Editor-In-Chief's Note:
While association business at the ETA may move slowly, responses to articles in the The Green Sheet concerning the ETA are written quickly, as is the case of the December 29, 1997 letter below, responding to the December 15, 1997 article, "Moving at the Speed of the ETA." While much is addressed in this letter about my August 7, 1997 letter to Ken Bowman and phone messages left for me, it fails to address my final letter to ETA's President written on August 16, 1997 and signed for by the ETA on November 17, 1997. We acknowledge having received a check from the ETA, although the amount differs from what was sent.
Dear Paul:
In all of my experience as an association director, I have never been accused of malfeasance. This is a very grave charge and one that I take issue with. I have a fiduciary responsibility to the membership of ETA and I take this responsibility very seriously. And to have you state that I and/or the board of directors may not be handling the monies of ETA in a legal or ethical manner is tantamount to slander.
Of course, I base this remark on your recent article in The Green Sheet titled "Moving at The Speed of the ETA". To say that I am appalled, mad and saddened by such an article would be an understatement! I find it completely baffling why you would run such an article. I suppose you get some pleasure in stirring up controversy and spreading half-truths.
Instead of calling, I am writing in response to this article because it seems you do not remember messages or conversations we had pertaining to the "Wyatt Baxter Scholarship Fund." Let me refresh your memory...immediately after I received your letter of August 7, 1997 telling us that you wanted to withdraw your support for the Scholarship Fund and wanted the money back, I called you. At that time you were not available, so I left you a very detailed message telling you that the information you received about the board wanting to use this money for charity was incorrect. In fact, I told you that the board had shelved this discussion until our September board meeting so nothing had been decided about how to structure the fundóbut they were positive on the concept. I went on to tell you, however, that if you wanted this money back to let me know and I would send it back. Needless to say, I did not hear back from you and it is still in a special account that we established. (Sheila Navis tells me that she also called you on a couple of occasions about this issue and you never returned her phone calls.) Then at our Fall Meeting, I talked with you in the exhibit hall (you mentioned that you received my message in August) telling you that the board had discussed this issue. I told you that they were still interested in this program but needed to know whether you wanted to proceed. You told me that you were thinking about starting your own fund and I told you to let me know what you decided.
Well, it appears you have decided! It's too bad you chose this way to roll out your new program. I would have much rather had you call me and tell me this but then it would not have been as dramatic as printing it as the lead article in The Green Sheet, where it would attempt to raise questions about ETA and its operations. (This article is the journalistic equivalent of "When did you stop beating your dog?"óno real news or issues but it puts the subject, ETA in this case, in a no-win situation.) To that end, I have enclosed a check for the amount of money that was in the Wyatt Baxter Scholarship Fund. Even though I don't respect the way you have chosen to resolve this, I do hope this fund helps deserving ISOs in their continuing professional education.
Sincerely,
Ken Bowman
Executive Director
Mr. Green,
I would like to add SCAN Check Verification to our product offerings. Have you ever done an article on the company SCAN and do you have a number which I could call to be an agent.
Thank you,
Lori
Dear Lori,
I suggest you contact SCAN at (425) 489-2500. In the future, you might find it faster to search for the company information you need using The Green Sheet search engine. On the left side of our main page http://the.greenshett.com click "Search" and enter the company name. All articles we have written mentioning that company will then be listed and you can jump to them with one click!
Good Selling!
Paul H. Green
Editor-in-Chief
Dear Paul,
Card Payment Systems is an independent ISO/MSP headquartered in New York. For the past couple months, I have been discussing advertising rates with your ad department for both The Green Sheet and your new quarterly publication (as well as listings in the Resource Guide).
I am currently waiting for an invoice to begin advertising immediately in the Resource Guide with my long term commitment to The Green Sheet. However, I must admit my extreme disappointment in the Dec. 15 issue (Letters to the Editor) in which you personally recommend American National Bank to a prospective agent looking for an ISO relationship. In my opinion, journalistic integrity was seriously breached by your publication in this matter. I would imagine your other advertisers were not particularly pleased as well. As a "small" industry, there are very few avenues for medium advertising. I hope in the future you will exercise better journalistic professionalism.
Thank you,
Ryan O'Connor
Vice President/Card Payment Systems
Ryan:
Thank you for your letter and I will have Suzanne Cagnassola contact you. I must admit that I continue to be amazed that my view of things seems so much at times to be at odds with very capable and successful people like you.
While I understand your view, and I will publish your letter, I will tell you that I see things in the exact opposite way from your expressed view. The Green Sheet, right or wrong, is an expression of my thoughts and views on things, and it has been for fourteen years. I am well aware that people often do not agree with me and some, like you, say so.
While I have provided advertising space, beginning in early 1997, to further my goals for The Green Sheet, I believe that the day that an advertising dollar keeps me from saying what I think, or reporting on what I believe, then that will be the day that I am being unprofessional. I will also say that I have made it clear to Green Sheet readers, that advertising is not an endorsement of any company or product, however, that does not eliminate my ability to express my view on a program that I know, have experience with, and have reason to recommend.
Perhaps if I knew more about your program, I would feel the same about it. I must close by telling you that The Green Sheet has always been controversial, and it is likely that as many people disagree with me as those who agree. You should consider this point as a potential advertiser.
Thanks again for your letter. It would be a dull world indeed if we all agreed on everything.
Paul H. Green
Editor-In-Chief
Send Letters to The Green Sheet via e-mail at greensheet@greensheet.com or snail-mail to P.O. Box 6008, Petaluma, CA 94955-6008.
