Emails reveal 450th struggle
By JENNIFER EDWARDS
Created 06/05/2011 - 12:09am
Summary:
Documents over the past few weeks show that First America Foundation Inc. leaders knew they had to change leadership or dissolve.
In a series of emails in May between Don Wallis, then chairman of First America Foundation, and FAF's board of directors, he detailed the organization's struggles and challenges -- among them a lack of momentum, strong criticism from some city officials, his own health problems.
"We have got to get going," he writes, comparing the organization to a "newborn foal," and saying it is "clumsily struggling to gain its footing (think: newborn foal) for nearly nine months."
The emails were obtained by The St. Augustine Record from the City of St. Augustine under Florida's Public Record Law. The emails had been given to several city officials by unknown sources.
Wallis resigned his post as chair on Friday after the board declined to hire an executive director and a fundraiser as he requested. He said he intends to remain as a board member. Right now, Jamie Alvarez is the only paid staffer. Alvarez stepped down in May as acting executive director.
Another executive board member, Leslee Keys, also resigned her post as secretary on Friday.
Wallis and Alvarez detail concerns
Wallis addressed FAF concerns and other issues in the e-mails, also saying that health problems sapped his leadership ability until recently, and said he's recovered the vigor to move forward.
"About five months ago, I lapsed into a profound, chronic fatigue," Wallis wrote. "I am happy to report that, even now, I am continuing down the path of steadily improving health."
Alvarez wrote in an email sent by Wallis that while her role as the acting executive director "has been a worthwhile learning experience and is the opportunity of a lifetime, I recognize that it just isn't the best fit for the foundation."
Alvarez wrote that "without the resources and proper staff support in place, this effort is just that: an effort," and "There are several ways for me to be involved and to help grow this effort, and leading it alone, without the resources, is just not it."
Wallis wrote in the May 4 email that "We have concluded that First America Foundation Inc., needs to change the way in which it is led, the way in which it is managed, the way in which it operates, and the way in which its human resources are identified, recruited, enlisted or empowered."
Later, he wrote that the foundation's "follow-up and implementation effort ... has been insufficiently emphatic, assertive, strong and quick ... our effort has yet to produce any results ..."
Enthusiasm builds then dampens
But Wallis had other things on his mind regarding FAF within weeks before he resigned as FAF chair. In that same May 4 email, he said he did not want to step down. "Notice that I make no mention of changing who is doing the leading, the managing, the operating, or the empowering. In fact, neither Jamie nor I is suggesting that either of us should give up her job (in Jamie's case) or cease to chair this board of directors (in my case). On the contrary, Jamie and I are enthusiastically undertaking to lead all of the change that is described in the balance of this memorandum. And then same."
But, he wrote, they were both willing to allow their jobs to be sacrificed for the good of the organization and of the commemoration effort that is its mission. "If it will help for either or both of our jobs to be a casualty of the change, that is needed, we'll willingly and genuinely allow that to happen" if anyone wanted to replace either or both of them.
Noting that the effort so far had not met expectations for "deliverables" of event planning, "I intend to change all of that just as soon as possible," he wrote. He said that with new members, he would then be "articulating to each of you and them the very clear and unambiguous expectations that our organization will have, from now on." He promised more communication.
In a May 9 email, he said the position of executive director would not be posted but that all board members could contribute names but that there would tight control over the process by a four-member selection committee.
By May 12, another email detailed a subject that he said "is critical to the organization moving forward. I want to speak to you here about it in no uncertain terms."
"No one -- absolutely no one -- other than corporate board officers, our employees and anyone else (usually a board member) who is explicitly and specifically authorized (usually in writing) has any authority or any right whatsoever to communicate (orally or in writing) or to act on behalf of our organization about anything whatsoever. (within in our organization is an entirely different matter). I hope that statement sounds absolute. I mean for it to. There are no exceptions other than the ones that I mentioned."
Continuing this emphasis, he warned, "If it should ever come to my attention that any member of our board of directors has violated this policy, I will see to it that our organization officially and, to the fullest extent necessary, publicly repudiates, disavows, corrects, or rescinds the violating communication or action. Should that corporate response cause unavoidable collateral damage in the form of embarrassment to the director who violated the policy, so be it."
Further, he said it was his intention that FAF, Inc., would become "well run." "There certainly are many dimensions of that goal. And this particular policy is among the most important of them."
City rumblings begin
Later when the city scheduled a City Commission workshop to discuss the future of the city's relationship with FAF, Wallis sent an email on May 22 to make board members aware of the latest development in the city-FAF relationship. "I want to make you very aware of the latest -- and, IMHO, most important development in our heretofore clumsy, awkward, ineffectual and dysfunctional -- but ever evolving - relationship ..." He said City Manager John Regan said some commissioners were beginning to question FAF's contract and perhaps dissolving it.
Regarding the city workshop, Regan specifically asked that FAF not be represented. Again Wallis said they were strongly encouraged not to attend. And if they felt they could not stay away, he reminded them of "your complete lack of business authority to communicate on behalf of FAF, Inc." He said that if a board member was in the room and got called on, the board member would be on his/her own. "And if, in the aftermath, there appears to be no alternative way to repair whatever damage you may have done, you will be 'hung out to dry.'"
Friday, Wallis stepped down as chairman in a disagreement with some of the board because he wanted to hire an executive director and a fundraiser. The board did not want to go in that direction.
More changes ahead
Christine Chapman, vice chair, said Saturday evening that the organization's first order of business will be to hire an experienced fundraiser whom the executive committee had identified.
She said that finding a new chair and secretary were equally important, but was unsure whether the organization would hire an executive director. Alvarez stepped down in May. She remains with FAF as its only employee.
Chapman also said she was aware of the need for the foundation to move quickly.
"Honestly, last night was a surprise, there's no doubt," Chapman said. "We're excited and we're very committed and motivated to stay the course. We know we must generate revenue and we must progress rapidly with plans and details of those plans. We need the community's support and help in the way of volunteering and implementation ..."
FAF was formed last summer with $275,000 from the City of St. Augustine and the mission of organizing and funding four major events -- the 200th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution in 2012; the 500th anniversary of the founding of Florida in 2013; the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in 2014 and the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine in 2015.
But since then, the organization has failed to raise money on its own for the events and has been criticized for secrecy and lack of visible progress.
The only other donation the foundation has received was $25,000 from Skanska, the Bridge of Lions Rehabilitation Project contractor -- and that was suggested to Skanska by city officials.
jennifer.edwards@staugustine.com
Comments (15)
ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of The St. Augustine Record or StAugustine.com. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.
rancov
The Organization Is Fatally Doomed
By rancov | 06/05/11 - 01:08 am
At the admission of Ron Brown, the organization was established to bypass Florida Open Records law, all on a ruse. The manner in which they attempted to obscure the workings of the organization have brought distrust and derision.
The reputations of a great many community leaders are on the line. To continue the ruse in order to violate the Florida Constitution and law only risks bringing disrepute on people of great stature who have committed their reputations to try and bring success to the events surrounding the 450th.
Only a complete cleaning out and a complete break from Joe Boles and the City can save this organization. The time to come clean is now.
Randy Covington
St. Augustine
Login or register to post comments
yathink
CAN YOU SAY " WOW " ???? OR " BIPOLAR " ????
By yathink | 06/05/11 - 06:53 am
WALLIS SEEMS TO ADMIT HIS LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN LESS THAN STELLAR,,, then he goes on about remaining as boss... if this requires so much volunteerism,, then why $ 275,000.00 of taxpayer money ???? and how much of the loot is left ???? i feel it is time for an independent investigation,, by an accredited bookkeeping firm.... and i hope to god they can provide receipts for every penny spent to date... by their own admission they have done nothing for over 9 months ,,, except attempt to keep nothing a secret !!!! this is another example of gross incompetence by our elected officials down at city hall.... they created this egotistical organization,,,, NOW,,, it is long past time to dissolve this egocentric organization,,, and get the show on the road !!!
Login or register to post comments
Moontan
They are trying to eat a soup sandwich.
By Moontan | 06/05/11 - 07:49 am
Reorganize now! Account for all expenditures, if records were kept, and move on with the program. These problems were predictable and avoidable. Get the politicians out of the equation and a great deal can be accomplished. The $275,000 could have been much better spent rehabilitating the old Charles F. Hamblen home in which the downtown American Legion bar is located. That beautiful old piece of St Augustine architecture is crumbling away due to neglect and misuse. The home was left to the working men of St Augustine but through the poor administration of Mr Hamblen's estate it wound up being used as a gin mill, the last thing in the world that Mr. Hamblen would have wanted for his beautiful old home.
Login or register to post comments
cptnbuzz
Sunshine...
By cptnbuzz | 06/05/11 - 08:09 am
I said it before and I'll say it again, the fact that the management here are control freaks, and wont let anyone speak publicly about what is going on shows you how corrupt these people are. The city needs to investigate every aspect of this organization. They should shut it down and start over. 450th planning and control should be transparent and those in charge held accountable.
"In God We Trust"
Login or register to post comments
MannyA
Kudos to Jennifer!
By MannyA | 06/05/11 - 08:27 am
This is what the Record has needed; strong, investigative reporting!
Jennifer Edwards was not afraid to step on any toes and reported the facts as they are.
"THANK YOU!" Jennifer for shedding some sunshine on this. Keep up the good work!
Login or register to post comments
martinpryor
Doomed!
By martinpryor | 06/05/11 - 08:27 am
Not only is this pathetic organization doomed, as stated by rancov, but the city is doomed to remain as it is. This beautiful city "sold out" many years ago. It is, and will continue to be the "Mecca" of cheap, tawdry, and tacky tourism. With T-shirt shops on St. George Street, " paranormal" hearse tours, and garrish orange and green trolleys (Old Town Trolley) and red tour trains (Ripley's) pandering to sweaty tourons, what more can we expect? Perhaps Paula Deen will grace us with a Food Trough, just like the one in Savannah, in order to feed the bums in the Plaza.
Login or register to post comments
Ajmarcil
Hire Ryan Detra
By Ajmarcil | 06/05/11 - 10:00 am
That guy could pull it together. Get the bubba egos out of the mix. However, I'm also proposing the Alternative 450th. A larger, looser party that also commemorates the decimation of indigenous peoples by the Spanish colonization...and includes big-ass music festival that invites rock, classical, hip-hop, folk, American Indian, Spanish....Stay tuned, more to come...
Those who can convince you of absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Login or register to post comments
Maureen Ortagus
Is that a Carpetbagger Crew
By Maureen Ortagus | 06/05/11 - 11:32 am
Dettra will never happen.
He lost way too much money at the County.
Out of the frying pan into the fire.
Detta is up with another Wallis Sunshine fiasco, the St. Johns Cultural Council.
Login or register to post comments
EFEX
This is one big mess
By EFEX | 06/05/11 - 02:42 pm
Is there anyone involved with the First America Foundation that knows how to run an organization? First, they spend the last nine months not accomplishing anything or even putting a plan together to accomplish anything. Second, it sounds like the founding member and former chair, Don Wallis, is blaming the board for its inaction, “he wrote that the foundation's "follow-up and implementation effort ... has been insufficiently emphatic, assertive, strong and quick ... our effort has yet to produce any results ..."” but thinks he and the paid director should stay to lead because he wants to step up and make it a well run organization (shouldn’t it have been that from the start?). Now the there is no leader, paid or otherwise and they are asking the public for their support and and time to volunteer? To do what? Trust them and be ready for action when they might finally come up with a plan?
If anyone knew what they were doing, no matter how bad things are internally, they would have announced the new Chair, the new Secretary and some new information about how things would proceed when they announced any changes. Even if they needed to delay the step down notice of Don Wallis, Leslie Keys, and Jamie Alvarez until they could quickly regroup. Instead, it looks like they had a closed door session and some people got mad and quit or were removed, and now nobody knows what will happen next. The Vice Chair does not even want to move up to chair. Nine months in and there is no succession plan? It doesn’t look or sound like they are very united. I would have expected some sort of official statement or press release if they were. Instead, the organization points to this very unflattering article from their twitter and face book pages. At least they knew enough to acknowledge they better start raising private funds if the want to remain a private foundation, but even then the plan is more than vague.
What a mess. The City better ask for not only the rest of the money back but also what’s been spent.
Login or register to post comments
peanut
return money
By peanut | 06/05/11 - 02:46 pm
Money could better be used for small events. But forget this organization. One of the best articles Record has ever done. About time Record quit shilling for the powers that be. Next article should be on Reconnecting the Fort to Downtown, another boondoggle.
Login or register to post comments
bornandraisedhere
Part of the e-mail was omitted
By bornandraisedhere | 06/05/11 - 08:01 pm
Yes, Don everyone who loves St. Augustine wants their "Place in the Sun". I'll give my time for free. Get some rest. Somewhere else.
Login or register to post comments
Lisha
Why didn't they publish the
By Lisha | 06/05/11 - 10:02 pm
Why didn't they publish the emails?
Login or register to post comments
rancov
Dettra is not interested.
By rancov | 06/07/11 - 12:45 am
they do not have the endlessly deep pockets of the taxpayer monies he can waste playing rock promoter. He has been trying to get a job here since leaving the county to "pursue other opportunities".
Dettra is a spoiled petulant problem child and the county knew if from the beginning and did nothing. Go read the investigations by Fraud Waste and Abuse.
Login or register to post comments
MadamX
Lack of Leadership and lack of a Plan
By MadamX | 06/07/11 - 11:05 am
Obviously there is no one affiliated with this group that has leadership or planning skills. And no Event Planner with any talent on fund raising and project management.
I have planned many events, first and foremost you start with By Laws for operating the organization. What the projects are, manpower needed and budget
Then you go from there hiring talented people qualified to do the job.
and not friends and relatives of St. Augustine's wannabe elitist.
Login or register to post comments
EFEX
The Next Mess
By EFEX | 06/07/11 - 11:41 am
That’s why this group is about to make another huge mistake. A professional fund raiser needs something to “sell.” Contributing Businesses and entities will want to know what they are contributing to and who is in the leadership roll. The “Trust me it will be great because everyone on the board cares about St. Augustine” plan is not sufficient to raise the kind of money it will take to pull off successful events over the next three years. The kind of contributors they need will want to know how their money will be used and what exposure and acknowledgment they will get in return. Without specifics, the professional fundraisers will be limited in success no matter how good they are. By the time a plan and leadership is in place, this group should be ready to start fundraising about 2014. Don’t forget that the big money contributors will want to know what the past track record of the organization has been. The fund raiser will also require what is left of the public money to do the job. That is probably why they cannot hire an Executive Director.
So then, for an expensive professional fundraiser to be successful this organization will need:
Strong leadership at the staff level and especially at the Board level. - Strike 1
A solid plan that outlines how the money will be used, the projected results of the activities and plan, and the benefits and exposure to the contributor clearly defined. Don’t forget about community backing. - Strike 2
A past track record that reflects commitment and success. - Strike 3
These are just the basics. This organization is out!
Maybe if the City adjusts the contract to let this organization plan the 453rd, they will be well positioned to lead the effort.
Login or register to post comments
No comments:
Post a Comment