1. a statement that is only partly true, esp. one intended to deceive, evade blame, or the like.
2. a statement that fails to divulge the whole truth.

We should simply all expect more from leadership. From the November 2009 WBCCI Blue Beret, the very first “Letter to the Editor”

Question:
What is being done to permanently reduce or eliminate the $125,000.00 in International Officer’s reimbursements fund? With our membership numbers now at less than a quarter of their 1979 peak, why aren’t we downscaling our leadership and our reimbursement budgets to keep our club profitable?”

Leo G. WBCCI #6006

Answer:
The travel budget for all the International Officers is $38,300.00, Region Officers, $47,437.00. These amounts are recorded in the WBCCI Bylaws; a Motion is required to modify them. The Bylaws require travel for the Region Presidents or VP’s pursuant to WBCCI Bylaws, Article IX, Section 5, Page 23: “Region Presidents or any officer designated by them shall visit all units within their respective regions at least once each year.” Further, in Article IX, Regions, Policy, D. Paragraph 2. m., Page 25, he or she is expected to “Attend all International Board of Trustees Meetings and participate in the deliberations of the Board.” Travel reimbursement is at the designated rate of forty cents (40 cents) per mile. We expect Motions will be brought forth at the Mid-Winter International Board of Trustees meeting at Rayne, Louisiana, in January 2010 to reduce these amounts. Any reduction in International and Region Officers’ travel budget will require changes to the WBCCI Bylaws.

The International President has reduced the distances International Officers travel during the year. Officers carry with them information to disseminate to the units they visit to assist in understanding the business of the club. A PowerPoint presentation was prepared last year outlining the allocation of each dollar of the annual dues.”

Answered by Unknown, Unknown WBCCI#

The $125,000.00 a year for total officer reimbursements is 100% accurate, but the answer given by international leadership only accounts for roughly $86,000.00 of the actual amount. WHY?

The title of this subsection of our budget is “Officers Expenses.” The only members that receive reimbursements are International Officers. They’re either elected, appointed as committee chairs, or they serve on those international committees.

2009 – 2010 Officers Expense Budget (Approved)

600-650 · OFFICERS EXPENSE
600 · INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS ………….. $   38,300.00
601 · INTL. OFFICERS BOARD TRAVEL ……. $    5,734.00
610 · OTHER BOARD MEMBERS ……………. $    1,250.00
611 · OTHER BOARD MBR BOARD TRAVEL . $    1,814.00
620 · REGION OFFICERS ……………………… $  47,437.00
630 · REGION BOARD TRAVEL ………………. $  17,132.00
640 · STANDING & SPECIAL COMMITTEES .. $    6,100.00
650 · COMMITTEE TRAVEL …………………… $    6,887.00

Total 600-650 · OFFICERS EXPENSE ………. $ 124,654.00

Why were only TWO of the EIGHT lines of actual reimbursements actually revealed? Does this make the $125,000.00 published claim look false? It sure does. Does the answered $86,000.00 leave a false impression that somehow our volunteer reimbursements are less than they actual are? It sure does. Its too bad that our ‘Letter to the Editors’ questions don’t require the leader that answers them to state their name and WBCCI#. Its too bad that there is no minimum requirement that those answers are at least truthful, based on fact.

Its this selective reporting, by international leaders, that demonstrates the absolute disdain our international leaders hold for our membership in general. Where is the transparency, where is the truth?

So, ask yourself this, and ask your international leadership:

“Why was only $86,000.00 of our $125,000.00 officers reimbursement budget declared in the straight forward and direct “Letters to the Editor” questions?”

“Why are we as members being deliberately and intentionally deceived?”

Make sure you ask your Unit Officers those questions. Make sure you ask your Region Officers those questions, and make sure you demand from your International President that you expect him, and the rest of our self-appointed international leadership to operate above board, fully transparent to the membership, and to protect the best interests of the WBCCI over all else (President@WBCCI.org).

What about the second question that asked “…why aren’t we downscaling our leadership..,” why wasn’t that question addressed in any manner, shape, or form?

Why do regions exist with less than 300 members, less than 200 members? What real purpose do the seven members of the Executive Committee (EC7) hold that that warrants $44,0000.00 plus a year in reimbursements, to just seven WBCCI members and their spouses?

There’s an annual Great North American Tour, that the seven voting members of the Executive Committee and their spouses undertake each and every year. While it is likely not 100% funded by the membership, just these seven members and their spouses will receive $44,000.00 of our 2010 $82,000.00 deficit approved for 2010.
Do we need seven international leaders and their spouses zig-zagging all across North America selling the WBCCI to our membership?

Can we afford a glorified international rally committee, one that produced an as yet unannounced International Rally loss, a loss that has been projected to be $40,000.00 to $60,000.00 for just that one single event?
What real benefits does the membership derive, directly tied to this third tier of leadership? Are they running profitable rallies, or haplessly liquidating our funds? Who do they represent? No one, at the international level it is our Region Presidents that represent the membership.

I would suggest to you that we need far fewer regions, forget region consolidation, we need to start over and completely redraw the map.

That we don’t need the EC7 at all. Those positions could be elected from within the ranks of the remaining Region Presidents and Region 1st Vice Presidents, and international rallies passed off to local and regional committees — those already close to the action.

Consider this, international dues for 6,600 members is (6,600 x $55) $363,000.00. Our annual $125,000.00 International Officer expenses consumes 35% of our total membership revenue each and every year. If you think that’s an unjustified drain, now add that Madison International Rally loss, projected to be a $40,000.00 to $60,000.00 loss on top of a $43,000.00 2009 operating deficit this club has already posted.  Cumulatively our international leadership is accomplishing little, with the exception of flushing nearly $100,000.00 of membership funds down the drain, now annually!

Both our International Budget Chairmain, and our International Treasurer concurred that if this club’s cash assets drop below $500,000.00, we will have serious trouble operating. With required cash outlays and the income we have come to expect from a large cash asset.

From what is now roughly $790,000.00 in total funds we’ll need to subtract that projected Madison International Rally loss ($40K to $60K), and then our 2010 approved deficit ($82K), and then any yet to be determined Gillette International Rally losses for 2010. How many thousands of dollars will we have left before this club is in serious trouble? At a burn rate of nearly $100,000.00 a year, how many years are left before we reach complete and total dissolution?

If you care about the WBCCI at all, its past, its present, and its future, then this is your call to action. International leaders simply can not help themselves. They have no intention of ending their Grand North American Tours funded by WBCCI membership.

This administration came in, knowing all of the above and failed to act on the obvious. We have the same leadership structure and overhead our club had when there were 28,000 members (1979). Over the last 30 years not a single downsizing correction has been made.

We need to modernize, we need to streamline our governance, we need for each and every member’s vote to be counted, and your real desires for this club realized. We need open, free, and fair elections to take place, with multiple candidates running on issues, not on their unchallenged past volunteer efforts.

There are members out there that are willing to make the tough decisions, but they are being repeatedly blocked by current self-selected pre-ordained international leadership. The obstructionist and protectionist methods employed to make sure that their way of life, their expectations of rewards, vanity, and prestige don’t change, the membership and the club be damned.