permaculture

[LINDARAY@att.net]

-------------- Original message from Michael Pilarski 
<friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com>: -------------- 


> 
> * Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on 
> Sat, Jan 19, 08 at 18:39 
> 
> First, let me be very specific about my position. I am NOT a member of SSE 
> nor 
> have I ever been. I don't have a horse in this race so to speak. I am 
> however 
> concerned over the huge amount of negative publicity Kent Whealy's letter 
> has 
> generated. I have a few contacts here and there who know bits and pieces of 
> what 
> is going on. When those pieces are put together, a very ugly picture 
> emerges. I 
> will post what I found and you can do your own due diligence to determine 
> whether this is accurate or not. Please understand that I can't be 100% 
> sure of 
> this. 
> 
> About 3 years ago, Kent had an affair with a woman and it became public 
> knowledge. Diane divorced him over it. To the best of my knowledge, Diane 
> is 
> very much an innocent party in this, but she was the target of a lot of 
> Kent's 
> subsequent actions. 
> 
> After the divorce, Kent was still running SSE and he started running it 
> roughshod over the directors guidance. He deliberately pushed issues to 
> emphasize his control of the organization. The board called Kent on some of 
> his 
> more egregious misuses of authority. He agreed to back off on some of the 
> things. Then he went back to 'running the show' as he chose. Long story 
> short, 
> it came to a head 4 months ago. 
> 
> The board was in a position that they had to rein him in because some of 
> the 
> things he was doing were affecting employees and could have caused SSE to 
> lose 
> not for profit status. He made some veiled threats and they responded by 
> dismissing him. I would point out that a not for profit is a corporation. 
> (emphasize that some parts of this paragraph are questionable) The 
> directors are 
> responsible for the long term well being of the business. Kent was an 
> employee 
> of the corporation. Long and short of it, when the directory was published, 
> Kent 
> pulled the names and addresses and sent out his letter. 
> 
> He did raise some legitimate complaints. Those complaints need to be 
> addressed. 
> I don't have all the answers. What I have is gleaned from quite a bit of 
> digging 
> around. Just so we are clear, I don't think either side in this is 
> completely 
> right. Just don't get the idea that Kent is the only 'wronged' party. 
> 
> You have a very well known and publicly accepted leader of an organization 
> who 
> has just been dismissed for serious problems in the way he was doing 
> things. 
> What can he do about that? Well, in SSE, he can go to the members and have 
> them 
> elect HIS CHOSEN board of directors. So what does the current board of 
> directors 
> do? They change the rules of the game. They take away voting status of the 
> members and make the board of directors the final authority. That removes 
> the 
> possibility of a palace coup taking place. This leaves Kent Whealy with 
> only one 
> recourse. He appeals to the sse membership. Do you start to see the 
> maneuvering 
> that is taking place? He can sue for wrongful discharge. But in this case, 
> the 
> board has enough dirt on him to keep him fired. 
> 
> As stated, take this with a grain of salt. It may or may not be entirely 
> accurate. 
> 
> Fusion 
> 
> * Posted by bcday z5 NY (My Page) on 
> Sat, Jan 19, 08 at 23:45 
> 
> One of Kent's requests in his letter was that SSE's members demand that 
> SSE's 
> Board of Directors resign and the Board of Advisors replace them. But fully 
> half 
> of the Board of Advisors has now come out in support of the Board of 
> Directors. 
> This statement was just released: 
> 
> *************************************************** 
> Seed Savers Exchange Advisors Support Board Actions 
> 
> Seed Savers Exchange is a world class institution which has led the way for 
> planetary preservation of the genetic diversity of plants. Its growth has 
> been 
> directed by an overarching vision first formulated by its co-founders, Kent 
> Whealy and Diane Ott Whealy, and for more than twenty years refined and 
> realized 
> through the guidance and stewardship of a distinguished Board of Directors. 
> 
> Like any great institution, it is greater than the sum of its parts and any 
> one 
> individual. In recent years it has become increasingly clear that Kent 
> Whealy 
> has perceived the Exchange as his personal possession to be directed to 
> serve 
> his own interests. The Advisors have had their own issues with Kent. The 
> Board 
> has prudently determined that his thoughts and actions had become 
> antagonistic 
> to the vision and responsibilities of the Exchange. After a long period of 
> counseling Kent, and his failure to follow direction, the Board 
> circumspectly 
> with competent legal advice decided unanimously to terminate his employment 
> as 
> Executive Director. The duty of the Board to direct the affairs of the 
> Exchange 
> in a prudent manner required it to take this action. 
> 
> It is with great regret that we, the undersigned Advisors of Seed Savers 
> Exchange, have learned that Kent has begun a campaign to reverse this 
> course of 
> prudent action by the Board. He has sent to every Listed Member of the 
> Exchange 
> an intemperately worded letter full of misrepresentations of fact. He has 
> impugned the motivations of the Directors and has harmed the reputation of 
> each 
> of them. He has attempted to enlist the participation of each of us 
> Advisors in 
> his campaign of destruction and defamation in a personal attempt to take 
> control 
> of this institution. 
> 
> We Advisors refuse to allow him to do so, and we agree with and support the 
> prudent decisions of the Board of Directors of Seed Savers Exchange. We 
> commend 
> each Director for acting responsibly in the best interests of the Exchange 
> and 
> in the faithful implementation of its vision and mission. 
> 
> SIGNED BY THE FOLLOWING ADVISORS 
> 
> Suzanne Ashworth 
> Will Bonsall 
> Dan Bussey 
> Keith Crotz 
> Glenn Drowns 
> Craig LeHoullier 
> Laura Merrick 
> John Swenson 
> 
> [Pilarski’s comment. Having read SSE publications from 1975 till 2007 I can 
> vouch that this list of advisors includes people who have instrumental in 
> SSE 
> for many decades.] 
> 
> Hello permaculture friends and associates, 
> 
> I just got back from a 3-day trip and see from my email that there is a 
> huge 
> debate going on right now about the Seed Savers Exchange. 
> 
> So I just did some online research and above were the two best information 
> letters I have seen yet on the topic. 
> 
> After reading dozens of emails on the topic from many people involved here 
> is 
> my current personal opinion. People should not jump to conclusions without 
> having looking into this deeply. There seem to be lots of people girding 
> themselves for war on this issue and I don’t think this is good for SSE. 
> Let’s 
> take a few deep breaths. 
> 
> There is no doubt that Kent Whealy and Diane Whealy, his wife, did a 
> tremendous 
> job and service for humanity by starting SSE and guiding it into a great 
> network. Kent got most of the glory and publicity, but perhaps he did more 
> of 
> the actual thinking and work? It now appears that Kent may have gone off 
> the 
> deep end a bit over the past number of years and has not been performing to 
> his 
> old standards. Perhaps he did deserve to get fired. I don’t really know, 
> but 
> looking at some of the reports makes me think this is possible. I am 
> suspicious 
> of the accusations that a bunch of money-grubbing monsters have taken over 
> and 
> SSE is in danger and we should fight to get Kent back and fire the nasty 
> board 
> of directors that did this. There may be some truth on both sides. But 
> right 
> now, I think a lot of people are making premature conclusions without 
> enough 
> knowledge. 
> 
> Whatever the case may be with this incident, it shows very clearly that 
> everyone should be participating in saving our seed heritage and that there 
> should be many seed networks, global, national, regional and local. Don’t 
> put 
> too many eggs in one basket such as SSE. The world’s seed heritage is a 
> very 
> important bunch of eggs. 
> 
> I certainly hope that SSE will continue its great work. I have only met 
> Kent a 
> few times in person but our paths have crossed in many ways since he and 
> Diane 
> started SSE in 1975. I consider Kent Whealy a friend and wish him the best, 
> whatever the truth is in this matter. 
> 
> My two-cents worth 
> 
> Michael Pilarski, Friends of the Trees Society 
> 
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>From lflj@intrex.net  Tue Jan 22 08:52:56 2008
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From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>
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Subject: Re: [permaculture] Insights into the SSE debate
        by      knowledgeableinsiders.
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Kathleen O'Brien Blair wrote:

> There is really one big no-no when it comes to 501c3 - no excess
> enrichment to individuals inside or outside of the organization. Unless
> the "board"  pony up with documentation to prove their assertions, they
> need to go away. 

They're working the twit factor, allowing National Enquirer-style smut 
mongering to sway opinion
their way. That's easy to see. If those unfortunately suckered by this can't 
see the light,
it will only be their loss in being deprived of the opportunity to support 
Kent and his
guidance of SSE to ensure a stable future for that organization.
> 
> They assert that he was doing things seriously wrong - but don't offer
> proof. The very fact that they have changed the rules and
> disenfranchised all the members points to nefarious intent on the
> "board's" part - not Kent's. I've seen it before that a "board' will

Exactly right, good point.

> decide that it doesn't like someone but doesn't really have anything to
> get rid of them with, so they'll assert "good of the organization" as a
> catch all. It's not really for the good of the organization - it's for
> their own convenience. Or, they get rid of someone who is about to blow
> the whistle on them. I wonder if Kent was going to reveal things to the
> members the 'board' wants kept from them?

Right again. Good observation.

> Nah - this is smelling more and more to me like the women have ganged up
> on him to punish him, and the men have gone along.

Looks that way.

> This is petty tribal politics pure and simple. The "board" need to
> resign and Kent needs to come back. 

Absolutely and immediately.

> Honestly, if my husband cheated on me I'd be rageful, and hateful and
> vengeful and awful to the hilt. But I wouldn't take his soul's work away
> from him in revenge. 

That's the kind of woman a man needs. Good for you.

> <I might, however, shave off his mustache and beard on only one side of
> his face while he's asleep, and paint his toenails red. For starters.>

Let him eat take out fast food for two months, that would do it.