A follow-up to my resignation from the board

So many people have asked me why I resigned from the Kansas City Barbeque Society Board of Directors last week. I had no idea anybody would even be interested. Honestly, it’s astounding. I’ve had a few days to think about my answer and truthfully, I’m still unsure exactly how to answer, but here are a few of my thoughts:

What if I told you that one board member often responds from another board members e-mail address?

What if I told you that when writing to members about the society, one member of the board signed e-mails “Montague, the defender of freedom against the thought destroying KCBS police”?

What if I told you that one board member frequently has outbursts with childish displays of anger and has even demanded that the board censure him/her?

What if I told you that the KCBS staff feels so beat down by the actions and words of one board member that they often question why they stay?

What if I told you that one board member uses the inside information of the board as power to gain friendship amongst a handful of members, being careful to spin the stories so as to put himself/herself in the best possible light?

What if I told you that a board member openly asked a territorial bbq organization to rep contests in their specific area of the country only minutes after being reminded that it was against the rep rules to solicit for assignments?

What if I told you one board member lives for the argument, simply wearing out his/her opponent in a relentless verbal lashing laced with sarcasms and immaturity, typically verbally beating that person into submission?

What if I told you I left because of one obsessive compulsive, manipulative, overbearing person who wastes hours of meeting time in an attempt to micro manage every detail of the organization’s business, even and especially when it’s not this person’s responsibility?

What if I told you that the members of the board have become so callus to the senseless, childish behavior of one board member, they refuse to challenge what goes on the in the board room?

What if I told you that one board member wastes the time of office staff with busy work to satisfy useless requests and wastes KCBS money demanding legal opinions on frivolous matters?

What if I told you that a couple board members blindly follow the lead of an over zealous, compulsive, neurotic member, forgetting to inject a little common sense or individualism before voting in tandem?

What if I told you the board is so caught up in minutia, they forget to look at the true future of barbecue and how the organization will play a role?

What if I told you one of our board members has a history of unprofessional behavior, so much so that even the Boys Scouts of America have banned this person from ever setting foot on their property?

What if I told you one board member uses the rules to his/her advantage, but also asks for the rules to be suspended when it’s to their advantage, but refuses to do the same for others?

What if I told you that a board member tells members that this is his/her last term and he/she plans to make the office staffs’ lives a living hell?

What if I told you a board member told me I needed to go get my Juris Doctorate before I could speak to him/her?

What if I told you my response to that board member was “F&%* you” and it was during my last board meeting? What if I told you that was a dark moment, and I regret acting that way?

What if I told you that since my departure from the board, one director swiftly drafted a new policy for replacing directors because the current policy, one that works just fine, won’t allow him/her to get a chance to campaign for someone who will blindly follow his/her lead?

Well, I’m not going to tell you any of that. Rather, I’m going to tell you that four and half years were simply long enough. I was not raised to quit anything. I feel bad for not completing my term and worse that I will not be there to help shape the future of competition barbecue, at least giving a little something back. However, this is one of the few times that I simply did what was best for me. Never have I met so many people so passionate about one thing, the kind of people who would give a stranger the shirt off their backs to help, and do it without ever blinking an eye. When someone asks me why they should join the KCBS, I ask “How long do you have?” For all of the trials and tribulations in the board room, this is still far and away the best barbecue organization in the world and as good as it is, it’s improving all the time. I don’t know how proud the organization is of me, but I remain a proud member of the Kansas City Barbeque Society and I thank everyone who has supported me during my volunteer position as a member of the board.