Agenda of the next KCBS BoD meeting

[ThomEmery]

http://www.kcbs.us/news.php?id=299

[motoeric]

This is interesting (from the current agenda):

________
In May the Board passed the following board rule as to “any intended e-mail blast sent by MMA for KCBS or by KCBS, the e-mail blast must be submitted in advance to all members of the Board for comment. The members will have 48 hours to comment. Should there be an objection by any member of the board, then the executive director and the president will direct how the e-mail blast will be handled.” In June an e-blast was sent out where Marketing committee co-chairperson of the marketing committee approved an e-blast without notifying the Board.
On 6/23/2010 11:44 PM, Tana Shupe wrote:
“I agree with Candy, and maybe Carolyn can confirm this. I can't imagine why the entire board would need to see it unless, for some reason, they need to approve the expense ... and I believe that is already covered.
Great job, Julie!”
:) Tana

In November an e-blast was sent our where Candy Weaver co chairperson of the marketing committee approved an e-blast over the objection of two members of the Board, and without submitting to executive director and president to authorize, modify or reject.

On 11/29/2010 12:58 p.m., Candy Weaver wrote:
“Why would this be an agenda item? Why further board approval? Your objection and Gene's objection and Carol's timing objections were the only concerns. I released the e-blast based on only three objections and one of those was a timing objection, not content driven. More positives than negatives, e-blast approved and in process of being sent now.
Should Carol want to add a timing of notifications change, that would be her call.
Candy”

In May a member of the Board kept material information from the Board where the Board was making a substantial financial sponsorship in the event involved.

On 5/12/2010 11:26 a.m. Tana Shupe wrote:
“My contact with Helen Brett emailed to let me know she has been on vacation ... and that she was just told that Helen Brett will not be involved in the Louisiana Tailgate & BBQ Festival. I asked her if she could share with me why they will not be and am waiting for her reply, but wanted to let you know because it does concern me since the website and Enthused Partners have published that there will be plenty of vendors, etc. Maybe I'm just panicking, but wanted to keep you updated. I'll be back in touch if I hear from Leane again. For the present, however, I don't want to share this with the board.
:) Tana
________

Who is Helen Brett? Is she the organizer of this event? As the statement is made that she (Tana) doesn't want to share this with the board, I have to assume that it is something that the board might be interested in, but I have no idea why.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Is Candy not following the rules about email blasts because she wasn't aware of them or because she doesn't think that they apply to her?

Eric

[motoeric]

Ok, so I did some checking.

It seems that the KCBS had a large stake in the success of the Louisiana Tailgate & BBQ Festival. The figure that I heard was up to $10,000.00 to cover things like demos, lectures, etc. Helen was (from what I gather) the person that was in charge of getting vendors for the event. There was concern over the potential success of the event that was exacerbated by Helen's stepping away.

The fact that Tana wanted to keep this from the BoD is a HUGE problem.

This is completely unsubstantiated, but according to Ray Lampe, Tana received financial renumeration by this event in 2009. The possibility that she had a financial stake in this years event as well and her trying to quash any communication of problems to the BoD is a bigger problem.

Eric

[Divemaster]

That Paul Kirk has once again offered 'No Report' for the only two committees he is responsible for?

I guess the the fact that he is responsible for the:

2010 - 25th Banquet and Annual Meeting Committee

and has 'No Report' bothers me the most. Correct me if I'm wrong but my reservations are for January, 2011. I would think that there would be some kind of report for that meeting since it's just a little over a month away.

So much for a transparent board.

Rant over.

[Jeff_in_KC]

Eric, such an unsubstantiated comment is probably not something that should be posted in a forum. I like Ray a lot but I'm not sure he's completely unbiased. And he may very well be correct. I just don't know that making a comment publicly about something that MAY have happened is a wise decision until facts are certain.

[drbbq]

I'll stand by it Jeff. And while I am biased I have food reason. I have first hand knowledge of some really chitty things Tana has done. Anybody ever wonder why she doesn't work for Jack Daniel's anymore?

[Jorge]

Originally Posted by Jeff_in_KC

Eric, such an unsubstantiated comment is probably not something that should be posted in a forum. I like Ray a lot but I'm not sure he's completely unbiased. And he may very well be correct. I just don't know that making a comment publicly about something that MAY have happened is a wise decision until facts are certain.

Since I know Ray, and know that he WILL speak his mind... and suspect that he's willing to back that up HERE... I'm OK with it

Ray has earned a LOT of respect from me, because he's willing to speak and understands that sometimes there may be some professional risk involved in that. I may not always agree with him, but he's cool with that.

I also know him well enough to call him a friend. If he's proven wrong, I think he'd be willing to admit that.

[motoeric]

Jeff,

That is a reasonable concern and I would certainly not make a blanket statement about the veracity of the claim. Ray may be mistaken. I don't know.

On the other hand, Ray is a well informed member of the community and a former member of the KCBS BoD. If he makes that claim then I believe it at the least is something that should be looked into.

I do appreciate and respect your concern for remaining fair and unbiased. Why don't you and I both send Tana an email via her BoD address and ask her directly? We can then post her response to be fair to everyone. Would that be reasonable?

Eric

[motoeric]

Does this seem to be fair, respectful and reasoned? If so, I'll send it tonight:
____________

Hello Tana,


There has been some discussion in the BBQ community about your involvement with the Lousiana Tailgate and BBQ Festival.


I don't think that it would be fair to have these discussions without asking you about it directly. Rumor and speculation isn't fair to anyone. Hopefully you agree and can help set the record straight (if the current perception of things is inaccurate).


With that in mind, here are the questions that seem to be at the crux of the matter:

1. Did you receive any money or other remuneration in any form under any title (ie. stipend, gratuity, payment, etc.) from the Louisiana Tailgate and BBQ Festival or anyone involved with the festival in 2009 or in relation to their 2009 event?
2. Did you make an attempt through email or otherwise to either passively or actively suppress information regarding the Louisiana Tailgate and BBQ Festival's status, development and potential problems from getting to the BoD?

I'm sorry if this comes off sounding officious. It's the only way I can think of to ensure that no one winds up twisting your words or equivocating.


Thank you for your service to the BBQ community.


Eric Devlin
Event Organizer and CBJ

[Spydermike72]

Well I guess the question I have is; why is this brought up under "New Ideas" ?

It is a BOD matter and should be handled by the BOD but I am not sure how it is a New Ideas topic, maybe Good of the Order...

I am glad it was brought up and now we can see what happens.

Also the Nepotism thing again, really ?

[drbbq]

Seems fair to me. I'd love to see a straight answer.

[motoeric]

I waited to receive any more feedback and to edit the letter if necessary, but not having heard any suggestions I sent it this afternoon.

I'll post when I get a reply.

I'll also post if I don't receive a reply and mention that as well.

Eric

[arlieque]

Bet you want get a honest reply!

[motoeric]

Originally Posted by arlieque

Bet you want get a honest reply!

I have no way of telling if she would be lying, but I also don't know Tana, so I have no basis to form an opinion that she would be.

Eric

[arlieque]

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