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Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 23, 2007 11:55:43 GMT -6
Elisabeth -- that place looks fabulous! It would be an absolute hoot to go there, and I would love to see Ireland. Everyone should save your quarters and make sure your passports are ready for next summer!
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 23, 2007 12:27:39 GMT -6
Not to prolong the pain, but I've been getting some very supportive e-mails about the message board vote. It seems that one of the reasons given was that CSS wrote to some members of the board, saying that my husband (!) and I are well known Custerphobes and that I was banning people who were pro-Custer. They listened to an idiot who isn't even a member, a childish jerk who was sending people on the boards photographs of the decapitated heads of our American citizens who were slaughtered in Iraq! Unbelievable!
What is even funnier is that the guy who threatened not to renew his LBHA membership because of the "vile" people on the boards wrote to me privately and said he was appalled by CSS. I exchanged a couple of e-mails with him, and the last thing I heard was that he was going to renew.
Thank you, CSS -- I know you're watching -- this has been a very positive thing. Why don't you send some of your cute photos to the board members? I'm sure they would love to see blood dripping from a severed head.
LBHA Members: The heroes in all of this are those who stood up at the meeting in protest and Jim Dunphy, the only board member who voted against it. I don't know who the new board members are, but I hope the next election will be contested. Remember the people who voted against the boards -- Bill Blake, Joan Croy, Colleen Shea, and Larry Engle -- and please do not vote for them ever again.
What I resent most is the time all of this nonsense takes. The reason I didn't attend this conference is a family reunion was originally scheduled for last weekend, and it probably would have been the last time I drove my 85 year old mother to her hometown. The reunion was later postponed to this coming weekend, so I need to return to my real life and get ready for the trip.
I'm very glad I didn't go to the conference. If anyone wants copies of Chuck's resignation letter, just let me know. WE have nothing to hide!
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Post by elisabeth on Jul 23, 2007 14:12:39 GMT -6
Right on, Diane! I've been interested to note that CSS has also got himself banned from Wikipedia (under the alias custerwest) -- so we're not the only ones who have had the pleasure and found it excessive! Re Ireland: see my earlier edit -- the place appears to be up for sale. But the principle might be a good one ... There's a very nice inn in Keogh's home town, the Lord Bagenal, and now some good self-catering accommodation: www.garrisonwaterside.com/Maybe it's not that daft an idea ...?
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Post by Tricia on Jul 23, 2007 14:46:09 GMT -6
All--
Let me echo Fred; I joined the LBHA because of Diane. I had also joined hoping that the organisation was more sympathetic to the Indian side of the battle than the CBHMA, but I am getting a bit frustrated hearing that this group is returning to its roots as a CUSTER FIRST organisation ... it's like the last one hundred years of evolved understanding are once again, being ignored. And for what? Not even GAC was this petty (oh, wait; he could be) ...
Perhaps the highlight of the trip (not really) was the end of the banquet when Bill Blake got all serious and ponderous and announced that two members of the board had resigned that day and that treasurer Kevin Connelly was stepping down, effective immediately. Saying that these serious decisions were made without pressure from the board only added to the state of mistrust ... my companions and I were left with our jaws dropped open. And we were asked to applaud the new board members ... needless to say, there wasn't a lot of it. The guy who plays Phil Sheridan went up to try and tell a joke, but not even humour could save the situation. These announcements were simply not necessary at a banquet--they could have been saved for the Newsletter or some other, more appropriate place. It certainly left me--and several others--with a bad taste in our mouths. No wonder we had to run to the bar!
The talent which has left the LBHA board is simply an incredible loss. Ridiculous. But Diane and Chuck, it's their damn loss. We must take this situation and make it into a positive or they will have won!
Elisabeth--that place looks wonderful!
Trish
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Post by Tricia on Jul 23, 2007 14:56:22 GMT -6
Diane--
Bill Boyes is to be one of the "replacement" board members and Joan Croy will be acting treasurer. I can't recall the other name tossed out there for the life of me. I think I was in too much shock!
Trish
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 23, 2007 15:33:55 GMT -6
So the old fox will be watching the chicken coop again, and handing the chicks over to AmeriTrade! By my calculation, 80% of LBHA funds (over $100,000) are being gambled in the stock market with absolutely no oversight. They refused to contribute to the restoration of what might be one of Custer's flags, but they'll let Blake feed his apparent daytrading addiction. Shame on them.
Bill Boyes is a great guy BUT he also is in his late 70s and doesn't use a computer, so I'm not expecting LBHA to jump into the 21st century anytime soon.
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Post by BrokenSword on Jul 23, 2007 17:52:06 GMT -6
Wow. The government sends me on a secret mission for a couple of days and look what I come back to! All the kiddies have jumped from the play pens. AND there’s talk of going to Ireland. I feel a bit like the kid in that joke who comes home from school and discovers that his family has moved away.
Diane - what a shame. Thank goodness you are cyber-fleet-footed enough to make a quick save of the board and all its content. One little nut sending e-mails and the collective wisdom of the Board dissolves away? Amazing. How small must one be to be wounded THAT badly by CSS or whatever his name is?
All of the participants here and what they’ve had to say have been enjoyable and informative. Yeah, I even generally found CSS to be more amusing than threatening. The effort you have personally made to make this board possible and to keep it afloat is much appreciated.
I will add my voice to those of the others here offering you full support. (and not in the Custer to Reno sense) You must know that all you have to do is ask.
Thank you again for all of your caring efforts.
M
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 23, 2007 23:19:15 GMT -6
Thank you, oh Broken one. You've been a great addition to the boards, so I very much appreciate your support!
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Post by fred on Jul 24, 2007 12:05:09 GMT -6
Just in case any of you missed it, I love a good fight. I also know when the dead horse has been kicked enough, and while I believe the coup has succeeded-- admirably, I might add-- some more kicking is warranted.
I intend to e-mail each member of the board, even though I doubt it will do any good. (We have a miasma in this country about admitting mistakes.) I may also yank my LBHA membership, though I am still mulling that over (the only reason I am somewhat ambivalent about that particular action is I happen to like Bill Boyes a LOT, and, more than just liking the man, I admire and respect him). Having said that, even Bill may not be enough to keep me involved-- at any level-- with an organization as neolithic as this one is proving to be. Maybe the Swiss "misses" can jump aboard.
Maybe too, the LBHA needs a little modern, contemporary, forward-think/looking competition. Maybe a depletion of the ol' coffers-- a gradual diminution of the shekels-- speaks louder than the noise not even a dose of Rolaids can prevent.
Boy, oh boy, is this stupid! Is Custer still dead?
Best wishes, Fred.
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Post by Tricia on Jul 24, 2007 12:23:00 GMT -6
It's time we demand a transparent system of the accounting each year should we continue membership in the LBHA. What is wrong with investments in certificates of deposit or money market accounts? How much money does this outfit need? Our group--Ozarks Writers' League--is required to have an annual audit with one member from the board and one from the general membership with the report and ledgers to be submitted in the final newsletter of the year. It's a pain in the ass to complete, but it keeps things above board and finances--and their account numbers--out of the hands of one person.
The 1920s are over, gang. It's time someone on the BOD realises this before they lose the entire organisation and allow it to be but a historical footnote, a tragic thing to happen to a group that has worked so hard to promote history.
Trish
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Post by markland on Jul 24, 2007 14:01:29 GMT -6
It's time we demand a transparent system of the accounting each year should we continue membership in the LBHA. What is wrong with investments in certificates of deposit or money market accounts? How much money does this outfit need? Our group--Ozarks Writers' League--is required to have an annual audit with one member from the board and one from the general membership with the report and ledgers to be submitted in the final newsletter of the year. It's a pain in the ass to complete, but it keeps things above board and finances--and their account numbers--out of the hands of one person. The 1920s are over, gang. It's time someone on the BOD realises this before they lose the entire organisation and allow it to be but a historical footnote, a tragic thing to happen to a group that has worked so hard to promote history. Trish Trish, actually the IRS has some very strict rules about accounting for an organization which falls under the 503 (b or c) classification-or, for that matter, any organization falling under the non-profit umbrella. That being said however, wasn't there a major scandal involving the Red Cross and donations being diverted for personal use? Anyway, whether the IRS requires it or not, a yearly audit of the organization's funds by a certified auditor should be obligatory for the mutual protection of the members and board. Billy Billy
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 24, 2007 14:41:24 GMT -6
Agree, agree, agree! Even my little Rotary Club -- 20 whole members and assets of less than $10,000 -- has an annual internal audit. Of course, an internal audit wouldn't work with this incestuous group.
So, how do we get the members to care and demand action?
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Post by Tricia on Jul 24, 2007 14:49:38 GMT -6
Diane--
You have mentioned my fear in the post above. They could get a couple of tacit supporters to perform what would be a perfunctory audit which would result in no changes, I'm afraid. We may just have to wait until the old crew dies off ... but an audit is necessary for an organisation to survive, reputation intact.
Do you think Mick and Bianca would quietly support such a drive? That might help some--I'm guessing it would have to be in the form of a constitutional amendment.
Trish
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 24, 2007 14:53:40 GMT -6
;D ;D ;D No, they've been burned once, so they try to stay out of such things now. I have their support though, and that's great.
P.S. to Billy -- I don't want to leave the impression that money is being used for personal gain. No one is alleging that. It's more like "give me money to play with and I'll pay you back with interest." Unfortunately, the money wasn't paid back the first time until Chuck became chairman last year, so we have no way of knowing when the next pay back will be. As you said, there are rules about non-profs and, by my reading of the regs, the current activity is outside the bounds of those regulations.
P.S. to Trish -- The board voted in January to put the organization's money in the sorts of vehicles you mentioned. The chair is ignoring that vote and doing his own thing with OUR money.
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Post by harpskiddie on Jul 24, 2007 18:11:18 GMT -6
My general feeling about organizations is similar to the old saw about governments - people tend to get what they are willing to put up with . If nobody cares enough to do something about what appears to be a sad state of affairs in the LBHA [judging from the posts here], then the organization may not be worth saving, since it is only the sum of its members anyway.
If that is the case, then let it die; and someone will start a better successor.
Gordie, you know its hard to find nice things on the poor side of town............................
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