[DeTomaso] POCA Website is Down, Here's Why (7)

Gpd4 gpd4 at juno.com
Fri Jul 22 14:19:07 EDT 2016


How will this survey be received?

GPD4
Sent from my iPhone


> On Jul 22, 2016, at 9:37 AM, Scott Couchman via DeTomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:
> 
>   I support the POCA Board of Directors.
> 
>   On Jul 22, 2016, at 6:11 AM, Michael Shortt <[1]michaelsavga at gmail.com>
>   wrote:
> 
>   My Fellow POCA Members,
> 
>   It is with deep regret that I must inform you of improprieties within
>   your club which has resulted in the
>   suspension of the [2]POCA.Com website.
> 
>   Most of you know that I have personally been the target of attacks
>   since before assuming office as the President of POCA last Jan 1st.
> 
>   It has been an incessant, organized and relentless campaign staged by a
>   small handful of members resistant to change. I will name them
> 
>   below, but first a little history so that you know where my motivation
>   comes from and why I thought I could make a difference, I will be
>   brief.
> 
>   This club over the past two decades has hovered in the 700-800 member
>   range, without fail, the club has attracted 30-60 new members each year
> 
>   and lost an equal number, some years, like in 2014/15, losing over 150
>   members.  Growth has never been possible because member retention
> 
>   and member recruitment has ever been a priority.
>    If your expenses and dues remain flat and new blood is not required,
>   it just means that you
> 
>   basically have a stagnant and aging membership (like any older
>   community church).
> 
>   That is what POCA had, and a membership with over
>   60
>   % of it's members over 60, and 20% over 70.
> 
>   Expenses have grown unchecked and the club spends more money than it
>   take in.  It also was dated with no updates in well over a decade.
> 
>   I saw all of this and thought with my particular skill sets I could
>   make a difference.  I immediately set about an agenda with 27 items and
>   was told that I would never
> 
>   get half of that done in my full two year term, I did all of it in 5
>   months with the then current support of a progressive BOD.
> 
>   Meanwhile, the person whom I defeated for President ( 77% - 23%) Rob
>   D'Orazio, Larry Finch, Asa Jay Laughton, and others, most recently Gil
>   Mares have
> 
>   beleaguered me 24/7 with email, false accusations, lies, technical BS
>   and simply mean and hateful emails.  When the poca email forum was
>   disabled to
> 
>   make room for the new and improved [3]poca.com ( which I built and
>   designed after asking for help form these same people and none
>   volunteered ), they went out
> 
>   with Kurt Byrnes and created another email forum which is the most vile
>   and disgusting, most toxic email list you could ever hope to not be
>   apart of and it's primary
> 
>   purpose has been to slander, libel, lie, and create dissension within
>   POCA.  None of those named so far have contributed anything to the club
>   while I have been President
> 
>   except hate and I was lucky enough to be their primary target, No
>   worries,
> 
>   as many of you know, I work in show biz and politics, so i'm used to
>   professional haters,
> 
>   a few amateurs didn't really affect me and the club has flourished.
>   The first list that was supplied to me of members after 3 months of
>   begging showed 808
> 
>   POCA members, after culling out those who were deceased or expired that
>   number of active, PAID POCA members was 718 active members.
> 
>   This club spent $6,000 last year sending publications to the dead and
>   those not paying dues.
> 
>    As of yesterday, that number is now
>   867 active paid members.  Many of the deadbeats paid up and we have
>   added over 100 NEW members.
> 
>   A part of that effort resulted in the resignations of Jack DeRyke as
>   Newsletter editor and Mike Haney as Profiles editor because I was
>   finally able to get the BOD
> 
>   to listen to reason and change printers, we have been robbed by 10
>   years, paying $100,000 more for Black and White printing than FULL
>   COLOR printing would cost.
> 
>   It is rumoured that there was more to that than I can confirm, but the
>   result was without using THAT printer,, they stopped working.
> 
>   Josette D'Orazio resigned as POCA store manager after 2.5 years of
>   service while selling 166 orders., she said that my vision of an
>   expanded store (revenue producing )was not
> 
>   what she wanted to do and did not want to do the extra work as
>   required.  I understand and it was a nice parting.
> 
>   Why the emphasis on Money, the club runs on money, Printing alone was
>   17% more than all of our dues.
> 
>   The fun rally was supposed to make money, but they spent $20,205 on
>   booze over 3 days, $47,000 in gross revenue and the club retained
>   $1,600,
> 
>   I will not bore you with a detailed list of improvements, but there
>   have been many, suffice it to say, the club has seen more new and
>   different in the last 7 months than in the past 20 years.
> 
>   That was my goal and it was done while under constant attack.  Most
>   recently, worrying about the name of the forming "Southern Pride
>   Panteras" chapter as being inappropriate
> 
>   ( clearly not knowing a large group of big cats is called a Pride,
>   usually Lions, esp since Tigers, Leopards and Panthers are unlikely to
>   gather in groups).  Then it was us bring Tom Tjarrda
> 
>   here to represent the club on the national stage ( while we still can
>   have him with us) and so many other ridiculous things that were truly
>   none of their business, all while recruiting no members and
> 
>   contributing nothing positive to the club.
> 
>   WHY The website is down
> 
>   over the last month, the miscreants finally realized I was immune to
>   their nonsense and just carried on doing what needed to be done to
>   create a better POCA Membership Experience,
> 
>   value added if you will,
>   for each of you.
> 
>   S
>   so they changed focus and begin
>   attacking John Buckman, Joe Stockett and Ed Mendez, all fine gentlemen
>   and a solid part of the fist 6 months of progress we made.  I certainly
>   could not have
> 
>   done anything with their support.
> 
>   Yet, they are not me, Larry Finch and Gil Mares specifically ( the same
>   man who spent $1,200 of club money as a part of the Fun Rally committee
>   to travel to Las Vegas earlier this year and then
> 
>   quit the committee leaving us in the lurch to name replacements in
>   March for the event in May ) browbeat John, Joe and Ed to such a
>   degree, the following has occurred.
> 
>   Yesterday they called the web hosting company and expressed a desire to
>   change the direction of the club.  Last night against all the rules,
>   bylaws, etc.
> 
>   they had a impromptu BOD meeting ( without us) and essentially have
>   started acoup to take over the club.
> 
>   The website host company as a matter of policy and to protect
>   the content of the website learned of this,
>   thankfully preserving my 600+ hours of work)
> 
>   and disabled the website to keep them from destroying it and changing
>   it
>   ,
>   erasing everything that I have built.
> 
>   As you can imagine, Mike Burnett, Laurie Basile and I are beside
>   ourselves at this turn of events.
> 
>   The first thing a third world dictator or anarchist does when taking
>   over a government ( but a car club,? it seems so stupid doesn't it) is
>   to disable the communications.
> 
>   You are going to be sent a survey this morning,  it has biu one
>   question.
> 
>   Do you want me to fight and give you the club that you deserve,
>   to continue these improvements and finish dragging us out of the 80's
>   and into the 21st century?
> 
>   or
> 
>   Do you want us, Mike Burnett, Laurie Basile and I to just give up and
>   let the weak have the club and be at the continued direction of this
>   very, very small group* of haters and bullies letting
> 
>   the club revert back to the way it was for the last 20 years?
> 
>   You know I love a fight, you know I love to stand up to bullies, so do
>   not worry about us, we can handle it if that is what you want.
> 
>   * It should be noted that Rob D'Orazio attempted to have his small 30
>   member Chapter
>   leave
>   POCA last month
>   and could not even manage to convince his own club to follow him.
> 
> 
>   If you indicate a fight, look for it to be epic. If you wish to return
>   to the past, the three of us will resign ( as soon as Bob reid
>   reimburses the $7,000 I am owed by the club for the new cards,
> 
>   New POCA store items,and other expenses)
> 
>   I await the results of the survey, I apologize this has happened and I
>   hope that you will indicate in strong numbers your displeasure at the
>   actions of 10 people over the rest of us ( 857 ).
> 
>   Thank you,
> 
>   Michael Shortt
> 
>   STILL President
> 
>   POCA
>   --
>   Michael L. Shortt
>   Savannah, Georgia
>   [4]michael at michaelshortt.com
>   912-232-9390
> 
>   This email is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy
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>   notified
>   that any retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this
>   communication is strictly prohibited.  Please reply to the sender that
>   you
>   have received this message in error, then delete it.  Thank you
> 
> References
> 
>   1. mailto:michaelsavga at gmail.com
>   2. http://poca.com/
>   3. http://poca.com/
>   4. mailto:michael at michaelshortt.com
> _______________________________________________
> 
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