If you look at the "Who's Who" page of the Hermitage website, you'll see yet another board member is gone. Lori Lundberg's name has disappeared from the masthead. That's the third departure since April, following Dick Blanchard and Judy Showers. For a board that only has 5 members, that's a pretty heady turnover. If you've been following this for any length of time, you'll know that what has been happening is that there is an ugly triumvirate of board members (Taylor, Tulowitzski, Zack), who together with the prized Executive Director have ridden the organization into the ground. On a board of five, three is a majority. So the board has cycled through member after member after member in the other positions, each lasting a relatively short time until the true situation became clear, and then exiting stage right.

This resignation is interesting, because it takes board below the minimum required by their by-laws; at least, that's the minimum number required in the last set of by-laws the general public laid their eyes on. And since the board now meets privately at an unpublished time and location, doesn't make available to the public their meeting minutes, and doesn't publish their by-laws, who knows what new rules they've created for themselves.

When this all started, the coalition consulted several lawyers about how to get the board out. Due to the odd legal structure of the Hermitage Board (the old board selects the new board, and all seats are by board approval, without participation by volunteers, staff, donors or sponsors), the only two ways to remove board members are to demonstrate out-and-out legal fraud, or force them out through public humiliation. Gross incompetence and hideous management, no matter how appalling, are not enough to force a legal coup. So we have had to go the other route of making public the Hermitage's dirty laundry, hence this blog, letters, interviews, etc.

And then, at the beginning of August, something fell into my lap which I think will demonstrate to even the most staunch Hermitage supporter that it's time for the three old boys to go. Because of certain legal restrictions, I've had to wait until the wheels of justice finish turning before I can make this public. And those wheels turn excruciatingly slowly. But turn they do and my hope is that VERY shortly, that will change.

If Ms. Parker-Hotchkiss or Ms. Lundberg would be interested in talking, please contact the webmaster.

Update May 26: The newest board member's name is now fully listed as Susan Parker-Hotchkiss.

And the Hermitage Board changes its composition yet again. Kenna Smith has vanished, and been replaced by a board member who apparently only has a first name, "Susan", according to the website. I guess having only a first name makes it easier to avoid the riff-raff. Other positions were shuffled around among the remaining players.

So, that makes 10 board member changes since May of last year: Dan Moynihan, Denise Moynihan, Rachel McCaffrey, Kenna Smith, and Kendra Kent all left; Vernon Alexander, Dick Blanchard, Dawna Spencer and Judith Showers all joined and then left; and Lori Lundberg just joined. Not exactly a testament to the stability of the organization.

In a related note, the official Hermitage blog, whose purpose is, in their own words, "to inform our sponsors, donors and adopters of the ongoing activities and programs of the Hermitage Cat Shelter in Tucson, Arizona." has suddenly been completely and entirely removed from the web. It appears they no longer feel a need to inform sponsors, donors or adopters about anything.

The Board members at the Hermitage are coming and going so fast, it's starting to sound like that old Abbott and Costello "Who's on First and What's on Second" comedy sketch. Dick Blanchard joined the board not long after the sad incident on January 23, when eight year-old boys entered the shelter with dogs after hours, killing one cat and injuring others. Mr. Blanchard was present at the unlocked, unalarmed shelter with the Executive Director when the incident happened, and I imagine it was one of them most disturbing things he's ever witnessed. Today he disappeared from the "Who We Are" listing of the board of directors, which is now down to the minimum number of 5. As is their standard practice, there was no public note of thanks to the board member who is leaving, no thank you for coordinating the El Tour, no appreciation for doing the blog postings, or expression of gratitude for all the work on the website. No, there is nothing, just "poof" and his name is gone. I also note that this removal didn't even wait until after the monthly board meeting. Reminds me of the ancient Egyptian pharoahs who would order their rival's names cut out of the carvings on momuments and buildings, in the mistaken belief that if there was no official written record, then the opponent never existed and their deeds were never done.

Since last May, Rachel McCaffrey, Dan Moynihan, Denise Moynihan, Kendra Kent, Dawna Spencer, Judy Showers, Vernon Alexander and Dick Blanchard have all left. That means a board which requires a minimum of 5 people has churned through enough people to chair a second organization, and then some, in less than a year. Two of the departures have come within the past month.

There has been one new addition to the board, Lori Lundberg. I encourage Ms. Lundberg, who I believe is an attorney, to ask lots of questions at the upcoming annual board meeting on the 20th. I think you will be surprised at the hostility with which attempts to do due diligence is met. And Mr. Blanchard, I encourage you to do the right thing, and come forward publicly about what you have observed over the past six months. You'll sleep better.

About a month ago, shortly after the Tucson Weekly's second recent article on the Hermitage, another board member's name disappeared from the Hermitage's "Who We Are" page on their website. Again, no fanfare, no "thank you for services rendered", no acknowledgement of the various activities accomplished, nada. Judy Showers follows in the footsteps of Dawna Spencer, Vernon Alexander, Kendra Kent, and Rachel McCaffrey, who have all resigned from the Hermitage Board since last May's yearly board meeting (and additionally Dan and Denise Moynihan, who chose to leave the board at May). This is especially impressive since the board only has 5 members at the current time (although the by-laws permit many more). Some time ago, I was told that Ms. Showers had tried to talk with Ms. Spring about the Hermitage actually sitting down and talking with the Save the Hermitage group, but was thoroughly rebuffed by the Executive Director. In the spirit of open communications, I invite Ms. Showers to contact the webmaster and directly give her side of the story, on or off the record, as she chooses. If she wishes, I promise to publish any communication she may wish to write, whether favorable or unfavorable to either side. Only open communication can lead to a better future for the cats.

The Board meetings are still hidden and private, but here are links to the online Board application and the printed version. I predict one vacancy.

Dawna Spencer has suddenly disappeared from the Hermitage "Who We Are" page. She joined the board only a few months ago, at roughly the same time as Vern Alexander. Mr. Alexander left in October. The Hermitage blog, which is, in their own words, "our vehicle to communicate with you on the latest going on's at the shelter" contains no note of thanks, acknowledgement of services rendered, or even a notation regarding either departure. Ms. Spencer would be the 6th board member to leave the (their words) "world class organization" since the May board meeting, and her disappearance means that both of the new board members are now gone.

Mary Jo Spring, on their website, says the Hermitage "is moving in a new direction and is poised for great things." Taken over the past 8 months, there are now more former board members than current board members. Why are they all leaving? Why has there been no public comment on any of the departures, positive or negative? Have six people in a row suddenly found they needed to spend more time with their family? Why can't the Hermitage board get any new people to join the board and stay? What do the departed board members know about the new direction and great things that the rest of the world doesn't? Why are they leaving?

Kendra Kent, Hermitage Cat Shelter Board Vice-President, resigned over the weekend. Jodi Schanbel, the remaining long-term Vet Tech, resigned Thursday. Jessica Ehler, the sole remaining long-term member of the cleaning staff, also resigned. That means there are NO staff members left at the shelter who know the identity of all the remaining cats. If you've never been to the Hermitage, then you don't realize it is a no-cage facility, with almost 300 free-roaming cats within the house. Ever tried to tell 10 different black cats apart? Let alone locate a specific one in an area with four connected rooms and hundreds of hiding places, and oh yes, the cats are all moving the entire time? It took me two months when I was an assistant vet tech to learn everyone, their habits, hangouts and how to tell them from similar cats, and that was after I had worked at the shelter as a cleaner for about 18 months. And I still had to get Paula or Jodi to verify my identifications sometimes. How can the sick cats receive medication if they can't reliably be identified? How can a cat be adopted if it has no history because no one is sure who it is? The people left to care for the cats are a three-person Humane Society cleaning crew, two new cleaners, and two new vet techs who have been on the job a week. There is an adminstrative assistant who gives tours and approves adoptions, but she does not know the identity of all the cats.

Additional staff gone in the past three weeks are, in reverse order:
Christy Pasciunas, Vet Tech Assistant, resigned
Kate Spiderman, Vet Tech Assistant, resigned
Karen McGillis, Vet Tech, resigned
Paula Smith, Care Care Manager (Head Vet Tech), fired
Megan Morris, Shelter Assistant, fired
Keith Godbee, Sheltter Assistant, fired
Joleen Snowden, Relief Manager, fired
Carlen Torres, Shelter Assistant, fired
Julie Vance, Shelter Manager, resigned

I call upon everyone who cares about these cats and their welfare, to call upon the remaining board members to resign. These people need to see that LOTS of people are unhappy with what they have done, and how they have done it.

President Tom Tulowitzki, tomtincal@msn.com
Treasurer Ron Zack, wsuron@yahoo.com
Gen. Representative Kenna Smith, kagesmith@gmail.com
Gen. Representative Judy Showers, judys@happytailstucson.com
Gen. Representative Taylor Heidenheim, heident@comcast.net
And let Executive Director Mary Jo Spring, know what you think of the job she's doing too: hermitagecats@aol.com

Shelter phone is 571-7839.

In an update to yesterday's departures at The Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter, Rachel McCaffrey, Board Secretary, resigned. The Board Secretary is one of the four Executive Board positions, which are the only ones that have voting power. Remaining board members, as listed on the website, include President Tom Tulowitzki, Vice-President Kendra Kent, and Treasurer Ron Zack. I emphasize "as listed on the website" because no one but the board themselves knows if there was an election in the parking lot after they left the Ward 6 offices. And direct contact information for board members doesn't exist on the website, and is not posted in the shelter, so there is no way to ask. Not the way I would want run a public nonprofit organization that exists based on donations from the public.