permaculture

[LINDARAY@att.net]

Hello Michael,

you wrote:

Quote:
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. 
Endquote.

I hope all those who are growing out seed for the SSE feel the same way you 
do about this statement..
What that means is, I hope those growers will place some of the fruits of 
their labors out with other seed banks.

I am waiting to see the signed and published letter which guarantees that the 
takeover team will refuse to sell out the SSE.
If their intentions were benign, IMO that would have been their first 
priority. Instead, they are stonewalling.

It is my hope that folks will participate in the Seedsaver List , forum and 
etc being revitalized by Larry L here. I certainly will.

Namaste,

Linda

PS: To all concerned- Please understand that I have absolutely no desire to 
promote contention here. I am simply stating what I strongly feel is the 
right thing to do. I hold nothing against anyone whose opinion differs, and I 
bless us all, folks who care. 
OTOH, it is always easier to do nothing. IMO, 'nothing' is the wrong thing to 
do.
-----------------------------------------------------
-------------- 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 scott@moosepondarts.com  Tue Jan 22 11:31:57 2008
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Subject: Re: [permaculture] We all should be Seed Savers
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Woody and All,

I've been reading all the posts regarding SSE with great interest and  
concern, but still don't feel like we have a full story to act/react  
regarding the situation so won't comment on it directly, especially  
since my company helped them with their catalog this year.

Regardless of the details and final outcome of this debacle, I was  
glad to see Woody's post below. After having been involved with the  
organic seed industry for 15+ years now, I feel strongly that we need  
to continue to build and support regional seed growing networks,  
while supporting as many small-scale professional seed growers as  
possible. This can be done by understanding where your seeds are  
coming from to whatever extent possible, and buying from companies  
that support sustainable farming.

So far, the organic seed industry is primarily suppled by family farm- 
scale growers who might grow 8-10 crops per year on a few acres with  
adequate populations to maintain vigorous varieties. Companies large  
and small buy from these growers and disseminate the seed widely.  
Many backyard gardeners and market growers continue to save OP seed  
and are organizing their own seed exchanges. This movement is growing  
in leaps and bounds. The recent news of SSE will only infuse it with  
new energy. Just as we need to know where our food comes from, we  
need to be asking the same questions about our seed. (Especially  
since Semenis, supplier of a large percentage of the vegetable seed  
in this country, is now owned by Monsanto)

SSE has empowered and trained countless gardeners and farmers to save  
seeds over it's 30+ year history. The potential "hijacking" of this  
organization, does not mean the demise of the seed saving movement.  
Seed swaps are popping up all over the country as folks realize the  
value or regionally adapted OPs. Furthermore, burgeoning  
organizations like the Organic Seed Alliance, and Southern Exposure  
Seed Exchange are training and organizing seed growers all over the  
country. These growers sell to multiple sources like Fedco, High  
Mowing, Wood Prairie Farm, Wild Garden Seed, not to mention Seeds of  
Change with whom I am affiliated and through which I've had the honor  
of knowing scores of dedicated seedspeople.

There is a lot of great seed being grown out there and thousands of  
solid OP varieties to choose from. I'm with Woody. It's up to  
everyone to do their part, whether with their purchasing power, or by  
getting involved in seed saving directly. It's our genetic heritage.  
To entrust any one entity to preserve it is folly.


Scott Vlaun
Moose Pond Arts+Ecology
Design Solutions for a Sustainable Future

450 Main St. Studio 2
Norway, Maine 04268
207-739-2409 Studio
207-890-4099 Cell
http://www.moosepondarts.com



On Jan 21, 2008, at 1:44 PM, Woody Wodraska wrote:

> Folk, the clear lesson is that we all should be saving seeds, all the
> time. Save them and grow them out again. Give them away. Sell them.
> Get them out there in the world. Organizations and businesses built
> around seeds are a phenomenon of the past couple of hundred years.
> Before that seeds were the concern of individual gardeners and
> families, and diversity was manifested naturally.
>
> We CANNOT depend on any organization, no matter how beautiful and
> benign its founding intentions, to do this for us. Organizations that
> reach a certain size and attract a certain amount of money begin to
> attract ugly energy.
>
> Woody Wodraska
> wodraska@mac.com
> Free chapters from
> "Deep Gardening: Soul Lessons from 17 Gardens" at
> http://www.soulmedicinejourney.com/Book.html
>
>
>
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