Way passed time to put this one to rest with a simple "I'm sorry, I apologize." Has now festered into a question of reputation, character and leadership... easy to resolve for a true leader.
[Ms. Brady's quote:
“… Let me be clear on that group of members; 28 of those 32 were SECU retirees,” said Brady. “These were members where Blaine gave them a sheet of paper and said ‘You read this.’ And gave the next one a sheet of paper and said, ‘Now you read this.’ They were holding papers where Blaine gave them talking points. And they were supposed to stand up during the comment section and read their comments.” Brady said she knows for a fact that is what occurred." ]
✅ Letter to CEO Leigh Brady - 12/24/2023
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| Response from the Annual meeting - Julian Hawes Dec. 24, 2023 |
Leigh,
I think that we have two different definitions of “good faith” referred to in your response to the comments at the annual meeting. [Ms. Brady's statement: " My good faith understanding that one party drafted comments for speakers to deliver at our Annual Meeting was incorrect."] Was it “good faith” that I sent two written requests to you for a response only to have them ignored for a couple of weeks? The only way I could elicit a response was to retain an attorney. The response came back more as an explaination as to why the remarks were made. It also included a definition of your responsibilities. It should have been a heart felt apology without qualifications, straight up, no tip toeing around an admission. That would have been the easiest and simplest thing to do. As of this date the only response I have had was a call from my attorney after he had a phone conversation with the credit union’s interim general council. The response was to authorize my attorney to send me a copy of Leigh’s letter to the publisher and a copy of the published article. At least I got a response.
How many of the 32 speakers received a copy of the response unsolicited? I can appreciate your responsibilities to the board and the organization; however, I believe your highest priority is to the members above all else.
The more this issue lingers the wider the divide gets and the more it erodes trust. I’ve had several long term members (non employee) communicate with me concerning the direction of the credit union, its reputation, and its mission. One common thread in all of these conversations is the feeling of the loss of their input for the direction of the credit union. In addition, they felt that trust was slowly disipating on a daily basis. One even commented that if we loose groups of members, then all we have left is a second rate bank without anything special to differentiate us from the industry standard. I believe that to be true.
Thank you for your time.
Julian Hawes
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