It didn’t seem possible for relations among the Western Charles County Community Association (WCCCA) executive board members to become more strained than they were already.  However, the most recent meeting of the 15 member board went so badly that passionately outspoken board member Johnnie DiGeorgi walked out in disgust.  Then, after three hours without progress, Reverend Robert Beuhler, the board’s calm voice of reason, tendered his resignation.

This was the Board’s first meeting since last spring.  It came only after 7 board members engaged attorneys Anne Spielberg and Elizabeth Kingsley, of District-based Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, to intervene on their behalf with the Reverend Dr. Lowell Hancock, WCCCA Executive Board President. 

In September, the attorneys communicated to Dr. Hancock the board members’ concerns about WCCCA’s governance and financial affairs.  They asked him to call a board meeting to address those.  Dr. Hancock agreed to an October meeting, but waited until the end of the month to honor his promise. 

At issue are the whereabouts of a $10,000 grant from the Weinberg Foundation of Baltimore, and the violation of WCCCA’s by-laws in the usage of those funds.  Simply stated, the Board as a whole has no idea what has been spent from WCCCA’s account and for what purpose. 

Although WCCCA bylaws authorize the president to disburse up to $250 without executive board consent, he cannot “negotiate, modify, sign or finalize oral or written contracts or other documents” on behalf of WCCCA without the Board’s approval.  Projects that the board had voted to fund, like the portable toilets project, Dr. Hancock unilaterally stopped funding.

Also at issue is the leadership style of Dr. Hancock.  In an interview, Hancock told The Bay Net that he wanted to take WCCCA in new direction.  He wanted to focus on finding permanent solutions for Western Charles County problems, rather than spend the association’s limited funds on projects he felt were merely short-term fixes. 

“My objective is not to give a handout.  I don’t believe in putting a patch on something,” said Dr. Hancock. 

Unfortunately, Dr. Hancock seems to have spent the meetings trying to establish his authority over former president and current board member Terawana Keys-Bowman, rather than build board members’ enthusiasm for his vision.  Instead of adopting a 2007 budget and establishing goals for the year, board members felt compelled to take sides in the clash between Hancock and Keys-Bowman, during which neither displayed the positive, selfless personality traits for which each is otherwise renowned. 

“I’ve been president over a lot of organizations and have never experienced anything like this,” Dr. Hancock told The Bay Net.

Reverend Buehler told The Bay Net, “I would hope no one’s reputation is ultimately harmed by this.  Ultimately, it shouldn’t be about any of us; it should be about the people we’re trying to serve,”

During his interview, Dr. Hancock told The Bay Net that WCCCA continued to render aid to people in need despite the lack of board meetings.  WCCCA officially orchestrated and contributed to furnishing an apartment for a homeless single mother, and several cars previously donated to WCCCA were given to other people in need of them. 

The issue is not the worthiness of the projects; it’s that the procedures in place to ensure accountability for the funds were neglected.  The board as a whole was not involved in them.  

In his letter of resignation, Reverend Buehler stated, “I am not willing to place myself or my family under risk of becoming personally liable for financial transactions over which I have no control and of which I have no knowledge.”

Reverend Buehler told The Bay Net that while the portion of financial information the president finally provided at the Oct. 29 meeting was a good start toward financial transparency, the reverend was not convinced that the working relationship within the Board was salvageable.    

DiGeorgi told The Bay Net that he is still concerned about the lack of an audit of the 2006 financial records.  He’s particularly concerned because the firm who formerly provided WCCCA with annual pro-bono audits declined, last August, to conduct any future audits. 

According to board members, the firm declined because WCCCA’s financial documents were evidently in a state such that the auditors couldn’t “properly certify the records”.  The auditors were also reportedly unwilling to become involved in the board’s drama.  When The Bay Net contacted the auditors and treasurer, they declined to comment.  Dr. Hancock, however, said an associate assured him that non-profit organizations with budgets as small as WCCCA’s are not legally required to have such external audits. 

At the end of the meeting, the Board received and moved to accept an offer of mediation services from an outside organization.  But, according to board members, it took Reverend Buehler’s resignation to bring the motion to a vote.  The Board voted to accept the proffered mediation services.  Board members are reportedly working to bring the offer to fruition.

The one thing that all reports seem to have in common is regret for the seemingly inevitable implosion of such a formerly promising organization.  Western Charles County contains some of the county’s poorest citizens living in the meanest of conditions, including those without indoor pluming or electricity. 

WCCCA was originally formed to create and coordinate resources to better the quality of life for the area’s residents.

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