
answers without ever any further explanation. I expressed serious concerns
about why the Budget & Finance Committee was referred the proposal of the
Review Marketing Committee for an e-Zine instead of the Board, and worse
yet, why it took it upon itself to reject the proposal None of the
objections I made or arguments I raised were personal, although personal and
sarcastic responses were made to me. On the contrary, they were objections
to the procedures, or lack of procedures utilized, and to the fact that the
Board was not following the rules that govern the Club. Interestingly, no
charges were filed or action taken to address any of these improprieties.
Failure to adhere to the By-laws, and to act in accordance with your
personal objectives and interests, is a breach of your duties to the GSDCA
and exposes you to significant liability. Under the circumstances, it is
humorous that I of all people am the one accused of failing to foll the
By-laws, when the exact opposite was true: many on the Board were not
following the By-laws, a fact which I continued to point out, and which
clearly caused some on the Board to plot to get rid of me. When that did
not work, there was an attempt to try to set me up as a "mole" with respect
to the Hunte matter, alleging somehow that I was the source of a leak of
"secret" information, something I have not done, even telling Hunte's
attorney that I leaked secret information. This allegation is totally
untrue, and interestingly, while the story continues to be spread, it is
only done behind my back by those Board members, never out in the open.
The most interesting part is that I do know who really did do it, can and
will prove it, yet that person is one of those pointing fingers at me,
clearly as a tactical ploy to keep anyone from realizing who really did do
it. I was told by our attorney that Mr. Hunte wanted me thrown off the
board for giving out that information. In fact the party who gave it out,
knowing all this, has failed to step forward to change the wrongful
information, and instead participates actively in the efforts to oust me.
This current action against me is an example of such a violation of the
obligations and duties of the Board. To ask for the resignation after a
secret meeting, violates all the basis of our club by-laws, and must be
carefully considered. I have asked that my attorney notify the president of
the danger this sort of action presents. The club elects the board, and the
board serves the members. No member or not board may overturn the election
process. Furthermore, none of the "charges" enumerated in the document
emailed to me, even if true, constitute any basis for Board action, or
hearing, and therefore the pursuit thereof provide another example of the
Board violating the By-laws, and targeting me
I do not wish to fight with the board, but I will not ignore my duty to the
club, the members or the breed, no matter how often or in what format I am
attacked.
Margery E. Golant
Recording Secretary, GSDCA
-----Original Message-----
From: InquestGSD@xxxxxxx [mailto:InquestGSD@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 10:13 PM
To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; mgolant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Knowledge is always important
WoW!
Who wants Margy to quit? And why? Because she continues to try to follow
Robert's Rules? Shame on her, darn it!! Because she will tell some people
when they are wrong?? Off with her head!!
Margy, I am going to ask you to trust the membership with the knowledge they
need about the goings on in the board, so that we can make an educated
decision in the upcoming election.
This year has to be one for the record, so much excitement, so much
mishandling.
Encourage, not discourage..........what a joke.
Ileana
_____
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com
<http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000982> .
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