[Ohio-talk] fyi

[Eric Duffy]

Richard,

Although these are not the kinds of emails I would like to see on a public
listserv, I am compelled to respond to this one since you have publically
thrown down the gauntlet. 

I agree with you that we need to include and involve our membership. I too
believe that the board should be responsive to the membership as much as
possible while performing the role it was elected to carry out. Those two
things are not one in the same. You say, "I think that the call last week
was in part designed to limit the input on some of the things we spoke
about.  When the information was put out, it made it seem that only the
board would need to be present and maybe this is why several members did not
participate.    I think some members of our leadership make others feel left
out and do not open   the doors until money or work is needed. " 

In the Buckeye Update dated December 6, 2013 I said, "I have called a
meeting of the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind of
Ohio for Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM. We had a December meeting last year at
which time I appointed the committees that will do much of the work of the
organization. I plan to appoint committees on Tuesday. We will also discuss
the 2014 convention and our next scholarship program. We will also set the
date for our January meeting. Other business might arise, but only if it
absolutely must be discussed before our January meeting. 
	You do not have to be a member of the board to participate in these
meetings. I encourage you to join us. Shortly before 8:00 PM.  On Tuesday
call (605) 475-4875. When prompted, use access code 201909 followed by the
pound sign."

Kyle Conley, Paul Dressell, Aleeha Dudley, and Colleen Roth participated in
the call but are not on the board. Aleeha and Kyle are two of our younger
members, and I'm glad they were there.

You say, "I am a team player and serve for all Federationists." When I think
of a team player, I think of one who's head and heart are in the game at all
times. I think of one who supports the team even when there is disagreement
among team members. This type of email going to a public list does not seem
to me to be what a "team player" would send. A team player would not have
led his chapter out of the banquet before the fundraising period,
particularly after having received an award from that organization. We have
had the Scrip program for two years now, and, though you have made noises
about joining it, you have still not done so. Is that being a team player? 

In the January 2013 board meeting you publically accused me of intimidating
the board. To this day I know of no one who supported your position. That to
my mind does not represent a team player. 

At the Sunday morning session of this years convention you publically
accused me of reading amendments  to the constitution that had not been
brought to the board. You might say that you were just asking a question,
but your question was really an accusation. As vice president I would never
have asked Barbara or JW such a question on the convention floor. If I were
concerned that something was being slid past the membership, I would have
quietly come to the head table and raised the question with a recommendation
that things be made absolutely clear. 

Those who are intelligent do not need to tell the rest of the world how
bright they are. It shows! Those who are wealthy don't need to tell the
world how rich they are. Again, it shows!  Yet I often hear you refer to
yourself as a "team player." The instances I have sighted above I fear speak
louder than words. We are members of the administration, and we must find a
way of getting along and working for the same goals. Blind Ohioans deserve
no less. I suggest that we pursue this discussion off list in the hope that
we can agree to work together. We have a lot of years of doing so. Surely we
can find some trust and common ground.

Eric