Straight Talk from PCF Members in Clark to the Leadership

by Daniel M. Domogala

I am sad to report that the only business-like element of the February Members' Meeting was its form. The content was a charade. The leaders present at this meeting avoided answering members' questions. There is no more time for delaying tactics. The leadership has asked the membership to contribute money to save our Foundation. Now the leadership must bite-the-bullet and level with the membership to regain their confidence. Only transparency will persuade members to contribute money to save their Foundation from incompetent leadership.

My observations which follow are communicated by a spirit of constructive criticism. Only by changing the leadership's culture of corporate governance that is marked by hypocrisy, evasion and illusion can we the members, who own the PCF, save our Foundation. We members promptly must implement this change to keep our Foundation's doors from closing. If the leadership continues the status quo, then starting this July, Mr. Ruszala stated, that the PCF will no longer be able to pay its monthly operating bills, which amount to approximately $30,000.

Before we return to the 19 February Members' Meeting, I must refute the insulting charge of anti-Polonism that has been leveled against me by Mr. Craig Haines, number two leader at the PCF, who serves as Senior Vice-Chair of the BOT. Mr. Haines wrongly asserts that I am anti-Polish because I have requested that Members' Meetings proceed in English. His charge is nonsense. I want meetings to be held in English, because I am not fluent in the Polish language. Nevertheless, the Members' Meetings continue in Polish. This harms our Foundation, because it drives away those who do not speak Polish well. English speaking Polish Americans can and will contribute their money and their time to make our organization stronger, but they need to express their views in English. Please be advised again that the Polish Cultural Foundation was founded by persons born in Americans but of Polish heritage.

Moreover, those PCF members who are not fluent, or who speak older forms of Polish, tend to be well established because their families have lived in America for several generations. By conducting meetings only in Polish, the PCF leadership alienates young and successful Americans of Polish background and this creates a generation gap. Only by full transparency, accommodation and full respect for those members who are not fluent in Polish, can the PCF attract and retain Polonia's English and Polish speakers. This will allow us to close the generation gap that now prevails.

Polonism is in the heart and soul. Polonism is not exclusively defined by Polish language skills. Information whether expressed in English, or Polish, trumps the assumption that whatever one may say in Polish necessarily supports Polonism.

I emphatically must restate that I am not anti-Polish. Instead, I am against all policies espoused by our leaders that are detrimental to our Foundation. I was proud to serve as our Foundation's president for almost two years. During my tenure(January 2012-October 2013) Mr. Syslo, Chair of the BOT, shockingly seconded by Mr. Haines and a certain clique, opposed and hindered, usually secretly, occasionally openly, the corporate governance improvements that I was introducing and especially the transparency I was calling for at BOT and Members' Meetings. These so-called leaders did their best to undermine necessary reforms that I was implementing to remedy longstanding inept policies. I wanted the Polish School and the Scouts to pay their fair share of our Foundation's operating expenses; the leadership was against this without explaining why. Do the leaders of our Foundation want the PCF to close its doors? Some insiders say this is true, I hope it is not. But let us remember from the Saxon Twilight period of Poland's history (the first half of the 18th century) that treachery is just as destructive as incompetence.

Let me cite a specific example. At the February Members' Meeting Mr. Haines, who currently serves as Chair of the PCF's Fundraising Committee, refused to answer a member's straightforward question: How much money have you raised? Mr. Haines replied that the Fundraising Committee is a Standing Committee of the BOT and he only reports to the BOT. Mr. Haines was elected to the position of Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee four months ago and as of March 1, 2014 committee members state that he has not had a single meeting of the fundraising committee. Mr. Syslo was also the PCF fundraising chairman for several years, while at the same time the PCF Board Chairman and PCF President for many years during this time he never raised funds for the benefit of the Polish Cultural Foundation, but it appears that he used these PCF positions to raise funds for the Polish Children’s Heartline. In 2013 he was fundraising for the Polish Children’s Heartline while the Polish Cultural Foundation was starving for funds and is now on the verge of closing its doors.

Is Mr. Haines following in Mr. Syslo’s footsteps? Mr. Haines imitates the self-important management style of BOT Chair Syslo, who has tried to keep secret from the membership the leadership's incompetent decision-making. Mr. Haines's management style is counterproductive and destructive. The Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) public entity which belongs to all the members and it is mandatory that it operate with full transparency!

While the tone and form of the February meeting was exemplary, the content and quality of answers by the leadership to the members' simple and direct questions was short on facts, evasive and unacceptable. This explains why, since the February Members' Meeting, concerned PCF members have been telling me that they will repeat their questions to the leadership at the next Members' Meeting scheduled for 19 March. Many hope that Mrs. Anisko, Director of the Polish School of the PCF will attend the March 19 Meeting, and decide to answer questions that she evaded at the February Meeting.

On 18 February, one day before the February Members' Meeting, a friend sent me a copy of the minutes of the January Members' Meeting. I participated in the January Members' Meeting, and I thank Mr. Pala for preparing the minutes in English, because I am not fluent in Polish, however, I was dismayed that I did not receive a copy of the January meeting's minutes before the February Meeting. It is most irregular for only a select group of members, apparently acceptable to the leadership, to receive the minutes of the January Meeting in advance of the February Meeting.

Most of the email addresses on the list of those who received the January Meeting's minutes belonged to those PCF members who are active in the Polish School and Polish Scouts and who are supportive of the leadership. That is the leadership considers them politically correct. Why did not all members receive the minutes of the January Members' Meeting? Sending the January minutes to all members likely would boost attendance at the February meeting. Again we see the leadership's preference for secrecy and manipulation, rather than transparency and inclusive decision making through broad participation.

Moreover, the January minutes include a serious error that requires correction. I never included in my letter of resignation as president of the PCF, which I wrote shortly after the October 2013 BOT Meeting, what the January 2014 Members' Minutes incorrectly claim that I wrote: "Mr. Domogala noted that in his letter of resignation-he resigned for the good of the Foundation because Mrs. Anisko said that money for the roof would be forthcoming from her when the new administration came in. That's why he resigned."

What I actually wrote in my letter of resignation is that the reason for my resignation was: "Based on the statement made by Mrs. Anisko[at the June 2013 BOT Meeting] that much needed funding for the replacement of the roof on Building #1 would be made available to the new administration by the parents of the school,...". Therefore, I resigned before the expiration of my term in January 2014, only because Mrs. Anisko promised funds, from the parents of the Polish School, to pay for repair of the roof to the new administration, headed by Mr. Marek Ruszala, who was elected president in October 2013, and who was scheduled to take office in January 2014.

Because our Foundation urgently needed the funds promised by Mrs. Anisko, my resignation allowed the new administration to assume office in October 2013 rather than in January 2014. To date, Mrs. Anisko has not fulfilled the commitment she made. My resignation, intended to expedite disbursal of the funds promised by Mrs. Anisko, speaking for the Polish School at the June 2013 BOT Meeting, was in vain.

Members want to know when Mrs. Anisko will honor her commitment. Perhaps Mrs. Anisko cannot persuade the parents of the Polish School pupils to pay for the repair of the roof of Building #1? Perhaps the Polish School requires new leadership that will honor its commitments to our Foundation? The new administration led by President Ruszala can do little about the roof without money from the parents of the Polish School.

Let me summarize the present status of our Foundation's claim against our insurance carrier. First, let us recall that our insurance contract states "full replacement value" minus a $500 deductable for those damages caused by sandy. Therefore, depreciation does NOT apply. The Foundation's insurance company agreed to pay us $160,000 minus the $500 deductible. The present administration unwisely terminated negotiations, which I initiated, with our carrier for an addition to our claim in the amount of $22,000, so that all of the Foundation's costs to repair Sandy damage would be covered. To date, our insurance carrier has paid the Foundation $106,211.17, with the proviso that the Foundation file invoices to receive the outstanding balance, $53,288.83, of the $160,000 claim our carrier agreed to pay. Why has the leadership not filed invoices to collect what is due to the members from our insurance company? Why do our leaders not continue to negotiate with our insurance carrier to collect $22,000? Are they too idle, or are they too inept, to submit invoices to collect $53,288.83 that our insurance carrier owes to the PCF's membership? Perhaps our leadership wants our Foundation to fail?

Moreover, for reasons that remain murky, the leadership claims it needs $80,000 more to pay for the new roof on Building #1 and to complete the work on Building #2. Why is this $80,000 necessary? Our leadership should have, but did not, send invoices for these repairs to our insurance carrier? What goes on here? Why does the leadership continue to demand money from the membership to pay for the repair of the roof of Building #1, when Mrs. Anisko stated, at the June 2013 BOT meeting, that the Polish School parents will contribute the funds for this roof?

The sad story of our leadership's incompetence is getting worse. Recently, numerous leaks have been discovered in the new roof of Building #1. Why has the leadership NOT reported this information to the members who own our Foundation? Who will pay for additional damage caused by these recently discovered leaks? Does the Foundation have a twenty years' labor and materials warranty for the new roof of Building #1? If so, the leadership should present the warranty papers to the membership for their inspection. Concerned PCF members should ask these and other questions, and call for a forensic accounting report of how the Emergency Fund was depleted BEFORE I took office in January 2012, at the March 19 Members' Meeting.

Members expect Chairman Syslo to demonstrate his concern for the welfare of our Polish Cultural Foundation by answering these questions completely and accurately and in a spirit of transparency that shows respect for the members who own our precious Foundation. Chair Syslo: We concerned PCF members ask you to-step-up-to-the-plate and properly do your job, or resign. Time is running out for our dear Polish Cultural Foundation. Members will not contribute their money to save the Foundation unless you level with them by answering the above questions.

To nie jest głos "Radia Wolna Europa", to nie jest "Głos Ameryki"
To jest wolny głos członków Polskiej Kulturalnej Fundacji w Clark, NJ