From sandylemberg at juno.com Tue Mar 14 12:48:17 MST 2006 I would like to suggest a joint meeting of the SPA Committee and the Board to explore the possibility of initiating a process to try to reach a consensus on a Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and a Statement of Core Values. I believe that the dissatisfaction with the Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Statement of Core Values proposed by the Board is results largely from two factors: 1. Lack of communication: 3 separate groups working in isolation from each other with very limited interaction. 2. Lack of time: the process was too rushed and it was difficult for the Board to carefully consider all the material which it was given to work with. Having attended several Board meetings which were part of the strategic planning process, I do not believe that the Board deliberately rejected input from the SPA and Public Committees. I believe that it is possible for the component groups involved with the process to work together to reach a consensus which will please everyone and which all can embrace without qualification. I therefore call on the Board to suspend the process of adoption of the Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Statement of Core Values and initiate a process, open to all interested parties, to craft a document with the aim of achieving a full consensus. By doing this, the petition drive will be rendered moot and hopefully, any controversy and ill feeling about the petition will be defused. This suggestion is made by me alone, solely on my own belalf, and does not represent or speak for any other person, although I believe that many others would agree with it. Sandy Lemberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: March 22nd Open Letter Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:43:43 -0700 From: Michael Losonsky To: board at krfcfm.org Dear Board of Directors: I just read your open letter and I don't know if you realize this, but the tone and content of your letter is completely inconsistent with the following claim made in this letter: > The open, consensus style of operation and commitment to democratic > principles, human dignity, exploration of new ideas, and diverse music > are not at risk. This letter's red-baiting > We do not believe that KRFC should be a radical, left-wing, political > radio station its hysteria: > Do not be fooled by the rhetoric of this group. > this same group of people has hi-jacked decisions its patronizing arrogance: > the culture we want to have at KRFC. > After years of attempting to . . . bring this group along, > We attempted to communicate with some of the organizers to quell this > behavior, are to my mind the signs of a closed, exclusionary, and authoritarian style of operation. The last line above is particularly revealing: you attempt to communicate "to quell ... behavior"! That's a very serious misunderstanding of what it is to communicate, let alone what are consensus, openness, diversity, democracy and communty. Michael Losonsky ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Response to your regstered letter From: "Paul Bame" Date: Mon, April 10, 2006 10:11 To: board at krfcfm.org Dear KRFC Board of Directors: On March 16 you voted to remove my membership. Based upon the minutes of your meeting, the board's subsequent open letter, and the registered letter I received, I conclude the board was operating contrary to the mission statement hence the decision is illegitimate. I signed an agreement to support the station mission so it is my duty to reject this decision. My membership continues in good standing. In honor of the tensions at the station, I am taking a break from my volunteer and programmer activities. -Paul Bame ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Larry McCulloch [mailto:larrymc at riverrock.org] Sent: Friday, April 21, 2006 2:34 PM To: board at krfcfm.org; gm at krfcfm.org; beth at krfcfm.org Cc: Larry McCulloch Subject: Open letter to the KRFC Board Letter to the Board of KRFC, I want to express to you my thanks for your hard work and dedication to home grown radio in Fort Collins. I am a multi-year member and contributor, but have not been a volunteer or participated in KRFC activities before. However, I was on your mailing list for input to the recent vision statement revision. I watched with interest and excitement and felt that the inputs I saw being made adequately covered my inputs, so I chose not to participate. However, I feel that there is a significant disconnect between the inputs and the resulting Board chosen outcome. Because of this I signed a petition to ensure another round of discussion, only to learn that discussion has been terminated and long serving and valued volunteers are being "terminated". I remain gravely concerned for the viability and longevity of KRFC and your ability to openly and appropriately serve Fort Collins. I have 30 years of leadership experience, much of it at executive levels, in addition to many years of service, including Board experience, within non-profit organizations. I would like to offer the following insights to the Board. My intent is to offer the benefit of my experience to you. First, your volunteers make ALL the difference in your long term viability. Recent actions not only have rejected long serving and dedicated volunteers in a spectacularly rude manner, but, even more importantly, will also stifle initiative and creativity among your remaining volunteers. I fear we will suffer long term deleterious effects due to the increased fear and uncertainty among all current and future volunteers. You are changing the culture of KRFC and I perceive the risks to be huge, and I am fearful your actions are damaging KRFC. Secondly, when a leadership team like the Board rejects input, severs communication links, and works to exclude dedicated and committed individuals, it is NEVER the fault of those offering the input, time and talent to you. The issue lies with the leaders, because you retain the power to set the policy, model standards and determine the level of openness for the organization. It is a failure to lead with confidence and maturity, listening always to feedback and moving the organization in a direction consistent with its mission and vision. It is always easier in the short term and quite often disastrous in the long term to proceed as I perceive you are. One of the most common errors is to demonize the different perspectives and to come to believe that those with a different perspective are somehow sinister. To be effective leaders you must make just the opposite assumption; you must believe that volunteers are committed and dedicated to a common view with large congruence to your perspective and that they are motivated to do the best possible job they can do to further that common vision. Taking this perspective means you can engage in constructive dialog and will not be moved to expel what you perceive incorrectly to be sinister and threatening. Organizations have a collective "emotional intelligence" that reflects its leaders, and when the EQ is high, the leadership team is not threatened by differing points of view, and can move the organization to thrive and grow with the synergistic energy coming from open dialog and compromise. I remain highly concerned about the future of KRFC, and I can assure you that this disruption you are experiencing now will not go away unless you act constructively as leaders. I would ask you to reconsider your position to close discussion. Please consider mediation or other facilitated conversation approaches. The viability and health of your ongoing volunteer base is at stake. Please accept these inputs from a previously uninvolved but experienced person that has the future vitality of KRFC as my primary objective. I believe you have the best interests of KRFC at the core, and would ask you to enact a mid-course correction from your recent path. If I can be of help in some way, please call me at 223-3418. I have chosen to withhold additional contributions requested by your recent letter until my membership comes up for renewal in September, at which time I hope I will be able to congratulate you on your enlightened leadership and continue to make substantial contributions. Sincerely, and in peace, Larry McCulloch ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent Friday April 21 Dear Board of Directors, I am writing to urge all of you to accept Marty Durlin's offer to mediate the problems at KRFC. I was deeply concerned - shocked, really - to hear the the Board refused her very generous offer. I had hoped that the Board would in the end decide to deal openly with what to many KRFC supporters appear to be serious issues of procedural irregularities surrounding the rejection of a petition, and the summary dismissal of members for being critical of the station. I truly am concerned about the way KRFC is being managed: with the way the recent Newsletter glossed over and covered up the problems, and with the potential changes in the direction of the station that these management practices portend. I have always supported community radio and KRFC in particular, but I am deeply upset by the procedures that have been used to quell criticisms. When I heard that Marty had stepped up to help resolve things from an external and unbiased perspective, I was thrilled. But if the Board refuses such a good faith effort from a well known and respected community radio figure, then I don't see how I can in good conscience support KRFC anymore. Please reconsider! Sincerely, Jane Kneller ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------