The dust-up over the departure of Douglas Smith has caused one of the Hyack Festival's biggest sponsors to re-assess its involvement with the event.
Key West Ford general manager Adam Isfeld estimates that the total value of the company's contribution, which includes vehicles, volunteers, promotions and cash, is in the six figures, but he warned that support could slip away if there is a sign of misconduct by anyone in the organization.
"We actually will be conducting a review, and what I can say is we are concerned," said Isfeld.
The Hyack saga began when Smith - who some say breathed new life into the Hyack Festival - was fired by the Hyack executive on July 31. He was then was reinstated after the board at large voted to ask him back. The agreement was that he would return to work for a period of one month without prejudice - which meant Smith could still take legal action against the association for his dismissal. Smith left his post last Thursday and says he will take legal action against the association.
Since his departure, at least one sponsor - Uptown Property Group - has pulled support from Hyack.
"To be honest, I just wanted to let the dust settle with them, but obviously if we are in a situation there's been some serious wrongdoings, and we're not getting the right answers, would we pull sponsorship, absolutely. One hundred per cent," said Isfeld. "Wrongful dismissal? Yes, definitely would be something that would fall into the realm of us taking a very serious look. Obviously we don't want to hurt the City of New West - that's our biggest concern, but on the other hand we do have a duty and a responsibility."
When Smith was first fired last month, Isfeld sent a letter to the Hyack Festival Association outlining his concerns about the situation, stating that he wanted to be "neutral" but noting his strong support for Smith's vision for Hyack.
"We don't want to get involved in something that could be politically motivated," Isfeld said.
The general manager hadn't heard about Smith's departure when he was reached by phone on Wednesday. (The Record was the first to report Smith’s leaving the day before.)
Smith said he had been informed he was being let go because of an incident that occurred on Canada Day during a live music performance at the Concerts on the Quay. A group was being disruptive during a performance, and Smith intervened, with one of the group members accusing Smith of assaulting him.
Smith, who was never charged for the incident, speculated his firing may have been related to the strategic planning work that had been taking place, including a name change for the association. Instead of being called Hyack Festival Association, a proposal would have seen the organization renamed Festivals New West to better reflect that the group organizes festivals year round, not just the Hyack Festival in May.
Hyack president Gavin Palmer – one of the Hyack executive board members who wanted Smith fired – has refused to comment on the reason for Smith initially being let go because it’s a personnel matter.
Isfeld had nothing but praise for Smith's work with Hyack.
"Douglas is amazing. His vision and our vision were very alike. We actually substantially increased what we were doing with them from what we initially thought we were. So, I think for the city ... it's a pretty big loss," he said.
Palmer could not be reached for comment at press time.
