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April 23, 2008 1700 hrs ( ET)
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From: Robert Charest
[mailto:snakecharest@windstream.net
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:06 PM
To: 'ronnie.a.mccan@us.army.mil'
Subject: This election has been corrupted from beginning to end.
Ron,
This election has been corrupted from beginning to end.
I received your message saying I had 6 months last year to offer suggestions and changes to SFA. I do hope you
realize neither I nor anyone else could have done that. In one case we were not provided with the document being
changed until last week. In the other we were not provided with the correct document.
Please remember I am truly trying to help. I am willing to work for you and support you. But we have to start off on
the right foot together.
I never understood why, under Betterton and Smith, SFAHQ never has time to do things right but always has time to
do things over.
I wish we could have had this conversation privately months ago. We didn't because Mel Smith willfully withheld vital
information regarding the Articles of Incorporation from the presidents and the members (including me and perhaps
you) until 5 days ago.
The information was sent to chapter presidents last week only after Mike Linnane requested it and suggested it be
sent to all chapters.
How do the 1,000 at large members get the information before voting?
But the problems that corrupt this election began well before that. Your Constitution Committee does not comply with
the requirements stated in the SFA Constitution.
On - 04-21-2008, 07:41 PM Mel Smith posted the following information on the SFA web site.
"To begin with the VP not the Secretary maded recommendations to changes in the constitution. The constitution
changes were drafted by the VP, Ron McCan, Ramon Rodriquez, Ray Calafell, Mark Cooper and Don Kropp"
Ron, these are all honorable men but the SFA Constitution requires a former SFA President to be on the
Constitution Committee. According to Mel Smith that requirement was not met and that alone disqualifies the
committee's efforts.
Ron, Yesterday you stated,
"Mr. Charest had a 6 month window to submit his suggestions/concerns/ recommendations to the Constitution
committee back in Jul 07 to Dec 07."
Mel Smith has uttered several similar statements repeatedly.
You are both absolutely wrong. No SFA member out here had the original documents to review, compare and submit
suggestions/concerns/ recommendations to the Constitution committee until Mel sent this message 5 days ago -
Subj:
Articles of Incorporation
Date: 4/18/2008 7:17:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From: SFAHQ
To: SFAHQ
BCC:
To Chapter Presidents
The attached are the original Articles of Incorporation for the SFA filed April 8, 1971.. This document should be
added to the Presidents Reference Handbook in front of the SFA Constitution.
The document has been posted on the website along with the Constitution for all members to view.
DE Oppresso Liber
Mel Smith
Secretary
My points are indeed valid. And Mel Smith withheld critical information from the membership until after the voting
commenced.
Unfortunately, there is more to this Ron. Yesterday I read the SFA Constitution posted to the web site by Mel, for
members to reference. It is not accurate. That is not the complete Constitution the members previously approved.
Now I wonder if the Constitution Committee was provided the proper document for its deliberations.
I do not believe the committee was provided the correct Constitution to work from. I do know the members have not
been provided a complete and proper copy. The proper version is in the Winter 2005 DROP and must include the
17 illegal changes made by Mel and Betterton that were later caught and corrected on Page 9 of the Spring 2006
DROP.
SFA has never distributed a Constitution that incorporated and corrected all 17 illegal changes.
If the committee did not have the proper document to begin with, how could it know where to go? The changes
presented to the membership by the committee are not all the changes to the proper SFA Constitution. Why did
Betterton and Smith withhold that information? How can members vote on changes that were not identified to them?
This is certain.
1. Last year we were supposedly being asked to make suggestions on documents, we not only did not have; we did
not even know existed.
2. This year the vote commenced on new documents before the old , previously unseen documents were distributed.
The situation is now out of control and corrupt because on one document the members were provided inaccurate
information and the other document was withheld till after the voting began.
This is horrible process:
1. Last year the membership was asked to submit changes to the Constitution. There was no mention of the Articles
of Incorporation at that time, nor had SFA ever distributed those articles.
The 6 months for comments should begin 5 days ago when the chapters finally got the information.
2. The membership was first notified the Articles of Incorporation existed and had been rewritten on Page 5 of The
Spring 2008 DROP distributed in early April.
3. The Presidents first received the original Articles of Incorporation on 18 April 2008, after voting had started. It had
never before been distributed to the members. And it had never before been provided to the Presidents.
4. The same message that notified the Presidents the Articles of Incorporation were posted to the web site also
stated the Constitution was posted. But the Constitution posted is not the correct version.
I am sure you agree, it is impossible to have made a comment or recommend a change last year on a document that
you first learned existed last week..
Do you not see a problem in calling for a vote to make a change and not telling the members what they are
changing before they vote? I do.
Do you consider that full and open disclosure? I do not.
I would also like to point out the original Articles of Incorporation, dated 8 April 1971 are still valid and in effect and
supercede the Constitution. In other words, the Constitution cannot and does not overrule this document. Mel
confirmed he agrees with that in a message sent to Mike Linnane on 4/18/2008 when he wrote:
"Mike
Remember the hierarchy of the documents
1) NC State Statutes
2) Articles of Incorporation
3) Constitution
4) Robert's Rules"
Ron, Article IV, Section II of the original SFA Articles of Incorporation establishes the requirement as 10 members to
form a chapter. Remember this document is still valid and overrules the Constitution.
I believe this means all the chapters Betterton and Smith disbanded that had 10 or more members were disbanded
without any authority whatsoever.
How did that failure to abide the primary governing document benefit SFA?
You know the new proposed requirement to have 35 members in order to start a chapter is not sitting well.
Does SFAHQ not think the members are entitled to all information before they vote to change it?
The same section says each chapter shall have a Constitution and Bylaws. That means chapters can write their own
Constitution and Bylaws, and that is in fact how many large non-profits are organized and managed.
SFA has been fiddling with the founding documents for going on four years and has not got it right yet. And they are
failing to get it right again. SFAHQ is attempting again to lead SFA further and further from our roots. How does that
benefit SFA?
Obviously we are changing the Constitution because Betterton and Smith's last round of changes failed. Is it not
more logical to move from the last series of failed changes, back to the roots that supported SFA for decades and
get on solid ground before launching again?
Ron, This election is FUBAR.
It is a cancel and do over.
I know you need help and we will help.
You need to find a logical place to initiate change from and this is not it.
We need to start at a known point. Following an azimuth from an unknown point will only continue to keep us lost in
the woods.
Ron, I believe my chapter was mislead from the beginning of this process when they were asked to submit
recommendations for changes to the SFA Constitution, without being provided the proper original Constitution. And
by not being informed the Articles of Incorporation ( a separate and even more authoritative) document was also
being rewritten. And by not being provided that document until after the voting commenced.
And please don't forget my first point. The Constitution Committee you chaired has no authority to recommend
changes.
If this is not a corrupt voting process, what is?
Ron, I know you are a pro. Do you really support this nonsense?
V/R
Bob Charest
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