[Board] FW: Sincere apology for the actions of one of my PYC board members

Wed Jun 8 09:39:42 MDT 2022

Greetings, Board of Directors;

I have reached out to Ms. McCormack and apologized for the way we treated
her when she entered the club on Thursday May 12th.  Usually we have our BOD
meetings in the Whaleback room for this very reason.  This incident should
remind us all that BOD meetings are not private unless we are in Executive
session.  All members are welcome to come and listen to the discussion as
long as they are not disruptive to the proceedings.  We should have realized
that technically the clubhouse opened on May 5th and even though the opening
event had not happened yet we owe our members the utmost respect.

We drove her away.  I recommend that each of us find a moment to try to make
Kristen and her family feel warmly welcome when we see her around the club.
By admitting our mistakes, it only makes us better managers moving forward.
Thank you Bill for identifying Kristen and hopefully we can make it up to
her somehow.  

>From now on we will use the Whaleback room instead of the main house.  In
this way we can limit foot traffic during our meeting.  If a member pokes
their head in, we will simply stop discussion and see if we can assist them
in some way.

It is a lesson to us all, but also a chance to express a kind, gentler
manner and welcome all to the good season we have to look forward to with
all our fellow members.

Best;

Whit

From: Whitney T Weller [mailto:wtweller at comcast.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 8, 2022 11:26 AM
To: 'mailwonderwoman at gmail.com'
Subject: Sincere apology for the actions of one of my PYC board members
Importance: High

Dear Kristen;

Thank you for giving us your input.  Unfortunately we have an issue with
some board members.  Please accept my sincere apology on behalf of the Board
of Directors, for the actions of some members. There is no excuse, nor words
that can express my personal embarrassment for having been a part of this
situation.  

Just some helpful facts...  As Commodore, I am responsible for the actions
of the members of my board.  In this case it was an unfortunate confluence
of events leading up to this rude and insensitive behavior.  I totally
understand your shock and dismay.  My job is to make the club a warm and
inviting place to spend time.  It is essential that the members know that
they own the club and are always welcome.  They are also welcome to audit
board meetings unless there is an Executive Session which should be halted
at the time an interruption occurs and resumed after the interruption.
Unfortunately we were meeting in the main area because of the construction
and rebuilding of the club and facilities at that time.  

This should never have happened and there is no excuse for rude and wrong
behavior.  Unfortunately I had my back to the entry way or I would have
certainly welcomed you to take your time.  There were no secrets being
discussed.  Sometimes I don't know what gets into people.  I am very
familiar with your family, and the long history of involvement they have had
with the club.  

Please forgive this indiscretion.  We can only hope that this board has
learned from this moving forward.  Rest assured that I have taken up this
subject with the board and will continue to follow through.  My regret is
that you had to suffer the indignity.

My personal sincere apology, I look forward to seeing you and your family at
club events and would like you to feel welcome and proud of your club once
again;

Please feel free to reach out to me with additional comments.

Sincerely;

Whit

Whitney T Weller

Commodore 

Portsmouth Yacht Club

4 Tamarind Lane, Exeter, NH 03833

wtweller at comcast.net

(m) +1 (603) 205 5795

http://portsmouthyc.org/WP/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/PYC-SYMBOL2.jpg

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Subject: Letter of complaint to the PYC Board of Directors 

To whom it may concern at the Board of Directors of the PYC, 

I'm writing this letter to inform the board of my displeasure of the way I
was treated during last month's board meeting. It was one of the first times
I came into the yacht club for the year. I came in to sign up for some
upcoming events in the book near the kitchen. I quietly came in and started
looking at the book when this loud, stern and abrupt voice started scolding
me for interrupting the private board meeting. I was shocked. I didn't say a
word and just gave the thumbs up indicating I was leaving. I found this to
be incredibly rude and unprofessional. I immediately left and upon leaving I
checked the front door for a sign there was a private event occurring at the
yacht club that evening. No sign was posted.  Over the last few years I have
only come in to the PYC a handful of times due to Covid. I was so excited to
start the season off and get into the swing of things and this was my first
engagement at the PYC for the season. I spoke to a few other members about
this and they were also shocked at the way I was treated. I then found out
that another member experienced the same treatment that same evening. I'm
asking the board to have their private meetings upstairs or at another
location to allow members to enjoy the space they pay for. At a minimum the
door should have been closed, locked  and a sign posted that there was a
private meeting. Would it have been OK for someone to walk through the yacht
club to access their boat? Is it fair to close the club to paying members?
The board could  have met  offsite if they needed privacy. I am on a local
Board of Directors and we meet at the Portsmouth library or the Senior
Center in Portsmouth for free. I also know that the New Castle library has a
meeting place that can be used for private meetings. I don't think anybody
with a leadership position should be speaking to a paying member this way or
anyone else for that matter. How are paying members to know if there's a
private meeting going on if there's been no notification. I think it was
predictable that members would try to access the club during the time that
the board was meeting. Why was this oversight not taken into consideration?
The door was wide open and there was nothing to indicate a private meeting.
This doesn't make any sense to me. At a minimum I think I and the other
member that was treated this way deserve a written apology. The way I was
spoken to was completely unnecessary. I would like to know what the code of
conduct for the PYC indicates and if this is the kind of behavior that is
appropriate? A few kind words would have gotten the job done and left me
feeling good about the situation instead of feeling like I was doing
something wrong and not welcome. Is this  the behavior that I and other
members can expect from the Board of Directors and is this the type of
behavior that you think is appropriate? My family has been members at the
Portsmouth yacht club since the early 70s. I have never experienced anything
like this at the PYC. I hope that this is an isolated incident and the
person Who spoke to me that way is removed from their position. Since this
encounter I have been apprehensive to go in to the PYC because it made me so
uncomfortable. Is it the boards intention to make people uncomfortable so
they don't want to use the space that they pay for? If not then I think
something needs to be done about this. If I acted this way in the
organization that I'm on the board for I would immediately be removed.
Please do not approach me in person at the PYC to discuss this matter I
would prefer something in writing. I already feel very uncomfortable going
into PYC and I don't want my experience further tainted.

Thank you for your time, Kristen McCormack

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