Exercise Your Vote - Don't Become Complacent

If you check the Home page of the Saints' website, you will see that there is no telephone number or e-mail address listed for Jim Venskus or Deborah Granite, and Hugh Spencer's contact information is not there at all. At least, there is no longer an attempt to intercept my e-mail, but it is obvious that we still don't have open government. Directors are being treated differently if they are not part of the "selected board."

I am pleased to see that many of you are reading this blog and contacting me directly. Stay tuned. No one can stop you from reading what is here, even if some board members make it difficult for you to contact us or for us to contact you.

Express your opinion by voting on the survey question that is posted to the left of this posting. There are only a few more days that you can express your opinion about this question. It is my contention that there is a potential conflict of interest if one is both a coordinator and a board member.

A coordinator controls whether you can be signed up for a specific show, and can also stop you from future ushering at the venue where they schedule ushers. There currently are no guidelines as to what actions may cause a coordinator to make a member "persona non grata" (no longer able to usher) at a venue, nor is there an appeal process. As long as these guidelines don't exist, and as long as we hear of inconsistent application of this status against members, we know that a board member might abuse their power as a coordinator. Having such a strike against you can also jeopardize your "member in good standing" status and disqualify you from being a candidate for the Board.

Perception is almost as important as practice - and many of you have expressed fear about your ushering privileges being taken away or negative consequences for expressing a "dissenting" opinion. Speak up and vote on the survey. Post comments. Let the board know how you feel.