More Drama-O-Rama With Northside Marketing Task Force...

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The drama surrounding Northside Marketing Task Force is not nearly as much fun as, for example, JACC drama or whore house drama or even a lowly crack house drama. But sometimes there's nothing else playing on the Johnny Northside blog channel, and you readers will just have to make do with dramas that are not as, well, dramatic.

So it is today...

Shirlynn LaChapelle fired off a letter to Susan Bendickson and Georgianna Yantos--cc'ed to Jerry Moore and Mike Kestner--proposing a "high noon" Friday meeting to take place today for a "hopeful resolution of this serious matter." (Oh, gee, that was today. I wonder if a meeting took place?)

LaChapelle styles herself as one of three "legal board members," the other of which would be, according to the letter, Moore and Kestner.

Here is the letter, dated July 23, 2009, as follows except boldface substituted for underlining:

Susan and Georgianna,

The Northside Marketing Task Force ("NMTF") was created and established with the intent to be an inclusive community effort, with the community-elected Board of Directors working off of standard, established and legal board procedures regarding elections, terms, bylaws, appointed responsibilities, finances, meeting notices, and minutes.

Since the beginning of this year, votes and decisions pertaining to and affecting the NMTF have been taken without quorum, without proper advance notification of date/time/location, without agendas being discussed and approved by the full NMTF executive committee, without meeting minutes distributed, and with persons voting whose terms have expired.

This has resulted in chaos and disrespect for due process, and an illegal current NMTF board making illegal decisions on behalf of this registered community non-profit.

All assets of the NMTF, which include marketing materials produced by the Carney Group and Amalgam, (website, case statement, public relations pieces, etc.) under contract with the NMTF, should be reviewed and discussed with all NMTF Board of Directors before they are released for public viewing and consumption.

The domain names, email addresses, and access codes releated to northminneapolis.com, northminneapolis.org, northminneapolis.net and insidenorthside.org are all the property of the NMTF, and are subject to full board approval as to who administers them and how they are distributed to the public.

The names Northside Marketing Task Force and NMTF are also subject to full board approval before they are used or distributed in any public manner.

It has come to my attention that the two of you, along with former board member Jim Wentzell, have decided that Board process need not be followed, and have begun to promote an unauthorized NMTF Annual Meeting, posted the unapproved website northminneapolis.com to the public, and have attempted to illegally access NMTF funds held by our fiscal agent Northway Community Trust.

This letter shall serve as a Cease and Desist requesting all Northside Marketing Task Force decisions and activities, until a proper NMTF Board of Directors meeting takes place, which would include me and the other remaining legal board members, Mr. Jerry Moore and Mr. Mike Kestner.

I am proposing that this meeting take place Friday, July 31, at 12:00pm (noon) at a location to be determined. This will allow time for the NMTF Board of Directors to gather all documents and be prepared for discussion and hopeful resolution of this matter.

In the meantime, please remove the current posted website at northminneapolis.com and northminneapolis.org, and postpone all NMTF communications until further notice and agreement of the full NMTF Board of Directors.

I would appreciate a rapid response to this request. Thank you in advance.

Shirlynn LaChapelle,
Northside Marketing Task Force

cc: Jerry Moore
Mike Kestner