Wednesday 10 December 2014

NOTICE OF RESIGNATION OF 7 PWAC BOARD MEMBERS.

Dear PWAC Prairies and the North members,

It is with the deepest regret that I am informing you of my resignation, along with that of 6 other Board members, effective immediately.

Please be assured that we have tried every means possible to save PWAC and steer it towards a new era of growth and success. Our efforts to do so have been thwarted at every turn and our Board Forums serve as a written trace of our experience.

I am really sorry that I was not able to fulfil my role as RD upon returning to Manitoba. It was my intent. Instead, I have spent countless hours addressing issues at the national level (consulting past financial reports can give you an idea of our challenges).

I need to underline the dedication of RDs Kim Arnott, Heidi Turner, Sandy Morgan and Oliva Kona as well as that of Luigi Benetton and Rusti Lehay.

If there is anything positive to take from what has been a deeply troubling and personally disappointing experience, it is the pleasure that I have had in working with them. I hold on to the hope that we will find a way of working together again to serve professional writers in this country, something we are still committed to.

I apologize for the inevitable fallout that will come from our mass resignation and hope that it doesn't affect local chapters too much. I continue on as a member and hope to catch up with you when we next meet.

Respectfully,

Nathalie Kleinschmit

NOTICE OF RESIGNATION OF 7 PWAC BOARD MEMBERS.
PWAC MEMBERS. WE ARE SORRY TO HAVE TO SHARE THIS LETTER, SENT TO PRESIDENT MICHELLE GREYSEN AND VP NATE HENDLEY,
December 10, 2014
Attention:
Michelle Greyson, PWAC president
Nate Hendley, PWAC vice president
We, the undersigned, provide this as official notice that we are resigning our seats on the Board of Directors of the Professional Writers Association immediately.
Your decision to make staffing changes to our organization without any attempt to consult with the board, in complete violation of a recently approved motion requiring all such decisions to be made by the entire board, has led us to believe that there is no future for the organization and no respect for collaboration under your leadership.
Months of questions about the leadership and financial management of PWAC have gone unanswered, leading up to the news we received on December 4th about our significant financial crisis.
Despite the lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the Executive Director, the president and the vice-president, we as board members have spent countless hours attempting to formulate plans to move our organization forward in a positive way.
We are no longer prepared to dedicate our time or energy to that effort. We have simply lost confidence that this organization has the fundamental structure or leadership to succeed.
Kim Arnott, Regional Director - Ontario
Heidi Turner, Regional Director - British Columbia
Nathalie Kleinschmit, Regional Director - Prairies and the North
Sandy Morgan, Regional Director - Atlantic
Olivia Kona, Regional Director - Quebec
Rusti Lehay, Treasurer
Luigi Benetton, Technical Director
APPENDIX A: Number of Forum posts made by the ED and members of the PWAC board as of Dec. 9, 2014
Kim Arnott 328
Luigi Benetton 536
Michelle Greysen 800
Nate Hendley 471
Nathalie Kleinschmit 258
Olivia Kona 226
Rusti Lehay 279
Sandy Morgan 93
Craig Silverman 110
Heidi Turner 486
And
Sandy Crawley 863