Country Club rebooks entertainment, says shows will go on
[Edited March 19] The Country Club has scrambled to restore entertainment dates and is reassuring members after the bitter departure of its volunteer entertainment committee.
"The entertainment will go on. We won’t miss a beat,” Vince Lepera, president and acting general manager of the club, said Tuesday.
Bonnie Kirschman, the club’s marketing/membership director, said she has succeeded in contacting and rebooking acts former committee members Joan Williams and Sharon Wosser announced were canceled in a letter they recently sent to club members and local media. The letter states the entertainment program they developed was “undermined” by the club and the club president. (See the letter and responses here.)
“I appreciate what they did. … I really wish they wouldn’t have taken this kind of action,” said Lepera. “I think that they’ve really attempted to do damage to the club.”
Some members reacted to the letter by calling and e-mailing club staff and board members. Some reacted by saying, “‘If you’re not going to have entertainment anymore, we’re going to resign,’” said Kirschman, adding, “The cancellations didn’t come from the club.”
Members have a right to expect entertainment, food choices and special events, said Lepera. “We’re not going to take that away at all. … We have a lot of exciting things coming up at the 19th Hole and the Parasol Room.”
"We’re making a lot of changes we feel are positive,” said Kirschman.
The Jazz Supper Club, special events and weekly entertainment at the 19th Hole will continue, and new menus and wine nights are coming soon, said Lepera. “I think the staff here is committed to improving the club.”
Board member Dennie Standart attributed the problems that occurred to a failure to keep the entertainment committee within the club’s established committee structure.
Lepera said questions came up during the Finance Committee’s work on the club’s budget last fall. Some of the entertainment events weren’t making money and the committee wanted to reduce the entertainment budget and allocate it differently, he said.
"No one person is larger than a rule … bigger than a committee,” said Lepera. “I just want to do what’s best for the club. Period.”
.com editorial?
As I believe you are supposed to be the facilitator of the blog, I think "acrimonious" is a strange way to remain a neutral reporter of the news. Am I missing your mission?
Al Somers
Answering your question
Since that didn't seem like a rhetorical question...
Thinking about it, “acrimonious” seems too strong, so the word has been changed to “bitter” in the story. That's more precise. Thanks for raising the question.
But your basic issue seems to be whether it’s OK to characterize a situation with a word even if no one involved has called it by that word. In journalistic circles, the answer is yes -- if it's supported by the facts. Reviewing all the back and forth that has transpired in this situation and calling it “bitter,” or maybe even “acrimonious,” doesn’t seem like a stretch, does it?
The mission is to cover the community -- fairly, honestly and as deeply as one person can manage.
Respect
I'm in agreement...and thanks for responding. Now if we can get some of the members of the RM community (elected and other) to use some logical, practical action on analyzing the cable situation in an open, factual, responsive manner, we'll be making further strides along the road to grown-up communication.
Al Somers