I also want to address Mr. Aukett's misleading claim about the
"moderator of the Teen message board." That person is a fully grown
adult.
On Sep 12, 10:16 pm, michaeldg...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> 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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