Public Statement… Given

At five minutes ’til six this morning I crept out onto my front porch to find a car sitting in my driveway. I made my way out onto the porch, coffee cup in hand, ready to give my public statement.

Two members of UA’s Circle K Club were in attendance… and brought donuts. Amanda and Rachel seemed to be on their way in from a fun night, not out to start their day… but that’s alright. We’re not the number three party school in the nation for no reason.

I gave my written statement and took a few questions. The girls were nice enough to take a few pictures of me, and while I can’t promise that they won’t scare you, you’re welcome to click on the little picture to see a bigger one.

Additionally, I did record the statement, and I have an mp3 for you to listen to, though the quality is not very good. I had to play with it for it to be worth listening to. Additionally, Rachel and Amanda were way too far away from the microphone to pick up anything they said, so their cheering and questions are not included. At any rate, if you can bear with the poor quality, you can listen to the audio from the event here. At some point I’ll post the script, but at the moment I’ve got to go get ready for a service project.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who’s sent encouraging words over the pst few months. It can be difficult when a group of people like our IBoard care so much for themselves that they’d like to see members removed from our organization, but the support of the real leaders of CKI has shown through. Thanks, and hopefully this will be the last we hear of this issue.


UPDATE: Here’s the text of the statement.

Note: This is not a transcript, it is what I read from, so there are bound to be discrepancies between the audio and the text. I’m sure that won’t be a problem for anyone. It’s basically the same.

It’s a beautiful Tuscaloosa morning, and I’d like to thank each of you for taking the time to attend. There may only be a few of us here to actually hear what I’m saying, but there’s been an outpouring of support by members of Circle K and Kiwanis throughout the United States, and those folks are here with us in spirit, though in person they’re probably fast asleep somewhere.

In a letter dated February 17th, 2003 the Circle K International Board of Trustees informed me that, in order to avoid being placed on “probationary status”, I must (among other things) issue a public statement prior to March 3rd, 2003. This statement is supposed to give the intent behind the creation and maintenance of the Unofficial CKI Website, denote my acceptance of responsibility for conduct unbecoming a Circle K member, and apologize for the harm that the contents of the site caused. Also by March 3rd, I am to discontinue the site, and assure the CKI Board that I will “abide by the objects that govern this organization,” regardless of their inability to do so.

I will address the mandated points in order, so as not to confuse any of the International Board Members:

1. The sole purpose behind the creation and maintenance of the site was to provide members of Circle K International with an attractive, well-organized resource – something staff has failed to do for at least five years now. Statements or implications that the site was created to cause trouble or make anyone look bad are patently false.

2. If any of my conduct has been unbecoming of a Circle K member, I take full responsibility for it and I am sorry.

3. I would also like to apologize for any and all harm caused by the contents of the site. Though, to date, the only harm of which I’ve been informed is harm to the egos of the CKI Board and Staff. I am truly sorry for this, though, as those egos seem to be quite fragile, despite their size.

While those are the only three things this statement was required to contain, at no point did the Circle K Board restrict me from saying other things in my public statement and, at this time, I’d like to share my opinion about the Board and Staff’s actions and the effect that they’ve had on CKI.

First and foremost, the behavior of the CKI Board (and, individually, many of it’s members) is irresponsible and less “becoming” of a Circle K Member than the creation of an unofficial Circle K site could ever be. The reckless and wanton abuse of power is disgusting, and the fact that KI Staffers, along with your dues dollars, are backing and encouraging such ludicrous undertakings is both astounding and disheartening. Again and again we’ve seen power-hungry trustees and staffers so hell-bent on flexing their respective muscles that they’d rather fire off childish threats of policy or exceptionally ignorant legal threats than pick up the phone and actually seek to communicate. These are the people we’ve hired. These are the people we’ve elected. These are the people acting in our name and in the name of Circle K International.

The CKI Policy Code is wholly unambiguous when it comes to certain aspects of the conduct unbecoming policy, yet the CKI Board and Staff are wholly oblivious to everything except their own grudges and personal vendettas. While the breaches of policy have been so numerous that I could scarcely list them, I’d like to mention some of the most egregious missteps taken by the board and endorsed by the KI Staff.

First, accused parties are to be notified in writing of the charges levied against them PRIOR TO any determination of guilt. Nevertheless, the board made just such a determination of guilt long prior to notifying any of the site’s creators. Now, Director Keller would have you believe that Stan Soderstrom’s initial email served as such written notification. To quote Mr. Soderstrom’s email: “we believe you may be in violation of Kiwanis Board Policy.” May. They believed we MAY have been in violation. Director Keller’s poorly thought out defense would have drastic effects if applied to the American justice system. A police officer could walk up to someone on the street, hint that he or she might have committed murder, and then the trial could commence without that person’s knowledge. At some point, the person would find that they’d been found guilty, but that they had a chance to appeal. If this sort of logic and reasoning seems a little backward and misguided, it’s because it is.

Second, accused parties are supposed to have a chance to defend themselves before any determination of guilt is made. This was also not even considered. Once again, Director Keller has come to the rescue with a “brilliant” interpretation of policy. Apparently when we responded to Mr. Soderstrom’s email, that served as our defense… regardless of the fact that we didn’t know that we were defending ourselves, or from what.

Third, let’s not forget the sheer volume of fabricated terms, rules, and policies. “Probationary Status” is something dreamt up by Board and Staff in order to… well… I’m not really sure. The CKI Policy affords the board three, and only three, options for handling a conduct unbecoming charge. The first is a private reprimand. The second is a public reprimand, and the third and final option is revocation of membership. Anyone capable of reading the English language is also capable of noticing that “probationary” membership is not an option. Anyone, that is, except for the CKI Board and Staff.

The list certainly goes on… and on… and on, but I think most of you get the idea.

The Staff and Board has, over the past few months, taken great care to ensure that their own personal interests, ambitions, and grudges have been catered to, but seem to have lost sight of the purpose of the organization. Granted, the board is made up of 11 individuals, but as with any team, each member must take responsibility for the actions of the group. The actions of this group have been childish and embarrassing. The members of this group unapologetic for their heavy-handed power mongering. The advisors of this group more bloodthirsty than the members they’re advising.

All in all, I hope this has been a giant wake-up call for members of CKI. We should take greater care in the election of our leaders, and pay more attention to their actions once elected. It has been an indictment of the organization as a whole by way of our leaders, and I’m disappointed that things have happened as they have. Manny, Amy, and I have made mistakes individually and as a group, and with each successive mistake the board has taken the opportunity to become further offended and further committed to exacting some sort of blind revenge… over a website.

The wisest of leaders accept criticism willingly and see challenges as opportunities to grow. It is obvious to me that we did not elect the wisest of leaders in Orlando last August. In fact, it seems that a majority of the board members are not leaders at all.

If you are disappointed or disgusted with the actions of the CKI Board, do not hesitate to tell them. While they may not seem to listen to anyone but themselves, there’s always chance that something you say might have an impact, or by sheer volume of complaints they’ll realize that they’ve made poor decisions.

Do not, however, allow the political and callous nature of the International Board to force you to lose sight of the primary aim of our great organization. Monday morning I’ll be in a daycare for young children with mental and physical disabilities. Those children couldn’t care less about a website, a resolution, or the petty squabbles of our International Board. But those children are what Circle K is all about.

I hope that this will not serve as a reason to leave the Kiwanis family, but an indication that we need you now more than ever to ensure that our ideal of service will be reflected in our leadership, and not swept under the rug in pursuit of power.

I’d like to thank you for your kind attention.