OK folks, Here is Mr. Kent's latest reply. It seems that he is unwilling to say exactly what our recordkeeping requirements are. I for one am against selling plants. Mr. Kent is supposed to be representing our club, but he is also the accountant for Leigh Elliott and several others on the Board. I don't know if he can be impartial to both of us with his advice. If he says one thing, he may be hurting his other client. He seems to think that I have it in for Leigh, all I want is to get a straight answer to a very direct question.
Comments? Jill G. -----Original Message----- From: Jim Kent [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 28, 2004 10:10 AM To: 'Jill Godfrey' Subject: RE: Tax Exempt Status of Orchid Society of Coral Gables Jill, I believe my initial statement is clear. You seem to have a problem with Leigh which may or may not be valid. I think it would be in the best interest of the organization to discuss these things openly as the tone of your email is accusatory and as one not actually involved your society, I do not want to comment on situations that I have no first hand knowledge. Since I do accounting for several non-profit organizations I have learned that dealing with volunteers is quite different from employees and the constant changes in leadership often create inconsistencies and complications in the record keeping processes. Jim Kent -----Original Message----- From: Jill Godfrey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 05/27/2004 6:54 PM To: 'Jim Kent' Subject: RE: Tax Exempt Status of Orchid Society of Coral Gables Mr. Kent, By your statement of the need for a system where sales are recorded and reported, do you mean that Leigh should record individual orchid sales with a total for the club at the end? This seems to be a big sticking point with Leigh, he does not want to itemize anything for us, and since he controls the entire sales booth with no supervision from anyone else we have to take his word as to what the sales truly were. Should we institute a system where Leigh is not the one who is actually taking in the money and have someone else from the club to provide a check and balance? Thanks, Jill -----Original Message----- From: Jim Kent [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2004 6:15 PM To: 'Jill Godfrey' Subject: RE: Tax Exempt Status of Orchid Society of Coral Gables Jill, The club would not be held responsible for amounts that Leigh represents as his costs. However, at events, there should be a system whereby the total gross sales are properly recorded and reported. I would assume Leigh would prefer that as it protects him as well as the club from outside accusations (whether or not there was in any impropriety). Being an officer of the club puts him under closer scrutiny but does not preclude him from being able to donate net proceeds to the organization like any other member. The Silent Auctions operate on the very same principle. Regards, Jim Kent -----Original Message----- From: Jill Godfrey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 05/27/2004 4:31 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Tax Exempt Status of Orchid Society of Coral Gables Dear Mr. Kent, I read your letter addressed to the members of the society re: plant sales. Since I am not a CPA or Lawyer, I thought I would ask you a question re: plant sales from one of our Board Members, Leigh Elliott. Three or four times a year Leigh brings the plants from his orchid company to Fairchild Garden and sells the plants under the name of the Orchid Society during various festivals there. Leigh provides no accounting breakdown as to his costs for the plants or receipts to the club as to the number of plants he sells. His procedure has been to tell the club his gross sales and pay us a percentage of the gross, and sometimes a percentage to Fairchild Garden. Would this be considered proper record keeping for the club and also considered as not to be receiving payment from the "net" as you put it in your letter? Leigh is also running for President of the club with voting next week. Would his position as President affect the this at all? Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Jill Godfrey 2nd Vice President Orchid Society of Coral Gables
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