Hi Dave,
Just wanted to respond briefly to a couple of things you mention in
your e-mail as it appeared on the bikies list.
(Bill, I thought this might interest you since you were the original
recipient. If not, please delete it.)
Dave, you wrote: "The website listed earlier [betheengine.com]
contains what I consider to be inaccurate information."
It might be very helpful if you could outline why you hold that view.
The one thing lacking in this discussion is accurate information.
Further, you wrote: "It is my personal opinion that this is all
because Dar was let go and the board kept the reasons for that
dismissal private. Some people who are close to Dar were unhappy
with that decision and wanted to know why she was let go. I think
that it is only proper to keep those reasons private."
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but the issue for me is
not, and has never been, personal loyalty to Dar. You're correct that
it is the board's prerogative to hire and fire staff and that
personnel matters are required to be kept confidential. However,
abrupt firings like this one, absent progressive disciplinary
measures, are usually reserved for cases of malfeasance or gross
misconduct--things like not showing up for work, stealing from the
till, or abusing coworkers--none of which Dar was evidently engaged in.
What concerns me are the motives behind this firing and its long-term
effect on the Bicycle Federation. Normally, one advantage of
progressive disciplinary action is that it gives you time to make
preparations and look for a replacement before you sack somebody with
any useful amount of institutional knowledge. But this board, in its
haste, couldn't be bothered to follow that course of action, and
treated the Executive Director position as if it were the equivalent
of a ditchdigger. As far as I could tell, there was no plan in place
for what came after terminating the acting ED--no plan for
communication with members or the media, no plan for recruiting a new
ED, and no plan for day-to-day operation of the organization in the
ED's absence.
This led to a woefully inadequate response to member and media
interest in the ED's sudden termination. The explaination changed
several times between the ED's termination on about January 20th,
2007 and Amy Heart's official response on about February 1.
For example, remember this from January 24th?
------
"The BFW Board has a vision for a new direction for the Bicycle
Federation of Wisconsin. In order to realize the Bike Fed's full
potential, this vision requires new leadership. It would have been
difficult for any current administrator to make such a transition,
let alone one who has been with the organization for as many years as
Dar was with BFW. [...]"
------
The response to all member inquiries I know of questioning this
statement was an identical form letter stating, in a nutshell, that
"personnel matters are confidential." From my professional
perspective in the PR world, it was like watching a train wreck in
slow motion.
This is also not just a Madison issue. Every Bicycle Federation
member should be asking questions about the Executive Director's
termination and the ensuing communication fiasco, because you can bet
that every potential member and donor who read the front page of the
Saturday, January 27, 2007 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal has:
<http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/wsj/
2007/01/27/0701270039.php>
[Which, by the way, my neighbor spotted on a newsstand while
attending a hockey event up in Spooner. The WSJ has statewide
circulation.]
This brings us to the present. I think we ought to be asking why,
after years of begging for board members, the board has decided not
to nominate a full slate of candidates. Could this have something to
do with the quality of judgement I've outlined above? Have they
really put the interests of the organization and its membership ahead
of their own?
I don't know how you allocate resources to the causes you give to
Dave, but I prefer to give my hard-earned cash to organizations I
trust. I don't trust the current Bicycle Federation board and will
cast my vote accordingly. Then we'll wait and see whether they get
any more of my money or time.
Well, so much for brief. Hope this helps clarify what some of us over
here in Madison are thinking.
Here's hoping the weather cooperates for the FSC this year...
Cheers,
Michael Lemberger
Madison
-----------
David Schlabowske <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Bill,
The ballot is complete in that it contains the names moved forward
from the nominating committee. That is in accordance with the BFW by-
laws. People who want to be on the board but were not suggested by
the nominating committee can run as write-ins. That is what is
happening.
I have known about this dispute between some Madison BFW members
and the BFW Board, but I have tried to stay out of this argument
because I did not feel it was appropriate as a former staff member of
the BFW with inside information to publically take sides on this. I
thought it was enough that we had a vote as members. I hope most of
you on this list who know me, believe that I am honest and have the
best interest of the BFW and cycling in WI as my primary motivation.
But since other former staff members (Robbie and Dar) from Madison
have seen fit to promote this on the Milwaukee list, I feel I have
been forced to respond in some way.
The website listed earlier contains what I consider to be
inaccurate information. While those people listed on that website
are perfectly within their rights to run for the board of the BFW, I
find it distressing that they make claims that are not true.
It is my personal opinion that this is all because Dar was let go
and the board kept the reasons for that dismissal private. Some
people who are close to Dar were unhappy with that decision and
wanted to know why she was let go. I think that it is only proper to
keep those reasons private. Those people have every right to run for
the BFW board, but not to spread inaccurate information.
I know the current board members to be strong advocates of cycling
in WI who I believe to only have the best interests of the BFW and
bicycling at heart and put in many, many long hard hours working as
board members for the benefit of us all. I work with many of them on
a regular basis in the course of my duties in Milwaukee. I completely
support the current board and those on the ballot running for the
open postions. I do not support the write-in candidates nor many of
the claims on the website listed in a previous post.
Dave Schlabowske
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