Date: Feb. 6 2008

From: Benton MacKaye Trail Association
The BMTA Board of Directors
P.O. Box 53271, Atlanta, GA 30355-1271
www.BMTA.org

To: Recipients of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association (BMTA) Newsletters
__________

Dear Members and Friends,


You may have noticed the curious lead article on the front page of the January-February BMTA newsletter. The first sentence spoke of “murky workings in the background” of
our November annual meeting. The article continued with a highly negative account
of what happened, and didn’t happen, at that meeting. The article was written by Bill
Ristom, the newsletter editor. It spoke of a “power struggle” between two factions in the
BMTA: the “Progressives” who agreed with the author’s proposal for certain changes
in the bylaws and the “Regressives” who opposed those changes and were holding
the club back, or worse. The article also argued that the meeting was improperly
manipulated by the “Regressives” to keep themselves in power and forestall needed
change.

The BMTA Board of Directors would like BMTA members and associates to know that
this article was not approved for publication and was, in our view, thoroughly inaccurate
and unfair.

First, take the issue of unauthorized publication. Ordinarily, before publication,
preliminary versions of the newsletter are circulated to the association president and
to several other board members for feedback – and for the president’s go-ahead to
publish. Until this last issue, Bill followed that practice as editor. But in this instance,
none of us, including President Betty Petty, saw the issue, with its offensive article,
before it appeared in our mailboxes.

Next, consider the article’s misleading account of events - and its insulting tone: Some
of the bylaw changes Bill wanted so badly were simple, straightforward and had general
support on the Board. But others called for big changes in the organization and its
philosophy. Many on the Board strongly opposed these provisions and said so in
emails. In that view, the Board needed a good, thorough discussion to see if we could
arrive at a consensus. Then, unfortunately, both a scheduled Board meeting and a Board strategic planning session, where such a discussion could have taken place, had to be
cancelled because of schedule conflicts. Bill wanted to forge ahead and take the entire
package of revisions to the general meeting for discussion and vote. A majority of the
Board felt that the proposed changes were too big and too far-reaching to put before the
general membership without a full vetting by the Board. The annual meeting was not,
we felt, the right place for the first discussion of a complex set of proposals whose
implications had not been fully considered by all.

Following the advice of that majority, President Petty announced at the annual meeting
that we would instead set up a special committee to consider the changes carefully and
report back to the Board. After Board approval, a meeting of members would be called
following procedures outlined in the current bylaws. It was this delay that Bill evidently
found so frustrating. His proposals were not rejected, but consideration of them was
simply postponed. As Bill did not attend the annual meeting in question, he would not
have known this. Moreover, the group Bill denigrated as the “Regressives” included
the majority of the Board, many former presidents of the association, and several of its
founders – in fact, the vast majority of the active, involved members of the club.

A few of you may have noticed that about the same time the ill-judged newsletter article
appeared, Bill posted another article, in a similar vein, on the BMTA website. The
newsletter article, then, was not an insolated error in judgment. (The website article
has since been removed at the instruction of President Petty.)

The entire current Board agrees that Bill Ristom has been an extremely valuable and
productive Board member for several years. He designed and maintained our superb
website, he assembled the highly popular BMT data book, and he engineered other
improvements, including creation of the electronic version of the newsletter. Bill put
enormous energy and time into the BMTA’s business. But the independence and
single-mindedness that enabled Bill to accomplish so much, also made him difficult
to work with. He would go ahead with an idea without consulting anyone, even a fellow
Board member on whose work he was encroaching. A number of individuals either
resigned from the board in frustration or left active service to the organization because
of such behavior in recent years. On those occasions, we limited ourselves to pressing
Bill to be more collaborative and consultative. He was so hard-working and productive,
and was so passionate about the trail, that we could not bring ourselves to ask him to
resign. That has now changed.

On the evening of Feb. 5, the board met via a telephone conference call facilitated
by Jeffrey Hunter of the American Hiking Society. In light of the unauthorized and
inappropriate recent articles, and the fact that these articles compounded a previous
history of unilateral and inappropriate behavior, the board voted unanimously, with one
abstention, to remove Bill Ristom as newsletter editor and to suspend him from the
BMTA Board of Directors. We also agreed to invite Bill to meet with us, if he wishes,
on Saturday, March 1, to explain and defend his actions. Thereafter, we will vote on
whether to expel Bill from the board, as per our bylaws, Article IV, section 9. At any
point in this sequence, Bill could choose simply to resign, of course.

We deeply regret having to take these actions. Many of us still care for Bill and think
of him as a friend. But we feel it is necessary for the BMTA that Bill ceases to play a
leadership role in the organization. For the Board to function in a collegial fashion, as
it must to be effective, the frustration and uncertainty caused by Bill’s repeated unilateral
actions must end.

We know Bill will be tough to replace. But we have many other talented members
who care deeply for the Benton MacKaye Trail. We are already talking to capable,
experienced people about editing the newsletter, maintaining the website and overseeing
another printing of the BMT data book. If you are interested in lending a hand in any of
these areas, let us know via the “Contact us” link in the left navigation bar on the home
page of the BMTA website.

We are confident that we will find the help we need and reestablish the BMTA Board of
Directors as a cohesive working group. Then the Board, with the membership, can
return to the joyful business of “leaving a footpath for generations to follow.” We welcome
your ideas and your continuing support in that endeavor.

Cordially,
The BMTA Board of Directors