First off, thanks for the response on the separate corporations and how they're affected under Texas law. Again, not being a lawyer, simple explanations are appreciated.
Second, I want to thank Bill (Old Shep) for weighing in. His comments on how the new CEO has improved the business performance of the CAF are interesting and well-taken. I would humbly submit, however, personality does indeed matter- most specifically because the CAF is by and large a volunteer organization. People pay money to join the CAF, they are not under any obligation to do so, and they are within their rights to expect a certain level of business performance from the organization to which they belong, as well as expecting to be treated with a certain amount of respect... they are not "employees" in the traditional sense, after all.
Taking Bill's statements regarding the business performance of the CAF under the new CEO at face value, it sounds as though Mr. Brown is certainly meeting his fiduciary responsibility to ensure the long-term viability of the organization. That is good, and suggests that Mr. Brown is well grounded in corporate business practices. But what also seems clear is that Mr. Brown may not fully appreciate the significant cultural differences between a traditional corporate hierarchy and a volunteer organization. People are far more personally vested in the latter, and both cannot and should not be treated as disposable assets, as they might be within a corporate structure. Call it personality or what have you, but that cultural difference is significant and a failure to understand and work within that structure will have lasting, long-term ramifications for the business... because people do not want to invest themselves personally in an organization where their contributions (economic or otherwise) are regarded as disposable or otherwise unnecessary on any level.
Lastly, I want to make it clear that far from seeing this as an airing of dirty laundry, I see this as a necessary and healthy exchange of ideas, because the members of this board are exactly the group of people upon whom the CAF must depend to ensure it's long-term viability. It is warbird and history enthusiasts who founded the CAF and have made it so successful, and the CAF must continue to cultivate that enthusiasm and draw from it in order to survive. There will be passionate debate about how best to accomplish that goal- as there should be. But the end goal of all parties must be the same, and that is the long-term survival of the CAF and it's mission... if all parties can agree upon that, then a workable solution can surely be found.
Once again, I appreciate the information, and look forward to hearing more about this over the next few days.
Lynn
While it's true that every individual in any organization, whether it's volunteer or for hire, be treated with all respect due them. That cannot be stated clearly enough or often enough. But what of those who have intentionally (and with a great deal of forethought) broken the laws of an organization? Should they be treated as though they have done nothing wrong and let go on their merry way? There is a cost associated with everything we do as human beings. Sometimes we end up winners and sometimes we end up in a place we had not considered and it's not a place as good as the one we gambled ourself out of. It's easy to cast stones at a corporation, at members of the administrative blob or generally at somebody else, and much more difficult to look in the mirror and say, "I did wrong. I made my bed and now have to lay in it." Ownership in ones mistakes is one of the primary differences between being an adult and an adolecent. Sometimes we don't remind ourselves of that often enough.
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