Well, I did a search to see how many personal posts I have made in the past six months and this will be my third. The other two consisted of a regional news reminder to the officers in August and one about Hertz Viper rentals in June. VPA and VIPER magazine need to address issues specific to them, regardless of who answers them.
That said, this thread asks for facts and somebody needs to state them. While many of these facts are widely known, most folks are probably afraid to say anything for fear of becoming targets. It would appear that some prefer to attack the messenger and ignore the facts. Nobody wants to be the target of mob mentality when facts are ignored.
Regardless, following are several absolute facts that are documented in board meeting minutes, presidents meetings, voice mails, emails, etc. There is ZERO opinion in any of these facts so please don't try to spin them - or accuse me of doing the same. You can verify these facts with the actual people/companies in question, starting with this one:
FACT: JR Thompson Company chose to end their management relationship with the club, not the other way around. In an unsolicited email from Clay Thompson (President of JRT) dated June 29, 2010 he stated the following, "To let you know what we are thinking, we would like to discuss the transition of both the VCA Membership Database and Support Line to the National Club by the end of this year. As we have seen the Club grow to become more independent each year, it seems only natural that the next step would be for the Club to assume full responsibility for administering membership benefits and support. By developing a solid plan now, we should have a seamless transition by the end of 2010."
FACT: JRT was being paid more to manage the club than Coast to Coast Management was paid. The club was paying JRT $30,000 a year in fixed fees and $5.39 per member in variable compensation. Chrysler was also paying JRT to manage VCA membership and had been since 1995. SRT originally told the club that it was around $50,000 a year and later stated it was closer to $75,000 a year. Chrysler paid all COOL VCA membership monies directly to JRT, of which JRT retained 100% unless the new member signed a privacy release. Note that the club never had any "transparency" on what Chrysler paid JRT on the club's behalf, including COOL memberships that didn't sign those releases.
FACT: Jon Brobst was suspended for contacting a member's employer to complain about that member's personal conduct. Jon admitted making that call, in writing. I did not make that call nor did VPA. I did not make the motion to suspend (Janni Cone did) nor second it.
FACT: That suspension was not conditional on an apology, nor did it automatically lift on January 1, 2013. Dated January 24, 2012, that suspension stated very specifically, "Such suspensions shall be a minimum of 12 months from the date of this resolution and after which time this disciplinary prohibition may be rescinded by the board of directors upon a request for a recession of such suspension by the affected parties and a demonstration to the Board's satisfaction that there has been no material repetition of any offending conduct that was or is deemed disruptive to the club or violative of the Bylaws and policies of the VCA."
FACT: Ralph Gilles pressured the club to reinstate Jon beginning in June of 2012. This is documented in numerous emails, meetings, and phone calls. Each of those involved multiple parties. It is a fact with no opinion or emotion whatsoever. Neither I or VPA could make that decision - it was up to the VCA board of directors to change the terms of the suspension if it so chose.
FACT: The 2013 VCA board of directors met in Detroit after the national officers (with one "proxy" sitting in for Randall Arnold) met with Ralph at Chrysler HQ in Auburn Hills. I was not part of any of those meetings, nor was VPA. From what was stated here and I would assume board meeting minutes, they voted unanimously to keep that extended suspension intact and added an "early out" clause for good behavior.
FACT: Based on what was reported after that same January board meeting, many were upset with the pressure Ralph was putting on the club to reinstate Jon. Some suggested writing letters directly to Chrysler, including Sergio. Again, I was not in any of those meetings.
FACT: Such letters were not like what Jon did, in fact they were almost the opposite. Example: You are a customer and have a problem with a specific Walmart clerk that escalates into some pretty strong words being exchanged. Now, which of these makes sense: A. You contact that person's boss (or even Walmart HQ) to make them aware of the situation or B. Seeing you are still wearing your name tag from work, the clerk calls your employer to tell them how you behaved at Walmart when you were on the clock. Which is acceptable?
FACT: During the 15 years JRT managed the club, there was never a call for transparency. This, despite the fact that most of the club money funneled through a JRT-controlled bank account for which the club had no access or visibility whatsoever. Membership dues, raffle payments, and club management fees from both the VCA and Chrysler went into that account and the club never saw bank statements from that account. The one-page VCA financial statements through 2010 were wholly dependent on what JRT provided.
FACT: The club produced a detailed transparency report and provided it to the board members and regional presidents a year ago. That report included the VPA payroll for 2010 and 2011.
FACT: An independent VCA Financial Oversight Committee was created last year and went over all of the VCA and VPA books. Not one single question was ignored or refused. They presented their findings to the board and regional presidents. One committee member and club founder wrote, "[FONT=&]So the great news is that from the financial aspect the VCA is in the best shape of its life span. We are also in the best organizational place the VCA has ever experienced, as we have all sorts of new responsibilities that the VCA is now handling on its own. The addition of VPA should only further assure that the VCA has an additional revenue vehicle to help sustain the club financials on a go forward basis. With the VCA owning 100% of all the VPA stock it is truly an asset that will not only help to generate revenue for the club but also offset VCA expenses, help INCREASE memberships, and truly be one of the best club benefits any Car Club has ever offered to members.[/FONT]"
FACT: In the 2013 presidents meeting I presented a financial summary of VPA for 2012, including the payroll. That included $114,642 in total pay - before taxes. Including Herb Helbig, myself, and one other worker, there were three people being paid out of that $114,642 with none making less than $24,000 that year. Then take state and federal income taxes out of that $114,642 as well as Social Security, Medicare, etc. There is nor ever was any health insurance, employee savings plans - nothing. Others donated their time for free.
FACT: The VCA board has never been denied a VPA financial report and all such requests were honored. VPA just finished the year-to-date report for the quarter ending 9/30/13.
FACT: The rent and utilities for the VPA parts warehouse paid to Tim's company is the same as what is charged by the actual building owner. The only reason it is not billed directly to VPA is that the building owner requires a long term contract and social security number (not EIN) of the leasing party. That rent is under $3,000 a month and better than just about anything else you could find in this area according to LoopNet - especially on a month-to-month agreement.
FACT: The extended delay for VIPER magazine was outside of Coast to Coast's control, as was how the most recent raffle was conducted. If the VCA board wishes to comment that is up to them. I would encourage folks to look at other car club raffles and see how they conduct them, including licensing. Google "car club raffle".
FACT: This "other club" was being planned over a year ago by many of the same people currently involved - well before any recent developments.
These facts are all documented and are not opinion. Indeed, the only "opinion" was asking for yours on how a customer should deal with a problematic Walmart employee. It is a redundant question and I will not be following up to see how it is answered. Indeed, don't expect another personal post from me for some time to come.
