|
|
|
Here are some suggestions for tough questions to ask the temporary leadership team at JBS:
|
|
|
Questions for Art Thompson (JBS CEO)
|
|
Background to first Q: Art, in a November 21, 2005 signed affidavit, a public document, you stated: "[E]specially for the past 8 years, overall JBS membership is down and continues to downward trend [sic], along with its regular revenue streams, JBS Chapter formation, and including financial support from the JBS Continuing Support Clubs. Employee morale was reflected in the financial condition. Now that new and responsible leadership is at the helm of the JBS, I anticipate the present circumstances will, in the coming months, stabilize and then improve."
Q: Art, it has been many months since you became JBS CEO in October of 2005. Which of the above has improved or even stabilized? How can our recruiting be up with significantly fewer Coordinators? How can field morale be up, at least among the remaining Coordinators, when their expense checks are late and they see their fellow staff members being laid off? What has happened to the circulation of The New American? Weren’t you in charge of fundraising during the last few years when the JBS revenue streams fell short?
Q: Art, didn’t you tell John Fall before the infamous Incorporator vote that you would be willing to fill the G. Vance Smith void at JBS on a temporary basis that could last up to two years? What is your projection now and whom are you grooming as your replacement?
|
|
|
Questions for Jack McManus (JBS President)
|
|
Q: Jack, you were a member of the five-man Board of Incorporators last October when the B of I intervened to strip the Executive Committee of its authority. Would the Incorporators have done so without your vote?
Q: Jack, why did your Board of Incorporators not wait eight days to strip the Executive Committee’s authority, as requested by 16 of 22 Council members? Why did you not want to allow the Executive Committee and the National Council to hash out the concerns that had been raised over G. Vance Smith?
Q: Jack, if the Executive Committee had decided to and been allowed to remove G. Vance Smith as CEO, whom do you think they would have tapped as a replacement? Might it have been you?
Q: Jack, did you ever discuss your plan to use the Incorporator card with fellow Incorporators Gary Benoit and Tom Gow prior to noticing them of the special meeting that would change the succession structure for the Society? If not, why not?
Q: Jack, what led you to believe that Art Thompson could fill the CEO shoes of G. Vance Smith? Were you aware of any deficiencies in Art’s abilities as a manager or leader? As an infrequent visitor to Appleton and a non-manager yourself, how could you have judged Art’s abilities?
Q: Jack, why do none of the three current officers of the JBS live in Appleton, Wisconsin? Who is running the Society in your absence? Does the leadership vacuum not concern you? How can such a situation result in an improvement of member or field employee morale?
|
|
Questions for Larry Waters (JBS Vice President)
|
|
Q: Larry, you were a member of Jack’s Board of Incorporators who cast the swing vote to neuter the Executive Committee, fire G. Vance Smith, and install Art Thompson as CEO. Are you pleased with the results? What specifically?
Q: Larry, what new responsibilities have you assumed as Vice President? How does that work with your self-imposed exile in Plano, Texas?
Q: Larry, you lobbied hard for the replacement of G. Vance Smith and promoted Art Thompson, whom you had reported to for many months. As a Texas resident, with hardly any presence in Appleton, what convinced you that Art could handle the multiple JBS management challenges?
Q: Larry, from your perspective, what is the member and donor reaction to the new Bulletin format? To the new leadership?
Q: Larry, you have long advocated a greater investment in marketing and PR to make recruitment easier. How does that work with a reduced field staff? How many Coordinators has it cost to hire the new non-JBS marketing and PR leaders?
Q: Larry, you, Art, and Jack do not reside in Appleton. Who is running the store on a day-to-day basis? Is it Chris Bentley? Or is it Alan Scholl? Or could it be the new non-member marketing and PR leaders? Or is there no one in charge? What is the Birch leadership experience of whoever is running the store in Appleton?
|
|
|
