As I've dug deeper into issues surrounding Sunset Harbor, I've come to the conclusion that I was off-base on my take about BOD member, Marilyn Gordon. When I'm off-base or wrong, I step up and admit it.
There is absolutely no disputing that her actions (outlined in my previous post) were a breach of fiduciary duty to both the owners and the rest of the BOD.
One seemingly caused by a lack of attention to detail and the other, I believe, caused by her sincere concerns about the path being followed as the BOD moved forward in their efforts to terminate the management contract and resort agreement at SH. I took the opportunity at the recent annual meeting of the association to address Ms. Gordon and cautioned her to please be more careful and also to explain that once the BOD has voted in the majority on an effort, she has to stand in support of that effort.
As I've continued to try and get a handle on what's going on at SH, both with the property and the BOD/MVW, I've gotten a much clearer picture. I've spoken to alot of people, who I feel were being truthful with me. It's amazing what wandering the streets of Key West can reveal. I've learned that Ms. Gordon's concerns about the path being followed in the termination efforts very much mirrored my own and those concerns have validity. I'll leave it at that for right now. While she didn't handle things correctly, in the end, I believe she made the right decision to speak out against the termination effort as more details were revealed, even though it fostered an atmosphere of distrust and created a flood of anger directed at herself. I believe Ms. Gordon made the right decision to be honest with other owners that know her and were looking to her for anwers. Had I been in her position, I would have handled things differently from the beginning, but, in the end, she did what she felt she had to do with what she had to work with. I have to have some level of respect for her to take that action, knowing the backlash she was going to face. Not many would have the guts to do that.
I'm not saying I agree with Ms. Gordon on every issue. I'm very upset with the BOD as a whole. But, I believe I was wrong in my initial assessment of her and I'm taking the opportunity to set the record straight and to apologize publically to her. I should have just contacted her directly in the beginning, instead of basing my assessment solely on her actions. I should have been more open-minded to the possibility that there were good reasons for her about-face on the termination effort. Again, I don't like how she went about it but I honestly believe that initially there was a lack of understanding on her part of how the process was going to play out. Once she realized what was happening, she took the only path she felt she could. I respect that.
This is going to anger some people. I don't care. Be angry if you want. When I'm wrong, I admit it. And know this: I intend to shine a bright light on what's going on at SH; operations by both the BOD and MVW. They're going to know that someone is FINALLY watching them and is going to hold them accountable for their decisions. I'm working with others to get owners consolidated, get information to them, and to get them involved. Owner participation is the absolute key to getting things turned around there and enough of us are concerned now and are going to do our best to get rid of the apathy that has prevailed among SH owners up to this point.