Busy, Busy, Busy….
March 20, 2009
Sorry I haven’t written in a while, but I’ve been busier than a one-armed paperhanger around here…..oops…..maybe I shouldn’t have gone there….I don’t want to have to issue an apology like Barry (a.k.a. the president) had to today for making that Special Olympics comment on Leno.
As cool as I thought it was for him to go on that show, something told me it was going to end badly for Barry on some level. I just can’t help but wonder what the reaction would have been had his predecessor said something similar. I’m guessing it would have gotten a whole lot more play than it did, but I’m just speculating.
The reason I’ve been busy is I’ve been chasing a couple of stories that are developing on almost a daily basis. The one that’s gotten the most play is the Greenfield-Mohawk School Superintendent flap. You can read more about that in my column in today’s Greenfield Recorder, but suffice it say, anything that gets Dalton Athey and Chris Forgey sniping at each other is always worth tracking.
The other story which is not gotten even a lick of traction is what’s going on at the Hampshire Regional YMCA. As you may know if you’ve been listening, I recently joined the Y and am embarking on a new exercise program designed to both save my life, and raise money for a good cause (more on that to follow later).
During my travels between the locker room, pool and exercise room, I stumbled upon a story that NO ONE, including my friends in the print media, is talking about. As you may or may not know, YMCA Executive Director David Marks is leaving later this summer. When the story broke this past fall, I (and apparently a lot of other people) was under the impression that Marks was leaving to pursue other opportunities.
That is apparently not the case. To put not too fine a point on it, Marks is being forced out of his position by the new president of the YMCA’s Board of Directors. Apparently, Peter Jordan is not down with Marks’ and has acquired the votes to replace him, and they are actively seeking replacements for both the CEO and Camp Norwich Director’s position.
Now, keep in mind, this is a guy (Marks) who took an organization that was around $230,000 in the red and in one year created an over $130,000 surplue. Not to mention, he has created a pretty damn good camp facility in Huntington, while totally changing the mood and feel of an organization that wasn’t exactly the most welcoming place in the world before he showed up.
Let me give you an idea of what kind of guy David Marks is. One day, before my summer kidney odyssey, I mentioned on the air that I was interested in changing my life and getting healthier. It’s time, I said, to make the change–or start thinking about ordering the casket. Now, up until then, my connection to Marks was ansullary at best. I’d interviewed him a couple of times, so it wasn’t like we were tight. But that didn’t stop the guy from coming over to the radio station one day, unsolicited, and offer to help me in my quest.
Now, keep in mind, this is a guy who is running a multi-million dollar operation and organizing a summer camp program (in itself a full-time job) and he’s taking time out of his day to come all the way across town out of concern for a guy he hardly knows. That absolutely blew me away. It was one of the single nicest gestures anyone has ever made to me, and it meant more than he will ever know. In fact, I’m not sure I’d be working out today if that conservation had never happened, so I owe the guy a lot–and so does the rest of the community. And now it is payback time.
A pair of Y members, both big David Marks supporters, have launched a drive to save his job. Kara Harper and Margot Zalkind will go before the Y board this coming Monday. I’m guessing they aren’t going to have much success convincing them to change their mind, but they are going to give it their best shot–and we are going to help them.
Harper and Zalkind will be stopping by here on Tuesday and will be giving me the exclusive on their plans, and from there, it’s going to BE ON! I’m taking this thing as wide as it will go, and while we may not ultimately win the battle to save David Marks, we’re, at the very least, going to expose the dirty politics and back-room double-dealing going on in this supposedly-above board, “community organization.”
I’m guessing there may be a few well-heeled donors who might be interested to know that a successful and popular director is being forced out of office to advance someone’s political agenda. And my hope is enough of those donors get as pissed off as I am and start “rethinking” their support for the Y–because that’s the only way we’re going to be able to save this guy.
This is a real chance for you, the community, to really make a difference, and show these people where the REAL power lies in this community.
More to follow. Bank on it.
Time to hit the treadmill
Collins