Full Disclosure

[Dan Minnis]

As many of you are aware and many may not be aware I had been asked by a multitude of Cascadas Facebook members “who is Mauricio and what does he look like”. I had never met Mauricio despite spending a month at Cascadas each year and searched for him on Facebook to see if I recognized him. I found him on Facebook and he had a Public Profile with pictures of himself that were not necessarily flattering ie...Selfies, kissing his biceps, dressed up as superheroes, dressed in an astronaut suit, sitting in luxury automobiles etc...I posted several of these pictures on the Cascadas Facebook page for members to see. I do not regret reposting Public Profile pictures of Mauricio as he had posted them for all of us to see on his profile. I then received a very disturbing email from Board Member Glen Brush, threatening to take legal action against me and proposing to the Board that my ownership be bought out 100%. I don’t scare easily and responded to threat. Below are the email exchanges from Glen Brush, Dan Minnis, and Marty Russell.

From: Glen Brush <gl...@brushrealty.com>
Date: Mon, Feb 25, 2019 at 7:46 PM
Subject: RE: The Club
To: Mauricio Quezada <Mauricio...@tradingplaces.com>, Daniel Minnis <dminn...@gmail.com>
CC: Doug Wilcox <Doug....@tradingplaces.com>


Mauricio and Doug,

As a Board member I am requesting a detailed discussion on our options as Directors to support and defend our staff in a circumstance such as this. My initial reaction is that if there is a way to buy out the entire ownership interest of this individual I would be 100% in favor of doing so immediately. I am unfamiliar with the purely legal side of member conduct and I have not pulled out my copy of the bylaws, but I firmly believe we need to take a vigorous position regarding members that are damaging the reputation of Cascadas and our staff to this degree. We are in the infancy of a new era and if we fail to act swiftly and decisively this behavior will continue and the harm it will bring is incalculable.

We must be on firm legal ground when we respond, but it must be done quickly in my opinion. Mr. Minnis appears to have gone way off the tracks and his reckless actions are unacceptable on every level.

Mauricio, I am appalled by Mr. Minnis actions and I regret that you have been placed in this situation. You are a good man, a loyal person and a kind and considerate leader. I believe I can speak for our Board in assuring you that we are going to support you and make every effort to avoid this type of situation in the future.

Glen

My Response:

Gentlemen,

I am in receipt of yet another email from Member Ken Opsata which is beyond disturbing and makes serious accusations against Board Member, Richard Bort.
(See attached email)

In addition, I receive an email from Board Member, Glen Brush who wants the Board to consider legal action against me and look for a way to buy out 100% of of my ownership position. Glen believes you need to “take a vigorous position against regarding members that are damaging the reputation of Cascadas and staff to this degree”. “We must be on firm legal ground when we respond, but it must be done quickly in my opinion”, Glen continues.

In another email, from Mauricio, he accuses me of stalking his personal life for re-posting pictures of him on Facebook that he had posted on his own PUBLIC Facebook profile and that he is now in fear of his own personal safety.

I certainly admit that I have been very vocal in my communications with you and members and have pushed the limits in an effort to bring serious attention to matters of grave concern for Cascadas and its Members. It appears I have succeeded and ruffled a few feathers along the way.

Do what you must as a Board and I will do what I must as a Member to ensure Cascadas remains a top notch Resort. If legal action, is your course of action and solution then “I’m your Huckleberry”, you have to be a Tombstone Movie fan to understand that line.

Neither you or I wish to travel down the trail of a legal battle and I don’t believe it is in the best interest of the Club to pursue this path. If you do choose this path then rest assured I will obtain sworn statements and depositions from past and present employees, Board Members, and Members concerning the allegations I have made to you and others concerning the descriptive mis-conduct of employees who are still working at Cascadas and the lack of equity for those who have been terminated for similar or lesser offenses. We will also need to discuss the “path of the HOA” and why members were told, over and over, they would be the Owners when in reality we were deceived. We will need depositions from Board Members and all parties involved concerning the formation of CVI and how the 5000 Shares of Stock are held and who holds these shares. How the HOA and CVI will be treated in the event Cascadas is bought out and how this purchase would transpire. Would it be a Vote from the Membership or can the Board elect to sell the Club?

Hard to believe this all started with employees terminations and resiganitions of Daniel, Israel, Reyna, Aida, and Lorenzo. Where is Reyna now? She is the only one I haven’t kept up with but would sure like to hear her side of all that transpired.

You have to ask the question of why is Minnis doing this and why does he hate Cascadas with such a passion? There is a fine line between love and hate gentlemen. I love Cascadas more than all of you, except maybe Mark. Having two heart attacks, 12 feet apart, at Cascadas in 2011 and 2014. Having three Cascadas employees, Israel, Alberto, and Jesus provide me life saving CPR for 15 minutes before the ambulance and defibrillator arrive. Having Aida talk and take care of my family during these tragic events. Having Daniel, Israel, Aida, and Lorenzo at the hospital with my family and calling for months after the events does something to you and your family. Having Dr. Grimaldo place me in an ice suit and lower my body temp in hopes of preserving brain activity and slow down organ failure before being life flighted to San Diego, does something to you. Meeting Dr. Grimaldo a year later and seeing the expression on his face before we hugged hits one hard. He told me “Dan you were a dead man, you should not be here, I was sure you would never make it, and yet here we are celebrating your life after death”, this does something to you and your family.

So do I hate Cascadas? I am angrier than most members about the loss of Key Employees especially since these are the employees who best exemplify the magnificance of Cascadas. They poured their love, prayers, and hearts out to me and my family during a tragedy. They have done the same for many members over the years. In all of Mauricios, Dave Stoeners, Rory’s, Miguels, Cascadas Board’s infinite wisdom you thought it was best for the Club to eliminate these employees? I hate that! I hate the fact that you crushed the hearts and minds of employees who were some of the best Cascadas employees in the history of the Club. You have eliminated what I love most about Cascadas and seem to be systematically getting rid of every employee who would go to any length to save a member’s life. If you have never performed CPR on a person you have know idea what I’m talking about when I say it is the hardest minutes of your life. I have performed CPR on a dying accident victim and can tell you it changes your life. The patient died. If you have never watched a person die before their time, you have no idea what I am talking about when I say Cascadas is not a better place when the Daniels, Aidas, Israels, and Lorenzos are gone.

As a Club you all seem to believe we are in a Great Place. I and hundreds are worried,shitless, that the Club is faltering despite magnificent renovations and control because you are destroying the Culture in the process. I am a firm believer in Mission Statements and Cascadas has always prided and praised itself on the tremendous staff. It should be your Mission to retain your best but you have dropped the ball in several instances. Please don’t patronize me by trying to convince me it was a good move to push these employees aside while retaining employees who have seriously violated codes of conduct, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, gentlemen.

My words are probably falling on deaf ears but I deserve to be heard and the members who have asked me to intervene,on their behalf, deserve to be heard. The lack of honest communication between Members, Management, and Board is in a critical state and only you have the power to eliminate this crisis. I hope my rants and demands at least bring about honest communication.

Whatever you decide and what direction you choose concerning how to bring peace is your prerogative. I have abundent resources and can sustain prolonged legal action if choose to file suit against me and at the same time I am the type of person willing to work towards resolution if you promise to be transparent and honest In all matters.

Cascadas Strong,

Dan Minnis

Marty Russell Board President Response:
Mr. Minnis:

I am writing on behalf of the Club Cascadas board of directors. We have reviewed your communication with Mauricio Quezada, our Chief Operating Officer. Just to clarify, the Board has no plans to buy your ownership interest, nor will it be considered. As an owner you have every right to express your views, both publically and privately.

Having had heart surgery myself, I can fully understand how you can have even greater feelings and connection with staff members that saved your life. That’s an amazing testimony, and I appreciate you sharing it. At one point, my wife and I also gave CPR to a friend that didn’t make t. I get it.

Each person that works for us in Cabo has signifance and meaning. We take seriously our responsibility to them and their welfare. No one on the Board takes lightly losing any one of them, and it is never easy, or done without serious consideration of the facts, but by a unanimous decision. We, too, like them personally and miss them when they are gone. That said, we must sometimes put those personal feelings aside and look at performance and the big picture. I sincerely believe that if you knew all of the facts involved, you would clearly understand why some difficult decisions had to be made. However, as I’m sure you know, we are prohibited legally from discussing any confidential personnel issues. I assure you there have been no unmerited terminations. We also love the continuity of staff, but sometimes that is not possible.

I can also assure you that this is not a renegade group of directors or managers. These are thoughtful, caring people that work diligently to put the best interest of the Club first. Trading Places, our great club management company, has 145 resorts across the country. I think they would confirm that our board and managers are one of the very top groups they work with in terms of commitment, passion, knowledge, thoughtfulness and time involvement. I know that with over 5,000 timeshare weeks, it is not possible to please everyone, but we try. We encourage anyone that has a better idea or plan, to run for the board and influence what happens.

I was appointed by Pat Giddings to serve on the Legacy Committee 9 years ago and have been actively involved ever since. We have always been influenced by her direction and continue to seek her advice. And, until just last year the Board was controlled by the Developer and many of the personnel decisions you referenced were done at that time, not solely by the current board. We are all working for the same thing, to preserve this great place to call “home”.

I would ask you to please refrain from attacks on our management, especially Mauricio. We are in full support of him and feel that he has done an outstanding job under difficult and stressful situations. He is the one most responsible for the successful recent transition of management when Turnover from the Developer to the Association occurred.

While I wanted to respond to you personally, I also need to let you know that because I am running a business full time, I am not in a position to be able to carry out long term dialogue with members.


Marty Russell, President