CEO's Firing Leads To Resignations At Tulsa Red Cross

[GG]

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=10639070

The board of the Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross resigned after the CEO was fired.

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The board of the Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross resigned after the CEO was fired.
George Singer says Ogle was fired because she resisted a shift in control of the chapter away from the local board to the national office.

George Singer says Ogle was fired because she resisted a shift in control of the chapter away from the local board to the national office.

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- The long time CEO of the Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross was fired on Wednesday and the local board of directors resigned on Thursday.  The board chairman says it's because the Tulsa chapter no longer is under local control.

George Singer resigned from the board after the national leaders of the charity fired Mary Ogle, the CEO.

"It's not just the fact of her dismissal; it's the reason for dismissal," said George Singer.

Singer says Ogle was fired because she resisted a shift in control of the chapter away from the local board to the national office.

"This is not about the mission of the Red Cross, it's about who administers this chapter.  And, some of us don't have the time nor the inclination to be window dressing for an organization that's no longer run by Tulsans for the benefit of Tulsans," said George Singer.

The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross wouldn't comment on why Mary Ogle was fired, calling it a personnel matter.  They say the work of the chapter continues uninterrupted, even though the local CEO is out and the entire local board has apparently resigned.

"There has been an email sent from the board chair.  We don't know how many board members resigned, and we know change is difficult," said Nellie Kelly with the Red Cross.

Kelly says the 16 member board will be replaced, and the new board will hire a new CEO.  They'll be in charge of the $4.5 million annual budget.  Kelly says disaster relief work won't be affected and the balance of power has not changed.

"No, locally, the Red Cross has always been a grass roots organization and it always will be," said Nellie Kelly.

Singer says the national Red Cross is now running the Tulsa chapter and falsely claiming the changes will save money.

"There's nothing in their explanation, none of the streamlining or cost savings requires a change in governance.  It doesn't connect.  It's simply a cover story to justify consolidation of authority," said George Singer.

Singer believes the leadership shakeup will scare off the chapter's most generous donors.

"I think it's going to be devastating for fundraising because when people can't trust that money is going to be used for their fellow citizens, they're very reluctant to give," said George Singer.

Read the resignation letter from the board, see the list of members, and a written statement from the Red Cross.

[GG]

Something is rotten in Denmark, I mean Tulsa.  

[Wilbur]

I know a couple people on that board (or used to, depending on how you look at that), so I'll need to 'inquire.'  But, most boards determine their own executive directors.  To have someone from outside the board firing the ED certainly doesn't bode well for 'local control.'

[cynical]

In a good many national organizations with local chapters, control of the local chapters is local to a point, but the national organization retains the right to remove local officers if their behaviors or policies are contrary to the policies or interests of the national organization.  It is impossible to say that the national organization was "wrong" for removing the Tulsa executive director without looking at the bylaws the governing the organization.  It is similarly impossible to say the local board was out of line for resigning in support of their executive director.  Resigning was apparently the only remedy available to them.  Otherwise, they'd have taken the question to court. 

The more important question, though, is the effect the board's mass resignation will have on fundraising for the local chapter.  Non-profit board members still owe the organization a duty of loyalty.  It seems that the board members were more loyal to the executive director than to the organization, local or national.  That is a huge problem.  I don't know if they even considered that. 

[FOTD]

Something is rotten in Denmark, I mean Tulsa.  

Yes. The local Yalie in charge of the board has the most unjustifiable monumental ego in the state.

It seems the boards head had arrogant methods which makes this demon wonder what was the Red Cross thinking by putting this person in charge in the first place.

Bottom up my a$$ (watch it Conan and Gwee), Singer. If GS can't have things his way then he'll tell the top to be cut off and he will dictate how he thinks the cow eats the cabbage. Obviously, not a team player. He's very similar to Dumbya when it comes to process. Do they brain melt at Yale?

"It seems that the board members were more loyal to the executive director than to the organization, local or national.  That is a huge problem. " Cynical hits the main point. Only a megalomaniacal jerk would do this....

[swake]

A relative of my wife's worked for the local Red Cross for a brief time, did not care for the place at all.

[tim huntzinger]

So the entire board resigns??? How could a board become so lock-step and of such unanimity? That never ever ever happens.  How could so many of our best and brightest Tulsans be so wrong about this?  Golly, does this ever happen with any of our other non-profits, or clubs, or civic groups, or political parties? Never ever ever, not in open-minded, diverse T-town!! And for how many years did this incompetent, mentally ill professional endanger the lives and well-beings of Tulsans? And no one locally said a thing?

Man, you guys are right, Tulsa must be a really screwed up, incestuous, corrupt, backward place for something so outrageous like this to occur.  Man, I would not trust any local non-profit if this is how screwed up and incompetent these 'non-profits' are! What an embarrassment to the community!  Shameful!  Your town and county must be real dumps of corruption!

[FOTD]

So the entire board resigns??? How could a board become so lock-step and of such unanimity? That never ever ever happens.  How could so many of our best and brightest Tulsans be so wrong about this?  Golly, does this ever happen with any of our other non-profits, or clubs, or civic groups, or political parties? Never ever ever, not in open-minded, diverse T-town!! And for how many years did this incompetent, mentally ill professional endanger the lives and well-beings of Tulsans? And no one locally said a thing?

Man, you guys are right, Tulsa must be a really screwed up, incestuous, corrupt, backward place for something so outrageous like this to occur.  Man, I would not trust any local non-profit if this is how screwed up and incompetent these 'non-profits' are! What an embarrassment to the community!  Shameful!  Your town and county must be real dumps of corruption!

Come now. Local boards are mostly fund raisers to supplement National Programs. This is clearly a case of eccentric patrons disturbed about their powerlessness. Let the National Red Cross move on and do what they need to do to sustain operations. Micro managing from a minor city and it's other satellites would be a mistake.

[FOTD]

Tulsa World stands up for one of their own!
http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=61&articleid=20090707_61_A16_MaryCO19763

If the military operated from the bottom up, nothing would ever be resolved. Nationwide catastrophe depends on top down orders and coordination from the National office.

Tulsa World, the hurricane responses were lousy because the FEMA folks were inept. Your positioning here seems clannish.

[FOTD]

Let me get this right. The Tulsa World comes out supporting anarchy. Arbiter Jerry Goodwin thinks he and Singer can find common ground. Singer says,"the national organization will have to back off its insistence that it control the operations of all the chapters...if that does not happen, there is no basis for conversation."

Time to be done with Singer and any other board members who think they can leverage an organization using unethical tactics of divide and conquer to establish their independence from rule of authority.

Tulsa World supports anarchy?