Fred Dore resigns from LMB Board & Membership
Fdo...@aol.com
Dear LMB Members & Michigan Cyclists,
Action and behavior by the LMB Staff and LMB Board of Directors has caused my resignation from the LMB Board and from membership in the LMB. My letter of resignation is included below. Should anyone have an interest in reviewing the messages and documents referred to in the resignation letter, contact me off list.
Fred Dore
2173 Pleasant Dr. Commerce, MI 48390
December 20, 2010
Board of Directors
League of Michigan Bicyclists
416 South Cedar St. Suite A
Lansing, MI 48912
Dear Fellow Board Members,
I resign from the position of “at large” member of the LMB Board of Directors, and I also resign from membership in LMB. There have been occurrences during CY2010 and in previous years that have been troubling and are the basis for my resignations. The 2010 occurrences, those of previous years and other related observations that have led to my resignations are elaborated on below.
Dismissal of Board Chair Dante Lanzetta
A motion was passed during the May 25, 2010 teleconference meeting that removed Mr. Lanzetta from the position of Board Chair and from his position as Region 3 Board Representative. The motion was drafted by an alliance of select board members favoring the motion in advance of the May 25 teleconference board meeting. The subject motion was approved by a very thin marginal vote of 7 vs 5. Board members with a long history with LMB, including myself, voted in opposition to the motion. It is worthwhile to point out that had it not been for the absence of Board Members representing LMB Regions 9 and 10 and the abstention of Region 3 Representative Dante Lanzetta, the subject motion may well have been defeated. The LMB Region 3 has the highest region membership in the state. The Region 3 members had no voice in the decision to expel their representative, Mr. Dante, whom they had elected a mere 6 months earlier.
The reasons stated by the supporters of the motion were not of substantive nature nor was any misconduct or abuse of position cited. The Board Secretary recorded the content or minutes of the May 25 teleconference board meeting. However, when the official minutes were published, they were cleansed of any discussion and included only the motion and the resulting vote by the board members.
The action to remove Mr. Dante from both the Chair of Board position and from the LMB Board entirely was unwarranted, highly irregular and disrespectful of the Region 3 LMB members. To add further insult to the Region 3 LMB members, the board has elected to appoint a new Region 3 Representative rather than permit the Region 3 members the opportunity to elect a representative of their choice, along with other regions, during the annual December election cycle. It will be a heavy burden for an appointed representative to bear knowing he/she arrived on the Board of Directors through a back door political maneuver.
Expulsion of Fred Dore from MUP Tour Directorship
In a letter dated Aug. 6, 2010 E.D. Moeller advised me that my service as the MUP Tour Director and as a MUP Volunteer was terminated. There was no explanation provided nor was there any previous discussion or indication of the planned expulsion. At the conclusion of the 2010 MUP Tour, less than 2 weeks prior to the termination letter, Mr. Moeller complemented myself and the entire MUP Volunteer team on its quality and success. The Aug. 6 letter from Mr. Moeller is attached along with my response dated, Aug. 23, 2010. As highlighted in my response letter, the rationale for the decision was nonexistent and the manner unprofessional and disrespectful.
As members of the elected body elected by the LMB members, and responsible for the conduct of the organization, you should become engaged with the administrative decisions made without merit and cloaked in secrecy. It is irresponsible for the board to allow the E.D. to be disrespectful of an LMB Volunteer, member or anyone for that manner.
I became involved with the MUP Tour many years ago as a registered rider. The then MUP Tour Director, Dr. Harry Wright, shared with me the process of planning and conducting a multi-day camping bicycle tour. Over the years Dr. Wright asked me to join with him in planning and conducting the MUP. Upon on his retirement and move to Oklahoma in 2006, Dr. Wright made some recommendations for the following year. He recommended that the MUP Tour be relocated from the middle portion of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the eastern region for improved access to local tourist attractions; i.e. Mackinac Island, SOO Locks, etc. He further recommended that I be appointed the MUP Tour Director starting in 2007. For the years 2007 through 2010 and with the collective efforts of the LMB staff and a dedicated team of volunteers the MUP has achieved the highest per rider net income of all LMB Tours. Further the 2010 MUP had a record registered ridership of 152, while other LMB Tours saw significant decreases in participation. Disregarding the disrespectful manner with which I was discharged, its difficult to understand how disruption of the successful MUP Volunteer Team will benefit the LMB.
Although not terribly complicated or difficult with sufficient mentoring as I had with Dr. Wright, the task of planning and conducting the MUP or any multi-day tour can be quite time consuming and challenging. It has been clearly demonstrated that, with proper support from the LMB office for supplies, registration, etc., the tour planning and day-to-day operational duties can be accomplished by an unpaid volunteer Tour Director. The enormous administrative and advocacy responsibilities would not be further diluted by Mr. Moeller’s absence from the LMB Office during the time the tours are being conducted.
Other administrative practices and behaviors
I have been a long time LMB member, active in local and statewide bicycle advocacy for many years, and a member of the LMB Board of Directors since 2002. I was a member of the board committee that interviewed candidates and recommended Mr. Moeller as a replacement for the deceased Lucinda Means, the long time LMB E.D. Mr. Moeller has made significant improvements to the administrative functions of LMB, for which I applaud him. However, over the years there have been comments made to me by many LMB members, volunteers and others expressing concern about Mr. Moeller’s apparent unappreciative attitude and disrespectful response to them.
In the summer of 2006, mere months after being hired as the new E.D., Mr. Moeller proposed to the then board of directors that the elected board be reduced from 10 to 4 or 5 members, and the representatives for each of the 10 LMB Regions be personally selected by him. The board did not directly consider the proposal, but subsequent discussions did lead to reapportioning of the LMB representation to the current 12 regions. In retrospect in seems apparent Mr. Moeller was interested in consolidating the personal influence of the E.D. position and diminishing the role of the elected LMB Board of Directors.
Early in his tenure Mr. Moeller established committees of LMB members to deal with education, advocacy, and others. The committees met one or two times with no further information about their status. I attended one meeting of the Advocacy Committee in which there were many thoughts and ideas put forth from the attendees. There was no follow-up by Mr. Moeller about further discussions, whether the initial thoughts and ideas were of value or whether there would be continued meetings.
After 2007 Mr. Moeller refused to meet collectively with the Tour Directors of the LMB Shoreline Tours; i.e. West Shoreline, Pedal & Paddle, Sunrise Adventure and MUP. Mr. Moeller and I had an email exchange in early 2010 about the value of collective meetings of the LMB Staff and the Tour Directors/Ride Leaders. Those email exchanges are attached for reference.
Although I’ve related only a few of what may be many incidents that would seem to reveal a pattern of ruse behavior without explanation or accountability for Mr. Moeller’s decisions, behavior and actions. The demagoguery in which Mr. Moeller has chosen to administrate the LMB and the oligarchic manner in which a portion of the Board of Directors has functioned this year are the basis for my decision to resign from the LMB Board and from membership in the LMB.
In the future my bicycle advocacy and promotion locally and statewide will be done through other organizations, and I will advise others to do likewise.
Respectfully submitted,
Fred Dore