More Deception & Failures of Trust?

September 2, 2008 by bobfrank.

 (Go to the end of this article to discover new developments & documents!)

Once again, Berman’s Bog attempts to deceive and distort and cause undue confusion and strife among SCA residents. Berman said in part:   “What could be more obvious than -if Carl Weinstein is correct- a package from Chef Neal which incorporates all the elements of Bob Frank’s presentation at the recent Trumpets workshops? How is it that this information was fed to Chef Neal, and do you really think that constitutes playing fair?”

What a sad reflection of Berman’s nastiness and disruptive behavior!  Those who attended the Trumpets Workshop (including both of the Bermans and Weinstein) know that my proposed terms and conditions were mounted by Anthem Voice on its website and sent by public email to AV subscribers the night BEFORE the workshop. Chef Neal asked me AFTER the workshop for copies of my slides, and I referred him to the AV site. Carl should have done the same for the other interested companies or at least provided the contact info so I could forward the comments to other interested parties on an equal basis.

When I received Chef Neal’s proposal, I noticed that my words and formats had been SIGNIFICANTLY modified, and much more info was added. Sure, many of my board member words were copied when it fit Chef Neal’s purposes; but, so what? That is a standard/smart business practice. And, as Rana stated, this is a period of NEGOTIATION. Only a VERY foolish business would include its best and final proposed terms and conditions in its first proposed approach.

Finally, Chef Neal explained to me that his minimum risk approach for that special proposal was based on my stated desire (in the workshop) to test the feasibility of a members-only operation. He believes he should not have to bear the brunt of any short-term losses while a members-only policy is tested. Of course, he was open to a counter-proposal on terms if the board majority was also interested in a members-only policy. But, since that approach was not approved at the last board meeting, Chef Neal said that different financial terms will be suggested in his next proposal.

Notwithstanding all of that, the community should have GREAT concern over Shirley Cheri’s, Carl Weinstein’s and Roz Berman’s ILLEGAL disclosure of Chef Neal’s CONFIDENTIAL proposed business terms during the last Board Meeting. As the spouse of a former attorney, Roz Berman knows that business proposal information clearly marked as CONFIDENTIAL by Chef Neal could not be publicly discussed during the board meeting. Roz, Carl and Shirley have to know it was highly improper and illegal for them to breach Chef Neal’s confidentiality requirements without his written permission. It was also highly improper, if not illegal, for Roz’s (former attorney) spouse to quote the confidential information on his blog.

Regardless of the cause of board member failures, those individuals may have exposed this association to future litigation. Chef Neal is such a gentleman that I doubt he would consider taking legal action, but how could Chef Neal, or any other potential trumpets candidate trust the board with confidential business proposal information in the future?

In addition, what was RMI’s role in this breach of confidential information? Did Shirley and Roz share Chef Neal’s proposal with RMI to produce Shirley’s slides–even though it was clearly marked with “Confidential & Proprietary Business Proposal Data. No Releases to other Firms.” RMI is supposed to have the expertise to keep the board members from making such major breaches of business conduct. If we are going to be successful with concluding a trumpets agreement, such unprofessional conduct MUST NOT happen again.

Director/Treasurer Shirley Cheri Refuses to Admit Mistake:
cheri_rejects_all.pdf

Director Weinstein Refuses to Admit Mistake plus Insults Chef Neal & SCA Women’s Club Members
Carl & Ron Johnson Comment.pdf
weinstein_insults_chef-neal+questions.pdf

Chef Neal grants Director Frank permission to post his original proposal on this site:
Chef Neal’s Proposal for Members-Only Test for Trumpets    chef-neal_release.pdf

Bob Frank, SCA CAI Director

Posted in Truth Squad, SCA Board, Laws & Rules | Print | 4 Comments »