[Ohio-Talk] Resignation Announcement
Eric Duffy
peduffy63 at gmail.com
Thu Feb 16 01:58:17 UTC 2023
Todd,
I am sorry things have gotten to this point. Clearly President Payne is not. When I told him I would not attend the January Board of Directors meeting unless some of the issues from the convention were properly dealt with, he replied that he is president and could accept my resignation. Well he still hasn’t gotten that from me. Suzanne made it clear during the elections that if you and I did not want to serve in her Administration we could be easily replaced. The individual she nominated for treasurer declined the nomination almost as quickly as she made it.
I am concerned that this is now where our Board of Directors is for a number of reasons. One of those concerns is that there has now been discussions about attorneys which implies possible legal action. Board members can be sued both in their capacity as an official of the organization and their personal capacity. Defending oneself is quite expensive. It is something I want no part of, therefore, I will consider my continued service to the organization over the next few days and or weeks.
With much sorrow.
Eric
On Feb 15, 2023, at 8:23 PM, Todd Elzey via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Fellow Ohio Federationists. This is likely the most difficult email I have
> ever written in my entire life. But unfortunately, it is one that has to be
> written.
>
> As many of you will recall, we had an extremely divisive election process
> at the 2022 State Convention. During that process, there were allegations
> that the election process and those who opposed Suzanne Turner were racist.
> I was saddened and very frustrated at how the convention election process
> played out. While I did oppose Suzanne for President. My opposition to her
> candidacy had absolutely nothing to do with racism. Rather it was based on
> what I believe to be leadership competence issues. Had members shouted at
> the top of their lungs that I was wrong on competence issues, I would have
> been fine with that as that's fair and a part of a healthy election
> process. But I did not feel it was fair to characterize opposition to
> Suzanne's candidacy as racist.
>
> What many of you may not know is that those allegations spilled over into
> an impromptu separate post-convention meeting held immediately following
> the convention session in the hotel ballroom. I witnessed portions of that
> meeting as I was packing up the Assistive Listening Device we used at
> Convention. I did not engage in that discussion. Instead, I got our
> equipment together and left as quickly as I could.
>
> Since that day, I have been working behind the scenes to try and resolve
> these issues for the affiliate. I have been working on the issues because I
> care deeply for this organization and our goals. I wasn't only concerned
> that some of us had been falsely accused of racism. But I was also
> concerned that the individuals who made those accusations felt that there
> is racism in this organization. If there is true racism in our organization
> that needs to be dealt with also.
>
> My efforts have included attempted direct communications with President
> Payne, contacting the National Office for assistance, and even an attempted
> mediation process with two members of our National Board.
>
> But these efforts have not gone well at all. The first impact of the
> Convention came with the fairly quick resignation of Barbara Pierce from
> the Board of Directors and from her other Affiliate leadership roles. Our
> affiliate lost a lot of leadership knowledge when she felt she had to walk
> away from her leadership positions. To top it off, President Payne did not
> officially inform the Board or the membership of this resignation until the
> January 21, 2023, Board of Directors meeting. I find it equally troubling
> that President Payne has never acknowledged Barabara's many years of
> service to our organization.
>
> Despite being concerned about how President Payne had handled this
> situation, I kept moving forward. However, I made it clear to President
> Payne that I did not feel safe attending large-scale NFB of Ohio meetings
> because of the possibility of once again being falsely accused of racism,
>
> Despite all of the efforts at communications and the concerns I raised
> about the racism issue and the concerns raised about not feeling safe at
> large NFB of Ohio functions, President Payne does not appear to have taken
> any action to address the situation. President Payne continually refused to
> engage in any substantive conversations on the issues.
>
> President Payne even elected to ignore concerns that were raised about the
> NFB of Ohio having an adult entertainment gift bag that contained sex toys
> and adult-rated video content in it, at our 2022 State Convention.
>
> As things progressed, rather than improving, my relationship with President
> Payne continued deteriorating. Simultaneously, my concern for the stability
> of the Board and the Affiliate increased because of the lack of resolution
> on the racism issues.
>
> Despite never expressing any concerns prior to the 2022 State Convention,
> President Payne even began expressing concerns about my performance as
> Treasurer of the NFB of Ohio.
>
> So, I struggled with the decision of whether to attend the Washington
> Seminar because I would be working directly with President Payne and others
> involved in the situation, without any resolutions to the issues or
> safeguards in place. But because I am committed to the passage of our
> legislative priorities I put my personal comfort aside for the benefit of
> the organization and attended.
>
> As it turned out, I thought this proved to be a superb decision. On Monday
> of Seminar week, NFB of Ohio Secretary Eric Duffy, myself, and President
> Payne had an impromptu meeting where we finally held the first substantive
> discussions on the issues I and others are concerned about. In fact, one of
> the things that came out of that meeting was that rather than emailing
> concerns, we would once again begin picking up the phone and calling one
> another with concerns. It was hoped that this change in communication
> approach would help avoid misunderstandings in the future. So I left
> Washington Seminar hopeful that we were finally moving forward towards
> resolving some of our issues.
>
> Unfortunately, that did not last long. This past Monday, President Payne
> resumed questioning whether I was doing my treasurer's job correctly. He
> asked two questions. One was regarding a pending voucher and another was
> regarding the status of the financial report. The question regarding the
> report was the pointed question that led to our current dispute.
>
> Although we agreed that concerns such as the financial report issue were
> going to be raised via telephone, had president Payne simply asked me these
> questions via email, I would have simply replied back with the information
> he was requesting. But President Payne took the unprecedented step of
> including the entire NFB of Ohio Board of Directors in his email. So not
> only did he not abide by his agreement to raise concerns via phone, he
> escalated matters by voicing his concerns regarding my performance to the
> entire Board of Directors.
>
> At this point, I assumed that our agreement to work on things was off. I
> also informed the National Board Members that were assisting us that I
> didn't think mediation was going to work. I decided that mediation probably
> wasn't going to work because it does not appear that President Payne is
> willing to abide by his agreements.
>
> This left me feeling that President Payne had essentially tried to throw me
> under the bus with the Board. So, since President Payne had raised my
> performance issues via an email copied to the entire Board, I elected to
> continue the discussion regarding this issue and regarding the other issues
> we faced with the entire Board. Things have deteriorated since. At one
> point President Payne even stated in a communication that he had been
> advised by legal counsel not to answer questions from me.
>
> At this point, I have been accused by President Payne and apparently at
> least one National Board Member of engaging in unprofessional
> communications. This most recent issue came to a head this morning when
> President Payne elected to start excluding me from at least some Board
> communications. I'm going to let you the members decide if I've engaged in
> unprofessional communications this week. I am including the entire week's
> communications stream in this email below my signature. The communications
> are in reverse chronological order. Some of the formatting is a little off
> because of how the stream is put together via replies and forwards.
>
> Among other issues, at one point this email stream lays out the reasons I
> opposed Suzanne for President. I provided this information to the Board to
> explain why my opposition had nothing to do with racism.
>
> Anyway, with all this being said, it has become clear that the environment
> on the NFB of Ohio Board is so toxic that I can no longer effectively work
> and serve as Treasurer of this Affiliate. When I was elected for a second
> term in November I thought I would be serving the full term and even
> thought I would be serving the NFB of Ohio for many years to come. But
> regardless of whether you think I am right or wrong on the substantive
> issues, after reading this email and the week's emails provided below, I
> doubt anyone in the Affiliate will believe that it would now be productive
> for me to continue in the role. Certainly, it appears that President Payne
> has lost confidence in me and no longer believes that he can work with me.
>
> It has been an honor to serve you as your elected Treasurer. I wish I could
> continue in the role and feel that I am being forced out because of the
> toxic environment we now find ourselves. But I am writing this email to
> announce to the membership that I will be resigning my position as
> Treasurer effective February 28, 2023. I have selected the 28th as my final
> date in the position to allow time to finish up the 2022 annual financial
> report for our non-profit filing, to complete all remaining financial
> transactions that are in progress, and to allow for transitioning our
> accounts to the Treasurer that President Payne ultimately appoints.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Todd Elzey, Treasurer
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
>
> *From:* Richard Payne <rchpay7 at gmail.com>
> *Date:* February 15, 2023 at 1:42:50 PM EST
> *To:* Dr.Carolyn.Peters at gmail.com, TurnerW794 at gmail.com, Kinshuk Tella <
> kinshuk.tella at gmail.com>, Shawn Martin <smartin494 at roadrunner.com>,
> marianne at denningweb.com, Christopher Sabine <info at onhconsulting.com>,
> smturner.234 at gmail.com, President Capital chapter <
> president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* Dr.Carolyn.Peters at gmail.com, Eric Duffy <peduffy63 at gmail.com>,
> TurnerW794 at gmail.com, Kinshuk Tella <kinshuk.tella at gmail.com>, Shawn Martin
> <smartin494 at roadrunner.com>, marianne at denningweb.com, Christopher Sabine <
> info at onhconsulting.com>, smturner.234 at gmail.com, President Capital chapter <
> president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
> *Subject:* *RE: Report and web invoice.*
> *Reply-To:* rchpay7 at gmail.com
>
> Members of the board:
>
> I think my work has demonstrated that I have been very approachable. I have
> never recommended that any member not take action that is necessary. I have
> been dealing with issues from November 6 until now. Just because I do not
> wish to allow myself to go back and forth by emails that are meant to
> inflame me, and the membership does not mean that the issues have not been
> addressed in a number of ways. I would remind you that this string of emails
> which I will not continue started after I asked two questions. I could also
> point fingers or make claims that would bring a different light to this
> issue, but it would not be helpful.
> Norma and Shaun who sit on the national board was appointed to mediate after
> a series of emails flooded the national office from a couple people that
> process also is a way of dealing with the concerns. If I had done anything
> wrong the national would have already delt with the issue. I did not include
> Todd in this message and intend to keep working for you.
>
>
> Richard Payne, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
> 937/829/3368
> Rchpay7 at gmail.com
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
> blindness is not what holds you back.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: treasurer at nfbohio.org <treasurer at nfbohio.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 11:14 AM
> To: rchpay7 at gmail.com
> Cc: Dr.Carolyn.Peters at gmail.com; 'Eric Duffy' <peduffy63 at gmail.com>;
> TurnerW794 at gmail.com; 'Kinshuk Tella' <kinshuk.tella at gmail.com>; 'Shawn
> Martin' <smartin494 at roadrunner.com>; marianne at denningweb.com; 'Christopher
> Sabine' <info at onhconsulting.com>; smturner.234 at gmail.com; 'President Capital
> chapter' <president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Report and web invoice.
>
> Richard and fellow Board Members:
>
> Based on Richard's response that he has been advised by an attorney not to
> answer questions from me, it would appear that our relationship among this
> Board has deteriorated to the point where our elected President feels it
> necessary to consult an attorney about our internal communications. After
> reading this last night, I was briefly considering whether I should also
> retain counsel for advice. But late last night, Richard in an email thread
> on a separate PayPal treasury issue provided more information on the
> attorney issue. He did not share this new information with the Board. His
> message reads:
>
> "I decided to respond again to this Todd I did not say I got a lawyer just
> to deal with you but I was advised to not to answer questions from a person
> who has said he had a law degree. The only thing that has escalated is that
> you have decided to now calling out members of the board. I am not going to
> answer your demands and think you are out of line."
>
> First I am struck by the fact that Richard tried to make his first message
> sound as if he had retained Counsel regarding our communications. Now he
> appears to be saying that he really just talked to "...a person who has said
> he had a law degree." So, apparently Richard is consulting a potential
> non-attorney (i.e. a law degree does not equate to having a license to
> practice law) about internal Board communications. I'm left to believe that,
> like his previous email comments that "I am the president and can accept
> your resignation and appoint member to the board" (January 2, 2023 email),
> Richard's most recent statement that "My lawyer told me to not answer any
> questions from you." (2-15-23 email) was another attempt at intimidating a
> member of this Board not to speak out about issues of concern.
>
> I am also struck by the fact that once again Richard is refusing to address
> the serious concerns regarding individuals falsely accusing others of being
> racists. Instead, Richard has taken the approach that I am "out of line" for
> raising the issues and asking for clarification from members of this Board
> who were involved in the incidents of concern. So apparently, Richard would
> prefer that I, along with others who share my concerns, shut up and move to
> the back of the room so that the concerns can be swept under the rug. I
> believe Richard's failure to properly address the complaints and attempted
> intimidation is out of line and a violation of his fiduciary duty and duty
> under the NFB Code of Conduct.
>
> Clearly Richard is not willing to answer questions about this issue or take
> any responsibility for communicating to resolve the issue. I as a single
> member of the Board cannot force him to answer questions. However as
> President Richard is subject to the will of this Board and this Board can
> indeed ask him to answer the questions I have posed.
>
> I hope the other Board members who I asked questions of will not elect to
> follow in Richard's steps on this issue as we can begin to heal from these
> divisions if we talk about the issues of concerns on both sides.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Todd Elzey, Treasurer
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
>
>
> On 2023-02-15 02:16, Richard Payne wrote:
>
> First and last good to know how you feel. My lawyer told me to not
>
> answer any questions from you.
>
>
>
> Richard Payne, President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 937/829/3368
>
> Rchpay7 at gmail.com
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
>
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
>
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
>
> obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
>
> you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: treasurer at nfbohio.org <treasurer at nfbohio.org>
>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2023 7:14 PM
>
> To: rchpay7 at gmail.com
>
> Cc: Dr.Carolyn.Peters at gmail.com; 'Eric Duffy' <peduffy63 at gmail.com>;
>
> TurnerW794 at gmail.com; 'Kinshuk Tella' <kinshuk.tella at gmail.com>;
>
> 'Shawn Martin' <smartin494 at roadrunner.com>; marianne at denningweb.com;
>
> 'Christopher Sabine' <info at onhconsulting.com>; smturner.234 at gmail.com;
>
> 'President Capital chapter' <president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
>
> Subject: Re: Report and web invoice.
>
>
> Richard:
>
>
> I am, to put it mildly astonished, shocked, and mystified by your
>
> response.
>
> So, since you seem to be at a point of denying any knowledge of
>
> anything that has transpired over the past several months I am going
>
> to put everything out on the table for the Board's consideration.
>
>
> Before I begin that process, my communication today was not public. It
>
> was within the private confines of the Board of Directors, who you
>
> initially included in the email regarding the voucher and financial
>
> report, despite your assurances during our Washington Seminar meeting
>
> that telephone calls were better for answering questions than are
>
> emails. Following that meeting, I thought we had an understanding that
>
> if you had questions you would pick up the phone and call rather than
>
> email. Not only did you not abide by that agreement, you even decided
>
> to include the entire board in the discussion.
>
> So that's why I responded to the entire board, and that's why I am
>
> including them now.
>
>
> I take it from your response "I have no firsthand knowledge of the
>
> claims that you make other than you are saying..." that you are saying
>
> that you have no first-hand knowledge of Carolyn making statements
>
> during the convention that the election process was racist. Did you
>
> not hear Carolyn make those statements? Did you not get the
>
> implication that she was saying that those of us who opposed Suzanne
>
> were racist? The statements were made in the open meeting and were
>
> amplified by Microphone. Since you seem to want to deny that this
>
> occurred, let's get it clarified right now. Carolyn, did you make
>
> those statements? If so, I invite you to tell the Board why you made
>
> those statements.
>
>
> Next, as you will recall from my previous emails regarding this issue
>
> and your conversations with President Riccobono regarding those emails
>
> and from conversations I understand that you have had with Norma
>
> Crosby and Shawn Callaway from the National Board who have been trying
>
> to mediate Ohio's issues, I have also raised concerns that Suzanne and
>
> Carolyn held a public meeting in the ballroom following the convention
>
> during which, while using a microphone that could be overheard in the
>
> hallway, they once again complained that the election process was
>
> racist, thus once again in a public setting before many NFB members
>
> implied that those who opposed Suzanne were racist. I raised these
>
> concerns because I was present in that room for part of the meeting as
>
> I packed up the Assistive Listening Device Sound System. I was also
>
> warned about what was going on by individuals standing in the hall
>
> before I reentered the room. I grant that since you were not at this
>
> meeting you might not have personal knowledge of the content of this
>
> meeting, but under the code of conduct, once you receive a complaint
>
> of inappropriate conduct, you are obligated to investigate it and to
>
> my knowledge, you have failed to meet that obligation. Since you still
>
> seem to refuse to address this issue, let's see if we can't get
>
> clarification on it right now.
>
> Carolyn, did you participate in the meeting in the ballroom after the
>
> convention? Carolyn did you also reiterate your assertions from the
>
> election section that the election process was racist? Suzanne, did
>
> you participate in the meeting in the ballroom following the close of
>
> the general session? Did you hear Carolyn say that the election
>
> process was racist? Did you support Carolyn's statement that the
>
> process was racist?
>
> Did you do anything to quell Craolyn's statements that the election,
>
> and by extension those who opposed you were racist?
>
>
> Richard, do you deny that we discussed the fact that you would not
>
> allow me to speak during the election process to address the
>
> accusations of racism and the claims by one individual that the
>
> concerns raised about Suzanne's candidacy were ignorant? I believe
>
> that we initially discussed that issue via telephone the week
>
> following the convention. Do you deny that I was the only person you
>
> cut off from speaking the entire conversation? Do you deny that you
>
> told me that you cut me off because you thought the National Rep could
>
> take over our convention if we did not close down the conversation on
>
> the election issue as she had suggested?
>
>
> Richard, you have asked how I can justify not attending the Board
>
> meeting that I was elected to attend. First, I justify it because I
>
> did not feel safe attending the meeting because I felt as if I could
>
> once again be falsely accused of being racist because I took a
>
> position on an issue.
>
> Do
>
> you believe any member should be asked to put themselves in a position
>
> where they did not feel safe, particularly when the elected president
>
> has failed to address the issue? Do you deny that I made this concern
>
> clear to you and the Board in a string of email communications
>
> regarding the Board meeting in early January 2023? Do you deny that
>
> you failed to have any substantive plan to address the false
>
> accusations of racism prior to that Board meeting?
>
>
> You are also apparently denying personal knowledge that I requested
>
> that the adult gift bag auction item be placed on the Board meeting
>
> agenda.
>
> So again, let's try to clarify. Do you deny that on 1/2/2022 I sent
>
> you an email about the Board meeting, which the Board was copied on,
>
> wherein I specifically mentioned that I would like an item on the
>
> agenda to discuss the adult gift bag issue? In addition, do you deny
>
> that in our telephone conversation following the convention that I
>
> discussed this with you, including my telling you that I observed the
>
> winner of this adult entertainment bag which had sex toys and adult
>
> videos in it, allowing a minor child to look through the bag? Did you
>
> ever investigate this issue? Do you deny that you heard about the
>
> adult bag being auctioned at the convention? Do you deny that you
>
> announced that the adult entertainment bag was up for auction at the
>
> convention? Do you deny that the adult entertainment bag issue was
>
> brought to your and Suzanne Turner's attention by the auction
>
> committee chairman prior to the convention and that you walked away
>
> during that discussion leaving it to Suzanne to decide whether the
>
> content of the bag was appropriate?
>
> Suzanne, do you deny that you approved this content to be in the
>
> auction?
>
>
> Since we are here, I want to address a couple of other key issues.
>
> First, I did not nor do I believe that either Eric Duffy or Barbara
>
> Pierce, opposed Suzanne based on any racial issue. I, and I believe
>
> Eric and Barabara, opposed Suzanne because, while Suzanne is an
>
> absolutely fantastic membership person, she would not have made a good
>
> President at all. It had everything to do with what we perceived as
>
> her lack of competence to be an affiliate President and nothing else.
>
> If folks want to scream at me that I am wrong on the competence issue,
>
> that would be entirely fair. What was not fair was to lump us in with
>
> racists. What continues to be unfair is for us to be asked to ignore
>
> the fact that we were called racists. It was recently suggested to me
>
> as part of the mediation process with Norma Crosby and Shawn Callway
>
> that we should basically accept the racist accusations and discussion
>
> during and after the convention as the group's efforts to begin to
>
> heal from our opposition to Suzanne's candidacy. In my view that is a
>
> hell of a double standard.
>
>
> In the spring we ejected a member from the NFB of Ohio for use of
>
> racist language and lying about it. Carolyn, Suzanne, and Richard, I
>
> ask you know, would it have been considered part of the healing
>
> process if we had called you racist names during or after the
>
> convention had Suzanne stood and won the election? I doubt it and I
>
> hope not.
>
> In fact, I believe the action would have been swift. We would have
>
> been cut off at the knees on the convention floor now being allowed to
>
> speak, much like I wasn't allowed to address the convention during the
>
> election.
>
> Then
>
> afterward we would have been disciplined by the board if not had our
>
> membership revoked, as was the case in the Spring. And again, those
>
> actions would have been appropriate as racism has no place in this
>
> organization. But just like racism has no place, falsely accusing
>
> people of racism, or even falsely stating that a process was racist,
>
> also has no place in this organization. Yet, we seem to be applying a
>
> double standard where not only has there been no action taken on the
>
> issue, our President Richard Payne seems to be ready and willing to
>
> deny there is even a problem. Richard, do you deny this also?
>
>
> Since I feel that I have been accused of racist conduct for opposing
>
> Suzanne's candidacy and that I am now saying those accusations are
>
> false, I feel that I am now obligated to explain precisely why I
>
> opposed Suzanne's candidacy. I would note for the Board that these
>
> issues for opposing Suzanne's Candidacy were laid out to Richard in an
>
> email dated 12/7/22.
>
>
> 1. Suzanne has no skills in interacting with State government agencies.
>
> She wrote a proposal for a transition plan that did not meet even the
>
> minimal requirements of a State contract proposal. As I understand it,
>
> OOD could not even tell what we were requesting. I have personally
>
> read that proposal as I was on the Committee and the proposal made no
>
> sense whatsoever. In fact, it did not provide any data to support the
>
> program she was trying to fund, nor did it provide any financial
>
> estimates of the cost of the program. Suzanne could have sought
>
> assistance in preparing this proposal, but instead, she went ahead and
>
> sent the proposal to Kevin Miller directly. When I told her in the
>
> Committee meeting that the document she presented didn't meet even the
>
> minimum requirements of a proposal to a State agency, her response was
>
> that it would be okay because it was just a working document that the
>
> Cleveland Chapter had created to run their transition program. She
>
> clearly did not understand the importance of making a good impression
>
> on State leaders when you are asking for money to administer a
>
> program. Unedited working documents should never be sent to a State
>
> agency director or anyone else for that matter.
>
>
> 2. Suzanne does not understand the importance of protecting this
>
> organization legally. First, there was the whole Stringer Board
>
> meeting situation. She seemed far more concerned about protecting Mr.
>
> Stringer than the harm he might cause the organization as evidenced by
>
> her being appalled by the fact that we would even consider suspending
>
> Mr.
>
> Stringer. It is also clear to me that she lacks an understanding of
>
> the relationship between the State and National organizations as
>
> evidenced by her concerns that the National would review our decision
>
> in the Stringer case, which she was still raising publicly as late as
>
> the State Convention through her questioning of Carla McQuillan. If
>
> she was still concerned about those issues, as a leader, she should
>
> have raised them with Ms.
>
> McQuillan or
>
> even President Riccobono privately.
>
>
> In addition, Suzanne showed a serious lack of judgment in regard to
>
> the Convention. First, was her plan to use youth as guides for members.
>
> That
>
> could have put us in serious legal jeopardy had a youth made even a
>
> hint of inappropriate conduct. Second, as the Convention Planning
>
> Chair, she failed to anticipate the needs of other disabled speakers
>
> on the agenda.
>
> It was embarrassing that Brett Harbage could not access our stage
>
> because he used a wheelchair and it was further embarrassing that she
>
> didn't know that he used a wheelchair. He could have filed an ADA
>
> Complaint against this organization for us not having an accessible
>
> stage or for our failure to have a Reasonable Accommodation procedure
>
> for speakers to request accommodations in advance.
>
>
> 3. Under Suzanne's convention leadership, we also allowed stacks and
>
> stacks of accessible COVID test kits, which I understand are valued at
>
> over
>
> $400
>
> each, to sit out on and underneath a table in the hallway unsecured
>
> overnight, which could have been stolen. I would also note that the
>
> availability of these kits wasn't ever announced at the Convention. I
>
> can't imagine that whoever donated these to us would have been pleased
>
> with either circumstance. In addition, the paper mache red carpet from
>
> the Red Carpet Event was also left out overnight without being
>
> entirely tacked down.
>
> This
>
> was a tripping hazard that we could have been held liable for had
>
> someone tripped and hurt themselves overnight because we failed to
>
> take it up.
>
>
> 4. There was also the gift bag situation for the auction. As we have
>
> discussed, we had a Hustler gift bag at the Convention. This bag
>
> actually had pornography/adult entertainment material in it. It is my
>
> understanding that Suzanne was the leader who made the decision that
>
> this was okay to have in the auction. While I personally have no
>
> problem with adult entertainment material, it's inappropriate for a
>
> family-oriented event such as ours.
>
> I
>
> would note that National doesn't even permit alcohol as part of door
>
> prizes.
>
> Suzanne showed a serious lack of judgment in allowing this item to be
>
> in the Convention auction.
>
> And it could subject us to legal consequences as I personally
>
> witnessed the adult who won the bag in the auction showing a minor
>
> what was in the bag.
>
>
> 5. Suzanne does not have the temperament to be an affiliate leader.
>
> Suzanne has shown on numerous occasions that her temper can get the
>
> better of her. We saw it at the Stringer Board meeting, we saw it at
>
> the Resolutions Committee meeting regarding the Resolution she
>
> proposed, and we also saw it during the elections when she let her
>
> temper take over and withdrew from the elections despite having the
>
> votes to win.
>
>
> 6. Suzanne does not seem to be willing to take on the full
>
> responsibilities of leadership. During the 2022 State Convention, she
>
> arranged to have a television station cover the event, which was
>
> awesome. But when the reporter asked to interview her because he
>
> wanted the local Cleveland angle, she refused saying she didn't feel
>
> she should have to do interviews. That is not the behavior of a leader
>
> in the organization. A leader steps up and does what is necessary to
>
> represent the organization to the public.
>
>
> 7. Finally, I want to address the Resolution Suzanne sent, because it
>
> was one of the things that tipped me over in my decision that I could
>
> not support Suzanne. The Resolution she submitted was so poorly
>
> written that it was a joke. She would have looked horrible if the
>
> Committee had put it out unedited. She didn't even take the time to go
>
> back and look at previous resolutions to get the formatting even
>
> remotely close.
>
> Instead of having the Now Therefore Be It Resolved clause coming from
>
> the organization, she basically wrote it as I Suzanne Turner call upon
>
> the Governor, etc. Now I don't expect people submitting resolutions
>
> to have them perfectly written. Not everybody, not even every leader,
>
> is a writer and there is nothing wrong at all with expecting help from
>
> the Committee in crafting Resolutions. In fact, that is part of the
>
> Committee's job. But I would expect a leader, particularly someone who
>
> wants to be President of the Affiliate, to know enough about the
>
> organization's history and how the organization works to understand
>
> the basic formatting of a Resolution.
>
> I was
>
> also gravely concerned about how Suzanne handled the Resolution at the
>
> Convention. First, she walked out of the room when Ohio's ADA
>
> Coordinator, Mr. Clinkscale spoke. Suzanne has said she had to leave
>
> to deal with the hospitality suite. This was a perplexing leadership
>
> decision. It was an inappropriate decision for a leader who was
>
> sitting at the head table to leave the room when a top State official
>
> was speaking, particularly when he was speaking directly about an
>
> issue she had written a Resolution on.
>
> It is
>
> particularly perplexing given that the issue she was leaving for could
>
> have been assigned to someone else. So this resulted in Suzanne coming
>
> into the Resolutions committee meeting unprepared by not having
>
> available the most recent information. Then when the new information
>
> was laid out, Suzanne continued to raise and re-raise the personal
>
> issues in the matter rather than addressing the subject matter of the
>
> Resolution or how the newly obtained information impacted it.
>
>
> All of these issues occurred leading up to my decision to oppose
>
> Suzanne at the Convention. I have not been reassured since then that
>
> she has learned anything from her experiences. Shortly after the
>
> convention, November 28, 2022, Suzanne submitted written testimony in
>
> support of SB 202, our parental rights legislation, that was so poorly
>
> written that she actually began a paragraph with a comma. This
>
> document will live on forever as a public record and a representation
>
> of the lack of professionalism of the NFB of Ohio.
>
>
> If anyone still believes that my opposition to Suzanne as a candidate
>
> for president was racially motivated, I invite you to explain why.
>
>
> I also want to address an outlier issue with the problems this
>
> Affiliate now faces. As I believe everyone knows now Barbara Pierce
>
> resigned from the NFB of Ohio Board of Directors shortly after the
>
> convention. In fact, I understand she felt compelled to resign from
>
> all of her Ohio leadership roles. Although Barbara is entirely capable
>
> of speaking for herself, as I understand it that resignation was
>
> tendered in large part, if not exclusively, because of the Convention.
>
> With absolutely no disrespect intended for the individual who has been
>
> appointed to replace Barbara, the loss of Barbara's experience to this
>
> Board and affiliate is astronomical. I have been personally appalled
>
> with how the resignation was handled and with the lack of respect
>
> Richard has given to her for many years of selfless service to this
>
> organization. As far as I can tell, Richard made no effort to heal the
>
> divisive issues that lead to Barbara's resignation.
>
> Instead,
>
> although I believe it shows poor judgment, Richard elected to exercise
>
> his right to accept her resignation without making any effort to heal
>
> the divisive issues that lead to the resignation. Some sort of
>
> leadership effort to heal these divisive issues might have kept
>
> Barbara and her vast knowledge and experience on the Board. But to top
>
> it off, Richard even failed to inform the Board of this resignation
>
> when it occurred. He has also failed to acknowledge in any public way
>
> Brbara's many years of service and contributions to this organization.
>
> It is particularly troubling that this has occurred because of false
>
> accusations of racism. Richard, do you also deny that you did not try
>
> to work towards keeping Barbara on the Board?
>
> Do
>
> you deny that you did not inform the Board of Barbara's resignation
>
> when it occurred? And finally, do you deny that you have failed to
>
> acknowledge publicly Barbara's many years of service and contributions
>
> to the NFB of Ohio as would be befitting of someone of her stature in
>
> the organization?
>
>
> Finally, while I have tried to stay away from discussing these issues
>
> outside of the Board, I have been asked about what is going on with
>
> the Board. Some members and other leaders expressed concerns after the
>
> convention. Some went as far as to say that they would never attend an
>
> NFB of Ohio Convention again because of how it was handled. Others
>
> raised questions about what was going on when Eric Duffy and I were
>
> not at the Board meeting in January. What I am saying is that the
>
> issues are out in the membership. We cannot continue to sweep this
>
> problem under the rug as if it does not exist.
>
>
> For those of you who have been asked for a response, I look forward to
>
> receiving them sent to the entire Board. For everyone else, I am happy
>
> to answer any questions anyone may have regarding the concerns I have
>
> raised, and I look forward to us finally moving forward to addressing
>
> our serious leadership divide in Ohio.
>
>
> Todd Elzey, Treasurer
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2023-02-14 18:29, Richard Payne wrote:
>
> Dear Todd:
>
>
> I have no firsthand knowledge of the claims that you make other than
>
> you are saying that but even with that I have no reason to publicly
>
> bring it up. My reason for writing the email to the board was to
>
> answer the question about the report which we should be able to get
>
> even if you do not attend the meeting. How you can justify that you
>
> are able to not attend the board meeting which you are elected to
>
> take part in is another subject for another day.
>
> I am not writing to argue with you just to get it noted that this
>
> information is being requested.
>
>
>
>
> Richard Payne, President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
> 937/829/3368
>
> Rchpay7 at gmail.com
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
>
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
>
> the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
>
> obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
>
> you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: treasurer at nfbohio.org <treasurer at nfbohio.org>
>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2023 12:52 PM
>
> To: rchpay7 at gmail.com
>
> Cc: Dr.Carolyn.Peters at gmail.com; 'Eric Duffy' <peduffy63 at gmail.com>;
>
> TurnerW794 at gmail.com; 'Kinshuk Tella' <kinshuk.tella at gmail.com>;
>
> 'Shawn Martin' <smartin494 at roadrunner.com>; marianne at denningweb.com;
>
> 'Christopher Sabine' <info at onhconsulting.com>;
>
> smturner.234 at gmail.com; 'President Capital chapter'
>
> <president.capital.nfboh at gmail.com>
>
> Subject: Re: Report and web invoice.
>
>
> Mr. President:
>
>
> Thank you for your message and for sharing this line of communication
>
> with the Board. First, in regards to Invoice 5775 regarding the
>
> Website.
>
> This invoice was received 2-3-2023 just after the Washington Seminar.
>
> As you
>
> know we are all volunteers. I have had several things going on.
>
> Including the fact that I have decided to leave my employment with
>
> the National Staff effective February 24, 2023. Despite that, I am
>
> still working full-time until the 24th. At any rate, this invoice is
>
> only 10 days old.
>
> Many organizations can take up to 30 days to pay invoices/vouchers,
>
> and I think we have consistently beat that time frame while I have
>
> served as treasurer. I have consistently paid vouchers timely despite
>
> the fact that your vouchers regularly arrive with missing information
>
> that you have to subsequently provide.
>
>
> As for the Treasurers report, it is in process and I will get it out.
>
> As you
>
> know I did not attend the January Board meeting because I did not
>
> feel safe to do so because of basically being called a racist by our
>
> Vice President Carolyn Peters and Board Member Suzanne Turner during
>
> the
>
> 2022 State Convention in regards to the election process. This is an
>
> issue you have as our President not addressed publicly, despite our
>
> private communications on the topic. You also failed to put an item I
>
> requested on the Board meeting agenda to address the issue of having
>
> an adult entertainment gift bag in our NFB of Ohio Convention Auction.
>
>
> I made you are aware in early January that I would not attend the
>
> Board meeting until this organization addressed the issues of Racism
>
> for both those who were called racists, and for those who felt that
>
> there is racism in this organization. As we discussed at the
>
> Washington Seminar, I felt very disrespected by being called a racist
>
> because that puts me in the same category as the KKK and other racist
>
> organizations. I do not believe that being characterized as a racist
>
> for opposing a candidate for office was fair. I do not believe that I
>
> have ever taken any action to justify being characterized as such.
>
>
> All this is by way of saying, despite what I thought was a relatively
>
> productive conversation at the Washington Seminar, I am gathering
>
> from the fact that you have included the full board in your email
>
> regarding the voucher and report, that you are now questioning how I
>
> am performing my duties as Treasurer. If the board believes I am not
>
> performing my duties as required by our Constitution, the Board
>
> always has the option of removing me from the position.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Todd Elzey, Treasurer
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
>
> . On 2023-02-14 16:29, Richard Payne wrote:
>
> Dear Todd:
>
>
> I have been asked about a treasurer report and reached out to you
>
> about a report and still have not received one to share could you
>
> please provide one?
>
>
> I also am being asked about the payment for our web page invoice
>
> hopefully that has been paid thanks for your attention.
>
> Richard Payne, President
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
>
>
> 937/829/3368
>
>
> Rchpay7 at gmail.com
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
>
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
>
> the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
>
> obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
>
> you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-Talk mailing list
> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ohio-Talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/peduffy63%40gmail.com
More information about the Ohio-Talk
mailing list