Dear Members of the Board;As was obvious at the last Board meeting, the "Eddie" issue is not going to go away. We have all read the letter Eddie received from Beth. The charges in it are so vague and ambiguous that they are useless to anyone who may want to fairly defend themselves or even discover what they have done wrong so they can apologize and stop those behaviors in the future. You have heard this repeatedly, from us as well as others - allowing one person the sole power to dismiss volunteers from the station, particularly for reasons as vague as the ones stated in Eddie's letter, is a dangerous concentration of power in one person. It is an egregious violation of the 'democracy' component of our Mission Statement. It sets a dangerous precedent, and as concerned members of this station, we cannot allow it to stand.
The 'Eddie' issue has polarized the volunteers and undermined the sense of community that KRFC is supposed to promote. In the interests of restoring some measure of trust and harmony at the station, we would like to request the Board's support in an independent review process. We feel that the process should include appointing an independent committee to review the evidence and render an independent decision. The committee should contain members and volunteers who can be unbiased in their assessment of the facts in the case.
This process can only be a win-win solution for everyone. The Board and GM can demonstrate leadership by their willingness to participate in an independent review. Everyone, including Eddie, will abide by the decision of the independent committee, and the whole matter can be laid to rest. Trust in the management of the station will be somewhat restored and we can all begin building bridges toward community together again.
We would appreciate your response to this suggestion as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Michael Parrott, Member listener
Dave Canter, Volunteer/Member
Meg Corwin, Member/Volunteer
Dean Arnold, Volunteer/Member/Programmer
Kristianne Gale, Member/Volunteer
Fernando Valerio-Holquin, Member/Volunteer
Chris Rozoff, Member listener
Javier Gonzalez, Member/Volunteer
Jennifer Balser, 'Streaming' Listener/Member/Volunteer
Kevin Foskin, Member listener
David Roy Former Volunteer/DJ
Rich Schafer, Member listener
Kathleen McCluskey, Community listener
Adam Brandon, Community listener
Carmen Reid, Member/Volunteer
Sandy Lemberg, Member listener
David Canter, Member/Volunteer
Jeff Rowan, Member listener
Jill Schaefer, Member listener
Dear Concerned Members and Volunteers,Thank you for your letter, received May 10, 2005, concerning a suggestion to create an independent committee to review Eddie Arthur's dismissal as a KRFC volunteer by our station manager. We understand your concern regarding the dismissal of a prominent volunteer, especially since confidentiality prevents the station manager and the board from releasing the details of Eddie Arthur's dismissal.
After some thoughtful discussion at our most recent Board of Directors' meeting we do not believe that the formation of a committee to review Eddie's dismissal is warranted. We do not believe that it would be in the best interests of KRFC as a whole.
However, the KRFC Board of Directors recognizes that policies concerning the privileges, responsibilities, and processes for dismissal of volunteers are important. The policy subcommittee is now taking steps to evaluate existing volunteer related polices and to discuss areas for clarification and expansion, especially as they relate to the dismissal of volunteers. We welcome your input.
If you would like to have input, please let me know by e-mail and we will contact you in the near future.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Lowry Vice President, KRFC Board of Directors