The new chairman of the embattled Connecticut Humane Society may need more than a formal warning from the state Attorney General to understand that the 129-year-old charity needs dramatic overhaul.
Within an hour after Ct Attorney General Richard Blumenthal released a scathing interim report on Chris White’s board, White in-effect told the woman most responsible for bringing public attention to the society’s problems to get lost.
White has served for 15 years on the board and made at least $30,000 in advertising for his Hartford Magazine and his Life weekly publications in no bid contracts from the board, a process that was criticized in Blumenthal’s report Wednesday, made public shortly after noon.
Cathy DeMarco, a former CHS employee and now a teacher’s aide in New Britain, organized the Coalition For Change, composed of 160 present and former workers, volunteers, donors, and animal lovers. She asked me last year to help her expose the dictatorial and abuse management style of Richard Johnston, who after 20 years, resigned last week as both the group’s chairman and full-time director/president.
During the last 15 years White and five other board members who benefited personally or their businesses from no bid contracts, supported Johnston and to the very end downplayed criticism of the management.
On Tuesday, shortly before Blumenthal made public his interim investigative report, DeMarco sent White a polite email asking that his organization be permitted to participate in the selection of the new director.
This was his response:
Cathy:
We too have nothing but the best in mind for the institution, the staff and the animals. Thank you and your group for your support during the investigation. There is indeed a great deal of work to do, but we are working hard and have already made a great deal of progress.
I have forwarded your email to the rest of the Board, but I think Coalition participation in the hiring process is extremely unlikely. As you surely know, personnel matters at all organizations both for-profit and not-for-profit are private, internal discussions. It would be inappropriate to have a non-board member on the panel charged with discussing staffing issues of any kind.
I thank you for your interest and your committment (sic) to the CHS and the animals.
Chris
That would be a proper response had White at any point figured out from being on the board that Johnston was behaving improperly, unethically, and to the detriment of the staff and the thousands of animals that were needlessly put down.
The only part he was able to grasp was how to get advertising for his publications.
Later Tuesday, DeMarco sent another email to White suggesting that a coalition member be put on the board.
Dear Chris:
Please consider allowing a Coalition member to become a member of the CHS Board.
The time has come for the animals, workers, and general public to be represented in some official way at CHS.
Please share this email with the entire BOD.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Cathy DeMarco and the Coalition
White was not interested. He sent her the following response after the AG’s statement was made public:
I have forwarded your email on to the other board members. I must note however this comment of yours:
The time has come for the animals, workers, and general public to be represented in some official way at CHS.
Every member of the 11-member Board of Directors is a volunteer, whose sole responsibility is to represent the animals, workers and general public in an official way at the CHS. So I think we have this covered. Thanks.
Chris
Well if that is the case, they have done a heck of a job.
Obviously, DeMarco is less than pleased with the response from White.
This is her response:
The Coalition for Change is made up of past and present CHS workers and volunteers, as well as members of the public. We have over 160 members now.
These are the facts:
*We came together over the shared serious concerns about deteriorating animal care and working conditions at the Newington Headquarters of the CHS.
*We organized workers to petition to join the Machinists Union as we feared the decision to take our concerns to the CHS President/BOD would put employees in further jeopardy.
*In mid-December, 2 weeks after we were victorious in the union election, three respected and dedicated workers were unjustly fired. This was a defining moment. This was when we decided to go public with our complaints.
*Since then, OSHA, the AG ‘s office, and the NLRB all have confirmed that the Coalition’s concerns are serious and legitimate. Also, two more employees and one volunteer were additionally fired!
*Due to the public exposure and pressure brought forth by the Coalition, the BOD formed a subcommittee to investigate the accusations. Coalition members, and representatives from respected rescue groups, attended a meeting with this subcommittee in Hartford on Feb. 9th (we had sent letters to each board member asking for a meeting).
*Because of the subcommittee’s findings and the public out-cry that the Coalition caused (our opinion), Richard Johnston resigned and a new euthanasia evaluating panel was created.
NOW BEGINS the REAL WORK!
The remaining Board members need to do what is best for the organization and they do not seem capable of that. I cannot allow Chris White to publicly state that the Coalition’s concerns/ accusations are false, inaccurate, or exaggerated. We need to know exactly what he is talking about so we can address this.
Also, the Coalition feels that the 6 Board members who have received donated money for services provided to CHS from their businesses or companies need to resign immediately. There really is no excuse for this type of behavior. It may not be illegal but it is certainly unethical. Remaining on the BOD only continues to hurt the organization.
And finally, there are very few on the BOD who seem to have the genuine interests of the animals, workers, and citizens of CT in mind. Gretchen Dale, Bob Baseler, and Dr. Haines seem to be definite exceptions to this rule. Both Gretchen and Bob actively volunteer in Westport and Waterford and Dr. Haines has been providing high-quality, low-cost veterinary services to thousands of pet owners for decades. These 3 individuals should remain on to assist with helping the Society become what it was always meant to be: a true leader in all animal welfare and advocacy issues that confront the animals and people of the state of CT.
I do feel very strongly that two seats on the BOD should be immediately offered to Coalition members. We have dozens of CHS workers and volunteers with substantial animal knowledge, credentials, and experience. Our combined backgrounds along with the huge network of animal welfare advocates that has resulted from Coalition activity is immense.
The CHS needs courageous leadership immediately. The situation is urgent. The Board and new Exec. Dir. need to be able to unify and motivate all workers and volunteers who have been forgotten and disillusioned over time. A strong and powerful vision of the change that needs to occur is essential right away. The people dealing directly with the animals and the public need a voice in the important decisions at the shelter.
In the Coalition, we have what we call sub-groups. One recently formed sub-group is the RIT (Research and Information Team). This group has begun visiting other shelters to get info on how they operate. All of our findings will be turned over to CHS so the largest shelter in our state can get a true and accurate picture of what other organizations are doing.
We want to be a part of the solution. We never intended to hurt the animals, workers, or the public. We did, however, fully intend to set right countless wrongs that occurred under the former president, current managers, and ineffective BOD.
And on a final note, I decided to share recent emails with the new chairman of the board with George, only because it appears we still have some pretty big problems to overcome. Chris White’s quick and arrogant response to OSHA, the AG, and myself clearly show that there is little chance for real lasting change with him at the helm.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by George Gombossy. George Gombossy said: Connecticut Humane Society Chairman White Doesn’t Get It: He Is The Problem http://bit.ly/9bW0Fb via @AddToAny [...]
meet the new twit, same as the old twit
?
CHRIS WHITE WAS TRAINED BY THE BEST. HE WAS A YOUNG MAN WHEN HE STARTED ON THE BOARD. I WORKED @ CHS FOR 12 YEARS I LOVED MY JOB & CO WORKERS. I LEFT BECAUSE OF RICHARD HE IS CRAZY. I CAN NOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES MR WHITE ALONG WITH OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WOULD WALK RIGHT PAST ME AND OTHER CHS WORKERS WITH NOT EVEN A HI OR THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK . I WOULD LOVE TO GO BACK THERE TO WORK IF THINGS EVER GET BETTER. I THINK MR BLUMENTHAL SHOULD LOOK INTO ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS. SPANO PRINTING, A DONNA CAMBELL I COULD GIVE HIM ALOT OF INFO HOW ABOUT MR DAVE MCCONNEL HE STOLE A BUNCH OF $$$$$ FROM CHS EVERYTHING WAS KEPT ON THE QT BUT SOME OF US STILL REMEMBER THAT ONE OF MANY COVER UPS.
Sounds like you have some information….hmmmmm
But I’ve heard that from many people. I know if I were on the board, ID WANT to know who the people in the trenches were. It doesn’t surprise me though since RJ himself only acknowledged me ONE time that I can remember, at least NOD at me as you pass me by…
Aside from the above mention individuals; Bob, Gretchen, and Dr. Haines, Cathy is right, they NEVER volunteer. If you consider showing up for a meeting every now and then for a free $expensive$ lunch and free business volunteering, then Chris you have no idea what the REAL volunteers and staff do. Not to mention the BOD members barely ever donated to the society! It’s true, a rule had to be put in place to require a meager annual donation from the BOD. Unbelievable!!!!
Also not once did I see Chris or any other BOD members at any of our events or day to day at the shelter…being a former volunteer and employee I would know.
Also the BOD members had no clue who staff and volunteers were! They never spoke to any of us, not a hi a thank you…nothing.
These are not the people, Richard appointees, that should be running our shelter.
Listen to Cathy she speaks the truth; get these ineffective immoral people out of there so we can save more animals, fix corrupt managment regimes, and promote people who care and really know what they are doing…
Eric, Heather, Doc B, Morgan, Rachel, Jackie, Doc Olsen…etc. These are fine people the best of the bunch…and all the other dedicated staff that work in incoming, adoptions, customer service, etc.
Keep strong guys!!!
I wish I could say I’m surprised…As a business man you would think that he would get that people are not going to donate to a charity that is embroiled in such a public relations nightmare…and especially to one who is giving every appearance of going out of their way to NOT change, NOT apologize, NOT take responsibility and NOT to do what is obviously best for the animals and the charity itself.
and yet the PR people are doing NOTHING in their defense either. I think they figure, if we ignore it , it will go away. We are not going away, maybe each of the elite will be going one by one…to the unemployment line. Perhaps some of the unlawfully fired employees can give them some pointers on how to file????
“Every member of the 11-member Board of Directors is a volunteer, whose sole responsibility is to represent the animals, workers and general public in an official way at the CHS.” That is a lovely statement that is unfortunately lacking in substance. They are not “volunteers” if they have made any kind of money from CHS over the years for their businesses. They also have no clue about what goes on day to day at any of the shelters regarding the animals and or the workers (aside from the very few who do actually volunteer their time). They have also repeatedly stated that all allegations made have been false. So I fail to see how they are being “responsible” for the animals and the workers. At the end of the day this is the same game minus one player.
It almost diminishes what a true volunteer brings to CHS. A real volunteer doesn’t seek out any notoriety or honor. WE all did it for various reasons but the most common denominator was that we did it for the love of the animals. Now a good many of the volunteer’s have joined the coaltion to help their fallen friends fight the good fight. I was a volunteer who sacrificed my entire weekend for CHS. I am not retired, I work at least 48 hours a week at my full time job yet I worked both days on the weekend (sat 10-5, sun 11-4). I went months at a time without a day off because I enjoyed the work, I loved seeing the adoption staff, they were part of my extended family and family sticks together. Their treatment infuriated me but they stayed, so i stayed….it’s what friends do. They continued to unlawfully FIRE people which infuriated me and yet I continued to go in because the remaining staff needed me by their side but more importantly the animals needed me. The final straw was when the new Manager (thru someone else) sent an email to MAKE SURE that I was going to be on staff while the Supervisor was on vacation….so in other words, while we were now down to ONE adoption person on Saturday plus the team leader and the supervisor , they wanted to make sure I was going to be there to work the whole weekend in place of three adoption counselors….I think there was an awful lot of nerve there to begin with because it wasn’t FUN anymore, it was becoming a JOB yet I wasn’t getitng paid for it. I made a very painful decision to not go back after five years of volunteering. It just shows how they just don’t care who gets abused in the system as long as it isn’t THEM personally. They would throw ANYONE under the bus if they had to in order to escape the Wrath of RJ. When I wrote to the board, they certainly did listen, but eventually I was also given the blow off letter saying, we will continue to do things as WE SEE FIT and what is right for CHS. As a sidenote, this was the morning of the AG’s findings being made public. Can’t help but wonder, how the BOD is seeing things now. I would still be willing to be part of the solution, however they are not very accepting of ideas, although they do SAY they will listen, they listen and go about business as usual. It’s a shame because we have great ideas, thoughts, concerns and opinions, we are not a punch of political advocates with an agenda….we simply want change and QUICK!
Chris White, like many people on the board, is a jackass. There is no other way to put it. I guarantee that guy has no idea how the CHS shelters run from day to day, and I have never once seen him at a CHS event (and I have been to tons).
Furthermore, he was one of the first board members to blow people off over their concerns about the animals. Whereas Bob and Gretchen wrote back and relayed their own concern for the animals, (a concern that is borne out by their actual volunteering at CHS) in long, well thought out emails, Chris White wrote back some 2 sentence BS about working hard to do what is best for the animals.
He’s a good example of the kind of person that underestimates the intelligence and tenacity of the general public. I have no doubt that whatever esteem the public may have held him in because of his small business ownership will deteriorate in light of the revelation that (surprise!) he is only on the board because it “looks good” and not because of a true concern for homeless pets.
I have complete disdain for those BOD members that were actually volunteers, knew what was going on and did nothing but sit quietly during RJ’s reign of terror. Along with their appointments as Board members came a duty and a responsibility to do what was right for the animals. Get rid of them all and bring in real animal lovers that are willing to commit to doing the right thing.
White is kind of an idiot if he doesn’t read between Blumenthal’s lines. Just because the AG isn’t taking immediate disciplinary action doesn’t mean he didn’t make it clear the current management practices are unacceptable.
If White and the Board think that the Coalition is going to back down and go away they are insane. The Coalition/employees won with OSHA. They won with the labor board. They won with getting Johnston out. They won with the AG. They have the undeniable facts, they are in the right.
White and the Board can sit there and assert their very convincing “not-uhs” for as long as they want, but eventually through public ire or the AGs action, change will happen. They can cooperate and it will be an easy change for them, or it can be painful and embarrassing.
So far, White has elected the way of pain and embarrassment. Fine leadership skills, that one.
People here who I respect have said that there are SOME Board members who are good people, who DO care about the animals, the employees, the volunteers and the now-tattered reputation of the charity. If this is true, NOW is the time for those people to step up, make their voices heard and effect real change. They need to clean their own house and do it publicly, openly and honestly, those are the only actions that will EVER make me donate another penny or another hour to this institution. Please, the people that know these Board members, communicate this to them. The old Edmund Burke quote gets more and more appropriate as this situation continues: “All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.”
Also, all this cloak and dagger activity with the Board can not be tolerated. First and foremost the Board should invite (actual) volunteers and staff (not management- they are already well represented) to apply for membership to the Board and at least 5 new members should be timely appointed. It is all “volunteer” after all. It won’t cost them a thing, but it will buy them a great deal of credibility.
This is a charity for goodness sake, no one is asking the Board to reveal the secret recipe for Coca Cola. I’m sure there is room on the board for new blood. And again, if there isn’t, I want a good honest reason as to why not.
As stated volunteering to be on the BOD and being a puppet and doing what true volunteer are two very differnt things. Same be said about existing management, the only reason they work a holiday is being RJ didnt want the staff alone in the building with a volunteer. Imagine that I have been a volunteer for several years and have never seen any of the BOD, help at an event. Maybe it’s time to have co-directors of the BOD a concerned volunteer and someone that hasnt been RJ’s puppet!
Most Volunteer go above and beyond. Doing countless jobs because of the under staffing.
This is very sad. I was hoping with RJ gone the BOD would feel less pressured to participate in his style or Reich. I guess I was wrong. Let’s just hope the new board members are compassionate people that actually care about the animals.
BTW, Board members volunteer? I’ve been there four years and attended most of the special event (including this upcoming event on the 17th) and I do not recall ever seeing a single board member. I had never even seen RJ until that infamous OSHA inspection back in September. My faith would be drastically restored in the board if a few of them came and participated in the Spring Fling Festival…maybe one serving hotdogs, another showcasing animals, etc?
Sorry, that was supposed to say “style OF Reich”
I have worked there for a while now and to be honest I could not name one person on the board before these articles started coming out, and I can count the number of times I have seen any board members on one hand. They claim to volunteer at the shelter but if that was the case I am sure I would have seen any of them at least more than once.
It was a member of this same Board that assured Mr. Gombassy the claims of under staffing resulting in poor animal care couldn’t possibly be true b/c they employed hundreds of people…..this was said at a time when there was fewer than 100 total employees (maybe around 50?) for all 3 shelters combined.
They aren’t exactly the most “hands on” Board to say the least.
What I don’t understand is why the BOD found it so hard to imagine these things being true in the first place yet they thought that RJ was a prince based on what they were allowed to fnd out. Why was it so hard to just go into the Newington Shelter and just pull a few people aside and TALK to them? They didn’t need an excuse to do that. Just go in and talk, it could have saved a lot of time, energry and embarrassment. Instead they chose to believe that Richard Johnston could do no wrong, he’s the President of an animal shelter he must be the nicest person in the world. Okay, you were wrong, now start fixing things before it’s too late….
Because it’s a lot easier to show up for free lunches and get free business thrown your way, and have the cache of “Board Member” on your resume than it is to actually, you know, work. That’s why.
Very few of these people have shown interest in anything except name recognition and free money. Johnston was one hell of a cash cow for a lot of them and if “it wasn’t for those meddling kids” so to speak they’d still be sitting in the Board room, fingers in their ears going “lalalalalalalala.”
The only reason RJ is gone and new, humane changes have been implemented is because of the public, the Coalition, OSHA and the Union. The Board has yet to institute a single change based on comparable facts of how a shelter should be run.
This behavoir is unfortunately typical of corporate boards and even college boards of trustees. Although the blatancy of this corruption is striking.
For anyone who hasn’t caught it yet, WCBS has picked up the story…if you haven’t heard it here’s the link:
http://multimedia.play.it/m/audio/30041511/humane-society-scandal.htm
I also posted it on my blog and send it out via FB and Twitter.
Hmmmm 6% ……that’s shameful. I’ll bet he spent more on the board for lunches and waht not for them….This whole thing just keeps getting worse and worse.
I am so totally disgusted…..The money keeps going out the door. The BOD needs to stop DRAGGING ASS bring back those that take care of business…. The downstair management has no respect for the volunteers, it is like they are sneering at everyone that comes in and taking off where RJ left off. As for the BOD working the Spring Fling forget it, their ignorance over the last 20 years is writing on the wall. Unless they want to he the poop patrol maybe they can redeem some of the dignity. Management is trying to make everyone feel like they are responsible for the change NOT!!! This can not continue….
While we have completed step one getting Richard to step down we all know that the work has just begun. Not one of the managers at CHS are responsible for any of the positive changes at the shelter. I laughed out loud when I heard of the death squad I mean the committee that they picked to review the animals to be euthanized. With the exception of the one (and we all know who HE is) they have been the main problem at the shelter. The BOD needs to come down from there ivory tower and take a good hard look at the managers .
When Mr. Johnston resigned and the Euthanansia committee was formed I felt some hope for the animals at CHS. But the euthanasia continues, although perhaps it has slowed under this scrutiny. You see there are animals, oddly enough, that do not thrive in this closed-in shelter atmosphere. And yet, there appears to be NO plans by the current management to find ways to get stressed animals out of the shelter environment where they can be properly evaluated for “true” behavior traits. Change in management ideas, philosophy, and practices within the walls of CHS cannot come soon enough.
Based on my personal interaction with Chris White, let alone the public evidence before us showing that, just like Richard Johnston, he has profited from CHS while enabling a toxic (literally) environment for staff and animals, I can assure you that he is no better than Richard Johnston. I would strongly suggest boycotting his publications (i.e. Hartford Magazine) until he steps down. And Chris, let me give you a public thank you for telling me that I am not taking this matter seriously. I somehow think the evidence suggests I take it very seriously.
I would encourage people to boycott any business that advertises in Hartord Magazine. Loss of revenue seems to be the only way to get through to such “humane” people as Chris White and Richard Johnston.
Let’s setup a Boycott Hartford Mag website, that should give ol’ CW some chest pains…
Ct Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is is well known for being meticulous in his investigations. His findings on any given situation are only reported on facts, never heresay. Mr. White, CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has validated the Coalition’s claims, it is time for you and those like you to step down. In order for the CHS to move forward new management on all levels needs to be replaced.
Can anyone tell me, if things are so grand at CHS, and so many wonderful new changes have taken place, what their plan is for the upcoming kitten season?
Every year they are swamped with kittens, many still need to be hand fed hourly and need to go out to foster. What is managements’ grand plan now that they let the relationship with their fosters wilt and die and the volunteers told CHS to sod off?
I’m curious because in the past, the technique used by management was to tell staff “take these bottle feeders home or they’ll die.” I’m assuming they have a better plan in place this year? Right? That must one of their “changes”? Because last I knew the ONE employee they have in maternity was thought to be enough. I’m sure she’s very good at her job, but one person can’t take care of that many pregnant animals and newborns.
So, Mr. White, Management, is there a plan in place that doesn’t involve harassing staff or letting kittens die? Because now would be a good time to implement one.
Back in the day at least, if you had 8 or 9 adoption counselors….even if each one took home a litter, they’d be okay…..now with so few people working there, that’s an impossible task. They seem to have shot themselves in the proverbial foot again. It’s just a no win situation there. Time to clean house and start over and hopefully the good people who keep fighting for their lives there can work in a new and improved shelter.
Yes, there used to be enough staff members who could take home foster kittens, but they got rid of most of there staff! Hope the managers step up, there all thats left!
Chris White, can he explain why there are 7 daily managers at CHS now? That’s almost 1 manager for every 3 staff members, and it’s all about getting the union the fewest number of members. Chris White, do you agree with Richard Johnston in hiring 7 managers? Come on now, here’s your chance to begin to make real positive change!!!
The real question here is whether White, or whomever, ever made any PROFIT from peddling his wares to CHS. If he sold his goods and services at cost, there is no issue with what he did. If he made a profit, and even a slight one, I take serious, serious issue with that.
If there really truely were decent board members they would vote down decisions made by others. There must be some sort of majority rule, so if we’re talking the 6 on the CHS board, where are the so-called good ones? Don’t tell me they are afraid to stand up to the others. We’re not talking simple folk, these are highly educated, very influential, powerful people. Vets, CEO’s, CFO’s, business owners…people who generally know how to step on others to get to the top. Why have they not stood up sooner?
And I have to disagree with Dr. Haines remaining on the board as he does perform cat declawing at his office. This elective surgery is not only highly controversial, it is barbaric and painful and leads to many behavioral issues in cats as a result. It is a practice highly spoken out against by CHS and all potential cat adoptees are asked how they feel about declawing and will not be adopted a cat if the eployees believe they will have the surgery done. But it’s one of those things vets make big money off of, especially if they offer it as a “package deal” with a spay/neuter. That makes it look like it’s a necessary procedure to the uninformed pet owner.
My suspicion is, not knowing more about CHS than I read here, that MANY “non-profits” are run pretty much the same way and if the BOD feels no shame it is because the precedent is set. Come on – it’s 52 million – isn’t that enough to share ? I am not suggesting any others to investigate yet, but I will bet a lot of readers could think of a few others that might bear investigation…