March 30, 2007
Dear Friends and Fellow Patriots,
By way of introduction, or in most cases re-introduction, my name is G. Allen Bubolz. I joined and became a part of the John Birch Society in 1983 after the disappearance of Congressman Lawrence P. McDonald on KAL flight 7. The horrific act of a passenger plane being downed by the Soviets, and the apparent death of a great patriot like Larry McDonald left me no other choice than to join the Society and lend my support to the Herculean efforts of helping to preserve freedom.
In March of 1986, I was honored to be asked to serve as a member of the JBS National Council — a position I still hold. And in 1988, I was appointed the Society’s Chief Executive Officer and President where I served until June 1991. Because of family and business responsibilities, I stepped down as the Society’s CEO. And, as a member of the Executive Committee, I took part in the process of selecting G. Vance Smith as my replacement.
With most of you, I am appalled with the events that have transpired at JBS during the past year and a half. Living near the JBS headquarters, and having had a great deal of experience with the Society’s management, its organizational and corporate structure, and the personalities involved, I believe I have a very good perspective on what has taken place.
My deep concerns have caused me to write to my colleagues on the Society’s Council and to Jack McManus and Art Thompson. To date, I have received no response to my inquiries and suggestions from either group. Therefore, and because of the seriousness of the situation, I am left no alternative but to take my concerns to you.
As my letters to the Council and Jack and Art have indicated, I am extremely concerned about accusations being made relative to the handling of the Society’s financial resources. There is no room in an organization like the John Birch Society for doubts regarding correct disposition of funds.
Now, in a letter from JBS signed by Council members and dozens of others dated January 26, 2007, we read: “What they don’t say is that we were suffering from a $100,000+ monthly operating deficit....” In this statement, there is the allegation that the former officers and directors may be guilty of malfeasance, possibly even to the point of criminality.
The charge of a $100,000 deficit is serious and everyone associated with the Society should insist that it be dealt with immediately. Is this merely a wild distortion of the record, as I suspect, to incite the membership against the previous leaders? Or has there been some genuine wrong-doing. We need to know.
It is absolutely essential that there be a complete and thorough outside, INDEPENDENT financial audit of the JBS books and records. It must be a full CERTIFIED AUDIT to be acceptable — a “compilation,” a “review,” or anything less than a CERTIFIED AUDIT, would be unacceptable. It is my opinion that:
• Clifton Gunderson LLP, a very reputable CPA firm that has worked with the Society ever since I contracted with them to do so in 1989, must be charged to start that certified audit immediately. The audit period must include 2005 — January thru October 21 relative to the former management team — and October 21, 2005 up to the present for Jack and Art’s team.
All of my adult life, I have been involved in the corporate world. I have started numerous corporations where I presided as CEO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, or both. I know through long experience what should happen when there is a change in top leadership — especially if it is a hostile change like the one JBS experienced over a year ago. In any other company or organization, a certified audit would have been required immediately! Even though there are businessmen and an attorney on the new JBS board, this important business practice has been completely ignored at JBS.
I need your help, as Art and Jack have ignored my inquiries, and the Council has not responded to my requests, either. Perhaps they will to yours. Attached are the names and addresses of the Council as they have been given to me from the JBS home office.
• Because of the severity of the accusations and insinuations, please write (email, etc.) to these men and insist that they uphold their fiduciary responsibilities and demand that the Society’s present Board of Directors and officers immediately contract with their outside CPA firm, Clifton Gunderson LLP, to do a full and complete, INDEPENDENT, CERTIFIED AUDIT (not a “review” or “compilation”) of their financial records.
In a normal world, the good rank-and-file participants in an organization should never be dragged into situations like this. Nevertheless, and because of the way the change of leadership has been handled at JBS, there is simply too much at stake to just sit quietly while the only organization presently capable of giving leadership in the freedom fight disappears.
Thank you for taking time to read this letter, and thank you for any, and all, you do to help restore sanity to our nation and to the John Birch Society.
Sincerely,
G. Allen Bubolz
JBS Council Member
cc: JBS Council
Clifton Gunderson LLP
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