Earlier this year, I heard from numerous people complaining about the
cost of the UOAA conference. Mr. Aukett may believe that $109 a night
is affordable, but unfortunately that is out of reach of many
ostomates. I contacted him with ideas to lower the cost of future
conferences (one specific idea was put to have a contract with an
alternate hotel). That idea was meant by this terse and unsympathetic
"moot" from Mr. Aukett. The idea was moot because Mr. Aukett signed a
contract for 2009 in April, and therefore short-circuited members
ability to give him feedback.
On several occasions, I have asked members of the Board of Directors
for the budget. And each time, I have not received the information I
requested. I have suggested posting that information on the UOAA's
website, again that met with no response. Mr. Aukett did not tell you
that there was a thread with over 100 suggestions to improve the
conference on the UOAA forum. The thread was removed by moderators
because many people made it clear that cost was a major concern for
them. Apparently, the UOAA is only a "family" for those that have high
disposable incomes.
Mr. Aukett does not deny that a significant ****tion--the largest item
other than staff--of UOAA funds were used on travel for the Board of
Directors. In fact, he admitted it in his e-mail attacking my
re****ting of the facts in an attempt to hold him accountable. Mr.
Aukett does not mention that only 1 in 4 affiliated sup****t groups
attended the UOAA conference. Mr. Aukett does not mention that only
500 ostomates-depending on which number you believe .05% or .1% of the
ostomate population attended the 2007 conference. Mr. Aukett does not
mention that I did in fact reply that regional conferences were
inadequate because they are only held in a few locations, and not
throughout the country (a large part of this has to do with the UOAA's
refusal to give financial aid to regional conferences).
If the travel was so minimalist, why didn't Mr. Aukett provide a
detailed expenditure re****t with in his newsletter? The fact remains:
the UOAA says it exists to sup****t ostomates, but in the 2006 calendar
year, $0 was directly spent on programs to sup****t ostomates. Money
was spent on a hotline and a staff person to answer it. Physical
sup****t was not given by our national sup****t organization.
Yet tens of thousands of dollars was spent on travel for individual
members of the Board of Directors. But, if a local group wants to hold
a regional conference--Mr. Aukett's excuse for holding conferences at
over-priced resorts--we are told that the UOAA cannot afford it.
Surely, Mr. Aukett and friends have heard of something called a
conference call?
Far from Mr. Aukett's allegations, I do not want to destroy the UOAA.
I sup****t the UOAA's mission, not the people who are currently running
it. Our organization must be about more than one person. It must be
about sup****ting ostomates on the local level. Affiliated sup****t
groups must see a benefit from national activities. And if the only
national benefit is an over-priced conference once every two years, we
need to think about going in a different direction.
What Mr. Aukett will not tell you is that he and members of the Board
of Directors were fully aware of my fund raising activities. Yet he
insists that I have "done nothing," just like the member of the Board
of Directors who asked, "What have I ever done," despite knowing what
I was doing, he insists that I do nothing. For the record, I've
written two published letters to the editor, created a blog with over
10,000 hits, lobbied for the UOAA on Capitol Hill, and written an
article for the local newsletter in the year since I became an
ostomate. I believe that this has made more of a positive contribution
to our community than jetting around the country. Mr. Aukett may claim
that he is grateful about me raising funds for the organization, but
him and his cohorts have failed to even say, "thanks." It shows their
lack of professionalism and incompetence. Apparently, $100 isn't
enough to illicit two kind words from Mr. Aukett's precious mouth.
Because I took a stand, I have been accused of not sup****ting the
organization, called "arrogant and bloated," told I was an "arrogant
SOB," accused of being "on a mission to destroy the UOAA," had a
member of the Board of Directors imply that I would be a horrible
parent, had words put into my mouth by a moderator on the UOAA forum,
and now I've been accused of committing a felony. All of this by the
"noble" "volunteers" that Mr. Aukett so staunchly defends. They
invited feedback relating to the UOAA's forum use policy. I sent two
messages to the moderator who posted on the issue. I never received a
reply. The claims about "50 messages in a day," are gross
exaggerations by Mr. Aukett in his on going attempt to discredit me in
order to blur the truth.
The truth is that the spending priorities of the UOAA do not represent
a commitment to the mission of the organization. They represent a
commitment to the idea of directors representing the organization and
networking at social functions. Mr. Aukett did not disclose how much
he personally spent on travel that year. And I ask, how much better of
a place could our community be if that money went towards sup****ting
local, and reasonably priced, events? How many more people would've
gotten involved? How many more people would've been helped? I think,
with different spending priorities, the answer is a lot.
At one point, Mr. Aukett offered to meet me and discuss this issue,
and as soon as I started talking about dates and times, he refused to
meet me. His belief that he "hoped that the problem would resolve
itself," speaks volumes about his inability to lead our organization.
His enraged reply to my blog post shows that there is truth in what I
re****ted (as he admits with his detailed figures). And I'll note that
it isn't exactly a "sacrifice" to fly coach.
We need sup****t to cross class boundaries. We need local and free
events to attract new members to local sup****t groups. This, not
lavish conferences or extensive travel by the Board of Directors, is
what the UOAA should be spending money on. Mr. Aukett's closed-door
policies, and closed-door operations show that he is incapable of
leading this organization. I hope you'll join me in calling for his
resignation.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Guss, M.P.A.
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