http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/9836592.htm?1cHere's the ultimate result of animal rights/anti-hunting nut cases.
Posted on Tue, Oct. 05, 2004
Entire board of Make-A-Wish chapter resigns
Disputes with national leadership cited
BY PHILLIP PIÑA
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The entire board of directors and advisory board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota resigned Monday, citing frustrations with its fading authority to the national organization.
Tensions between the Minnesota chapter and the national leadership were first noticed in a public dispute in 1996 over a hunting trip granted by the foundation, which fulfills wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Since then, the local board feels its control has been evaporating on issues ranging from paying leaders; to donations for families of children who die before their wishes are granted; to limiting the length of board terms.
"Philosophical differences the Minnesota chapter has had with the national foundation makes it impossible for us to continue," said resigning board president Karla Blomberg, who co-founded the Minnesota chapter in 1982.
"It's one of the saddest days of my life," she added.
Local and national foundation officials said the en masse resignations would not cause any lapse in the granting of wishes. Staff remains in place and there will be an effort to fill the board spots quickly, said Jim Maggio, spokesman for the national foundation, based in Phoenix.
The resignations came as a shock to national leaders, who were aware of the disputes with the Minnesota chapter but thought negotiations to resolve them were making progress, Maggio said.
"We were led to believe we were on the right track," Maggio said.
The Minnesota chapter grants about 190 wishes a year, with each costing about $5,000. There are 74 chapters nationwide, and 27 more in other countries. The Minnesota group sponsors a number of charity events throughout the year. It is governed by a 13-member board of directors and aided by a 10-member advisory board. Most members are local businesses people, though the advisory board included names like Hennepin County District Judge Tom Leung, former NHL star Tom Reid and former Gov. Jesse Ventura.
National leaders don't understand Minnesota or didn't recognize the tight ship run locally under Blomberg, Reid said. He said national leaders were trying to run the long-serving Blomberg out by putting a 12-year time limit on board members' tenure. The decision to resign was sad, he said, but added: "There are simply too many irreconcilable differences between the Minnesota chapter and the national foundation."
"I can't say enough good things about (the local board), especially Karla," said Brock Ness of White Bear Township.
It was in 1996 that the local chapter granted an Alaska hunting trip for Ness' terminally ill teenage son, Erik. Animal rights groups objected and under public pressure the national group banned such wishes for the future. Brock Ness always has admired how Karla Blomberg never backed down.
"That lady has some guts, because she definitely stood up for us," said Brock Ness, whose son has since died. "She's volunteered her time all these years and there's nobody that's dealt with Karla that doesn't love her."
The furor over Erik Ness' trip was only the beginning. The national foundation later ordered president or chief executive slots be created as paid positions to run the local chapters.
"It's nothing I could ever be paid for, it's been my volunteer life," Blomberg said.
And the national foundation also ordered the Minnesota chapter to halt donations to families where the children die before their approved wishes could be granted. The donations averaged about $1,000 and were usually meant to help cover medical or funeral costs, she said.
Without going into detail on the specific differences, Maggio called them "internal operational matters" on policy and procedure to create "the most efficient operations." Until Monday afternoon, when the resignations were faxed to the Phoenix headquarters, "we were under every impression we were resolving the differences that we had."
The resignations were handed in at a special board meeting Monday. The issues over governance had been eating away at the board for too long, Blomberg said.
"I don't want to criticize Make-A-Wish," she said. "It's a difference of opinion on what its autonomy should be. There's nothing I love more than granting wishes to these kids."
Within minutes of the resignations being publicized, the board members' names were removed from the agency Web site. Maggio said the effort to find replacements will begin soon.
