Archive for Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ag Hall of Fame’s entire board of directors resigns

By Melissa Treolo

November 19, 2009

Amy O'Rourke had no idea her suggestion for the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame board of directors would be embraced so quickly and unanimously.

Last week during a Tuesday night work session of the center's board of governors, O’Rourke, a new member on the governing board, asked the center's entire board of directors to step down.

Two days later, O'Rourke's suggestion bore fruit. Governing board members were notified Nov. 12 that all members of the board of directors, most of whom have served on the board for more than 25 years, had resigned.

The board of directors is composed of elected members from the board of governors and handles the daily operations of the Ag Hall of Fame.

O’Rourke said she made the request because the Ag Hall of Fame, which is struggling financially, was in need of fresh blood and new leadership.

“I just think that it was certain members of the board that I thought needed to be relieved of their positions in order (for the Ag Hall of Fame) to start anew,” O’Rourke said. “I just thought it was necessary to go forward, to build a new infrastructure.”

Cathi Hahner, a former Ag Hall of Fame director and current member of the board of governors, said she thought it was unfortunate that events had led up to this point, but the resignations were a necessary step in saving the hall. She said four members of the board of directors had opted to stay on as members of the governing board, and the hope was that other former directors would continue lending a hand in the future, as well.

“Hopefully some of them will come back and be a friend and be involved, but this is what we kind of needed to do to start anew and build the whole thing back up,” Hahner said. “We appreciate their years of service.”

The board of governors will meet Monday, Nov. 23, to elect a new board of directors that will serve on a temporary basis, until the next annual meeting in the Spring of 2010. Hahner said she hoped to see 10 members elected that evening to serve in the interim.

Curt Blades, one of those who resigned, wouldn’t comment specifically as to why the board took the action but said simply, “We were asked by some folks to resign, and we did.”

He did, however, offer his well wishes to the next elected directorial board, but still expressed some discontent about the state of affairs leading up to the resignations.

“It is a terrible shame that misinformation, local politics and personal interests have stood in the way of the organization living up to its full potential as (a) national showcase for agriculture,” Blades said in a statement via e-mail. “I wish the new board the best in navigating its way through the next few months of difficult decisions.”

When asked to elaborate on the part of his statement regarding “misinformation, local politics and personal interests,” Blades would only say in an e-mail, “You simply need to look at the list of new governors (last 60 days) to learn the basis of my statement and source of my concern.”

Those who have signed up for the governing board during the last 60 days include O’Rourke, Hahner, her husband Dave Hahner, Lyn Spring, Steve Tuttle and former Kansas City, Kan., mayor Joe Steineger.

O’Rourke, who has been on the board of governors since October of this year, said she was looking forward to what this step could mean for the Ag Hall of Fame’s future.

“I’m excited,” she said. “I think that it’s exciting to start new, start fresh, bring some new ideas to the table. And I think there’s endless potential.”

Comments

  1. dhahner (anonymous) says…

    Curt Blades blames the new members of the board of governors at the Ag Hall of Fame for many things. It would be wonderful if these new members could, in just 60 days, undo all the harm the previous directors have done in the last 2 years. We cannot make the over one million dollars that they had in August of 2007 re-appear in the bank account of the Ag Hall in just 60 days. He blames us for his failures, but it was he and the other directors that put the Ag Hall of Fame in its current mess. They tried to liquidate it all in September and that is what caused us to get involved. I wish Curt could have taken the high road and left with a little bit of honor, but he chose to embarrass himself and the other directors with cheap shots and vague accusations. When Curt and the other directors attempted to give away the facilities and sell off the remaining125 acres of prime real estate, I and others became concerned and decided to act. When current Director Tim Daugherty actually sent out a letter to the board of governors lamenting the fact that people had an emotional attachment to the Ag Hall of Fame and that it would be better if we did not have the facilities to maintain, I knew we had a crisis. I am very glad that we found enough people with an emotional attachment to the Ag Hall of Fame to step in and save it.

    Dave Hahner

  2. ckblades (anonymous) says…

    I truly want to see the Ag Hall be successful and wish the community of Bonner Springs well in doing the things they feel necessary to protect this local asset.

    Curt Blades