Y'all may recall on Tuesday, January 23rd, I wrote a letter to the BFW board expressing my concerns as to the firing of the executive director. I received replies from three board members (none of them members of the executive committee) confirming that they were concerned about the firing and that they looked forward to gleaning more information regarding the matter at the upcoming board retreat.
Well, the board retreat has come and gone. We know no more of what is going on than we did last week. A press release posted to the BFW homepage says nothing. I've been trying to dig for information and would like to share what little I have found with the group. Given the board's complete failure to communicate, their actions remain suspect. I've included two communications in this email. They're kind of long so, if you don't have time to read them, you should probably delete this message now. Below is the letter I sent to Amy Heart today. She is listed on their press release as the communications chair for the board. Further below are some questions that I put to Chuck Strawser, Interim Administration Director (actually, I'm not sure what they're calling him now). Pam ++++++++++ Ms. Heart: Reference your press release of January 29, 2007, exactly how has the BFW board renewed its focus on education, advocacy and coordination of bicycle interests across the state? In a brief communication released by, Chuck Strawser, on January 24, 2007 (as approved by your board president), you cite "a vision for a new direction for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin." A direction that could not be fully realized with the current leadership. This leads me to believe that a new vision/direction has already been formulated. After all, how could you possibly know the current leadership would be unable to adapt to the change in vision/direction had you not formulated that vision? To take it one step further, why would you fire the Executive Director (with no notice) without consideration to establishing the new vision/direction first? Your press release does not identify any changes in the vision/direction of the BFW. It simply restates the BFW's ongoing mission. In other words, your press release says nothing. How does keeping the new vision/direction of the BFW a secret benefit cycling in Wisconsin? We don't need town hall meetings. We need clear direct communication. We need leadership with integrity. Yes, there is a lack of leadership at the BFW. But that lack of leadership originates from the BFW board, not the staff. I again call for the immediate resignation of the four member executive committee so that the BFW may move forward, in a positive direction, promoting cycling education and advocacy throughout our state. I look forward to receiving your reply. Sincerely, Pam Barrett BFW member and volunteer +++++++++++++ I contacted Chuck Strawser and asked him a few questions. Not so briefly, this is what Chuck could tell me: ME: Can you tell me why Dar was fired? CHUCK: No. It's a personnel matter that, as a matter of policy, staff and Board will not discuss. ME Can you tell me what the "new vision" for the BFW is and why Dar is not suited to lead the BFW towards its new vision? CHUCK: I refer you to Amy Heart, BFW Board member and chair of the Board's Communications Committee. Unfortnately, I don't have access to Amy's email at the moment, but she is accepting calls on her cell phone:715-220-3511. (Ms. Heart's email is [EMAIL PROTECTED]) ME: Are you still under instructions to "not speak to membership" regarding Dar's firing? CHUCK: Amy Heart is preparing a communication directed towards BFW membership. ME: What is the procedure for getting on the ballot for board of directors? CHUCK: Frankly, I don't remember the whole process. I'll have to reread the by-laws, as it's been a while since I read them, and even longer since I've been Interim Executive Director. I'll be happy to send you a copy of the by-laws. But the first step is to contact the Executive Director, or, in this case, the Interim Administrative Manager (me) and/or Interim Program Manager, and express your interest. (Chuck has since emailed me an says that conduct of board elections isn't in the by-laws but rather, subject to "board policy." I guess that means they can conduct elections however they want). ME: I've heard that the next election will be in October but there is currently a vacant seat. When is that seat going to be filled? CHUCK: Board elections take place sometime between September and November. There is currently a vacant seat. That seat may be filled by an appointment of the rest of the Board at any time. Or, it may remain vacant up to the Board election, at which time it can be filled by the voting membership. ME: When is the schedule for town hall meetings going to be released and who amongst the staff and the board will attend them? CHUCK: I don't know the schedule yet. I don't think there is a schedule yet, as my understanding is that the intent is for the Board (or as many board members as possible) are to attend, so it will depend in part on their schedules. I can't say for certain who among Board will attend each session, but I would presume that Board members who live relatively near each location for the Town Hall meeting will attend. I am sure that Jack and/or I will attend among the staff, and I'd guess that other staff will want to attend as well. ============================================================ From: "timwong" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2007/01/30 Tue PM 02:22:25 CST To: <[email protected]>, "Michael D. Barrett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Bikies] Re: BFW news release Notice that almost all the board members list their connection to bicycling as "recreational." No wonder those dickheads don't get it. Put the mountain bike on the SUV and drive 40 miles to take a five-mile off-road bike ride. Wow! How revolutionary! Maybe they'll follow up that informative "news" "release" with a book entitled, "How to Destroy a Viable Organization." ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael D. Barrett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 7:00 PM Subject: BFW news release > How many words does it take to say nothing? > > http://bfw.org/ > > There should be an interesting George Hesselberg article in tomorrow's > Wisc. State Journal about this. > > -Mike _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies ============================================================ _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
