Weighing in on the past weeks conversations, belatedly.

[Jay Harris]

Hi everyone,  

I want to apologize for not commenting sooner on the situation regarding our Instagram account . I”ve been extremely busy in my work and personal life and was also waiting to see what others might have to say about it.

For those who were at the last meeting (and for those who were not but saw the subsequent emails) Rebecca raised a concern about Elizabeth  putting the "KNA Supports” line on a re-posted ask for a Go-Fund Me account …without running it past the Board first.  

The issue raised was not about Elizabeths capabilities. It was using the KNA logo on posts that are not official KNA announcements without having vetted that action with the group first.  Rebecca’s concern is a procedural and legal one as well..one that potentially violates our 501-C3 status and I appreciate her bringing this to the Boards attention. 

Those who were there saw that Elizabeth took this as a personal attack on her work and …that does not seem to be the case  at all. I believe that Rebecca , like all of us, supports Elizabeths energy and creativity in her work on Instagram. With that said, there should have been in place earlier a policy regarding social media postings that would have made things more clear to all along the way. 

* We now have a committee in place working  to create just such a policy for KNA with the support and advice of SEULs Director helping out as well, FYI. Thanks for spearheading this , Dave. 

KNA’s board has fiduciary responsibilities that we should all be acquainted with. Here’s a link to the SEUL website regarding these.

https://seuplift.org/na-board-member-resources/

Coming out of the pandemic years KNA was drawn thin and we have been very lucky to have active volunteers stepping in to try and improve our presence, communications, outreach, fund raising, transportation  and land use issues, etc. This non-profit all volunteer group can not function without the great efforts of every one of you and I think that keeping this in mind as we codify more specifically our policies on various issues is super important . We have to be able to give and receive feedback to each other with no personal slight meant or incurred since the good of the whole groups efforts are our common goal. 

And…while I’m thinking about group dynamics….

Even though this is an all volunteer effort, we also need to know if a task or a role that someone has said that they would take on has become not do-able for them. The reasons are not really KNA’s business at all but... when there are grants involved  and commitments to other programs that involve more than just KNA members... if a Board Member has an inability to continue for any reason, they should let the Board know ASAP so that we can adjust and see if others can step in. In a professional work environment this would be required, of course, but here we just have to ask that we all treat the larger group with this respect.

I feel truly grateful for my years of working with KNA for the chance to pull together with so many good folks in  so many different ways to support and champion our neighborhood and thank you all for your ongoing participation.

In Support,

Jay 

[jka...@comcast.net]

Jay -

Thank you and thank you Dave for spearheading this.  

This incident points out an opportunity to develop policies for our communication platforms, nothing else. I did not see the post originally and was taken aback at the meeting by the uproar it caused. In my opinion, Elizabeth did nothing wrong or beyond her authority or exceeding her mandate as previously directed by the board. Rebecca raised good points about the process. Going forward Dave and co. can develop and propose appropriate guidelines . 

I have NO objection to KNA supporting the referenced Go-Fund-Me project. For those who don't know the issue; our neighbor Alison - a homeowner and small business owner (really amazing Meadowlark Pre-school! Her students have put on an art show every May in the neighborhood since forever...) on NE 28th for over 25 years that I can verify, had an injury (finger bitten off by a wild animal in our neighborhood (Really? True story defending her little dog from a racoon) that resulted in the loss of a finger, very painful rabies protocol and a lot of rehab stuff that is not over, and she ended up with an injured dog, euthanized neighborhood racoon and over $10k in uncovered medical bills. 

Back to the point, let's use this an opportunity to develop and refine our protocols.

Cheers, 

Jim Kautz

 

---

From: kernsna-20...@googlegroups.com <kernsna-20...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Jay Harris <rhyt...@mindspring.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 1, 2025 12:05 AM
To: noreply-spamdigest via Kerns NA 2025-2026 Board of Directors <kernsna-20...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Weighing in on the past weeks conversations, belatedly.

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Kerns NA 2025-2026 Board of Directors" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to kernsna-2025-26-...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/kernsna-2025-26-board/10987961-02B8-4ED1-9198-91AE2C71FAE1%40mindspring.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Rebecca Boenke]

Thank you for your clarifying email, Jay and thank you, Jim for your comments .   I welcome any other insights as I am on the committee to set up the policy.  We want to write this ONCE which requires considering all variables.

What happened

When the post came up, as a board member, I found it unsettling.  When I brought this to Elizabeth's attention, she felt she was doing the right thing,

supporting someone in our neighborhood...honorable.  My board experience has been that any time KNA supports anything, it is put before the board.

I expressed my concern about not putting it before the board, she stood her ground.  I contacted Dave Weaver for his thoughts who suggested I bring it up at the meeting that night for discussion.  This is what I did and by doing so, a committee was formed to address the issue via a policy.  

I have been on the board for a few years now.  It has been my practice to not only bring up issues, but become part of the solution.

Also, I nominated Elizabeth to the board based on her enthusiasm, her creativity, and the time she had already invested in resurrecting  our Instagram account.  I was not on Instagram user, but created an account, and followed KNA.  An Instagram notification is what brought this to my attention. 

 

The post that Wednesday, 9/17:

Many, including me, did not know who Alison was.  That really doesn't matter to me, the problem, as I see it, is putting  "KNA supports.."

Many posts are re-posted on our Instagram without embedding KNA in them. This was the first time I had seen "KNA supports" embedded in a post.

9/18,  this one was posted:

 

the same post, re-swizzled, but speaking for the Kerns Neighborhood Association.

The following posts  have been made since, embedding our Logo:

9/19: 

9/22

   

9/27

   

I bring these to your attention to show examples of what I believe needs to be addressed.  Your input is welcome to help guide this policy.

With that said, I applaud Elizabeth's work for our group.  Her capabilities are flying off the charts...I invite 

you to check out a recent post of our FUNdraiser at Rainbow Road.

I apologize for any "uproar" I contributed to at the meeting.  I brought up an issue I believed needed to be discussed and the 

conversation went sideways.    

Thank you for your time and your service to KNA in making it better!

In community,

Rebecca

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/kernsna-2025-26-board/SA1PR22MB51808B6A2AC70D2FC9F9BC2FAE1AA%40SA1PR22MB5180.namprd22.prod.outlook.com.

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

Rebecca Boenke

[Dave Weaver]

Thank you Jay, Jim and Rebecca,

I want to add my thoughts.

I think everyone on this board is doing a great job. We are all volunteers and with each action, meeting, fundraiser, email, phone call, text, form, etc we are making a difference in our neighborhood and community.

I do hope we can stay positive and support each other. Let's be professional and kind.

If for some reason you can't make it to something or have to step away for a while - that's fine - just please let us know.

I hope that would extend to board meetings - please let us know if you can't make it. We hope you can make the next one.

Regarding the Social Media Logo policy - the committee has been working on that and we will present the policy to the board at our next meeting and we can discuss it and vote on it as a board - and hopefully that will be very helpful guidance in the future.

So keep up the great work everyone and keep the positive energy flowing and let's keep bringing in new people and new energy to keep improving our neighborhood.

-Dave

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/kernsna-2025-26-board/CAK7i2g4icJX4EEknLr-SKeS9W%2B%3D%2BTDy0vX6xigvKe1%2B03R3ycQ%40mail.gmail.com.