Minnie Posted October 22, 2004 Posted October 22, 2004 Advice needed! Dreadful week. After 3 years in arts organization and on the board I have been issued a letter of concensus and request to resign. How very sad. We just had a wonderful conference and so much work accomplished and I love the mission and the group so much......here is what happened. We have a brand new board and a month ago I approached a fellow board member to meet for coffee. He agreed and I sent a note of the agenda ahead to him. He was kind and we expected to discuss some issues I had concerns about and some changes the pres was making I needed feedback on from my coboard members perspective. He sent my note on to the pres for more information and the pres found my concerns troubling without basis and over reacted, angerily shot a retort back to the rest of the board and left me out of the loop. was unaware of this but the new board was called and a letter was prepared without explanation that I was a concern and no longer appreciated on the board. We never did have coffee or discuss the meeting. Weeks went by and I went about my board business unaware of the above. Friendly conversations among fellow members and no further awareness until today. I guess they were waiting until after I fulfilled a speaking engagement and fall duties but I was called ot a room and issued this letter from the entire board by the irate pres who had a copy of my old note to the fellow board member and her angry group retort and state I was"duplicitous and was not to meet with other members at any time. I was shocked but this was not the first time the pres had been overreactive in meetings or to others. Note that we have an entire new board. So I took the letter signed by all and cried at home all evening. The next day I removed my name from the bank accounts but.....the fellow board members I spoke to including the vp of the bank stated while they had been told to sign the letter they did not know the reasons or concerns behind it nor had ever heard of the dispute. They only were told by the pres to sign the note that stated all must get along at all times and not confer with each other. They never saw my early note. So I think it is all a misunderstanding. I am heartsick but then one board member stated that she was told all had signed as they all were angry at me and in fact it was not true. She was siding with the pres as she stated I was on several local competing boards and it was time I was gone anyway. We never had board agreements and I was always productive and had other board positions all that were kind and productive. I thought these folks were my friend. Was this just naiveness? My initial contact has not responded. I think he is caught in the middle. It is embarrasing and humiliating. I guess I should just write this off. I am still very sad. The business folks that signed only want what is best and knew no different. This was my time and love and effort and I am crushed. All because I dared to need clarification and question a policy. I had tried to go thru the pres earlier this year and was met with defensiveness and then I asked to add it on the agenda and we never did . Stonewalled, so I was seeking support from a fellow member. Advice. Should I just light a candle? Forget about these people. I think the pres had been feeling competition for many years and this was her manipulative way of letting me go. Meanwhile work needs to be done and now they are on their own.
amerikajin Posted October 23, 2004 Posted October 23, 2004 Should I just light a candle? Forget about these people. Try to leave as gracefully as you can. I'd just try to negotiate some kind of severance package and move on without causing too much trouble. In the backs of their minds, they're probably wondering if you're going to sue them out of anger, so it would be a relief to them if you approach them in an honorable manner and exit the relationship amicably. Non-profit work is full of political hazards. For future reference, make damn sure that you know your board members very carefully before sticking your neck out and even hinting at doing something that challenges a president or board member. That shouldn't keep you from doing your job, it just means you have to grease the wheel a little and get to know people better.
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