As a director on the New Westminster Hyack Festival Association’s board of directors, I have (unfortunately) been personally and intimately involved in Hyack's very public conflict these past two months.
As many readers will already know, the public "troubles" started when Hyack's executive director was fired on July 31 by our board president, Gavin Palmer, with the support of Hyack's treasurer, Gloria Munro and two other executive board members. This firing was done without board involvement, nor board approval. However, this was not the start of the trouble.
Now before readers jump to conclusions, I should reassure them that I will not be expounding on whether these four board members had the authority to fire the executive director (in my opinion, they did not), or whether the firing was justified (I am convinced that there was no justification). Rather I would like to describe what I believe is the heart of the challenge for Hyack and the City of New Westminster and propose one possible way forward.
First, a little about me. I have been a board member with Hyack for almost two years now. When I joined, I did so as a favour to my wife's friend, and only after having said "no" to the request four times. I was told I was asked because of my past experience in business and strategic planning, and agreed to serve Hyack on that basis - not to become the organization's number 1 parade volunteer, but to provide a fresh perspective on the board in order to help address the concerns expressed by others about Hyack being stuck in the past and running the same old, stale events year after year.
So in January 2012, I met Douglas Smith for the first time and attended my first Hyack board meeting, where I discovered that Hyack had many energetic people who wanted to help with reinvigorating the organization. Smith started to make changes and the president in 2012 supported his efforts. As a result, the organization underwent a considerable shift in direction and outcomes, with new events receiving almost instant success.
However in 2013, I discovered a different side of Hyack. The board's new, one-year president and Smith did not get along and conflicts quickly occurred. As the year rolled along, I discovered just how influential a small group of "past presidents" were in setting the direction of Hyack. What I hadn't realized in my first year on the board was that this group met every month, and would provide detailed direction to the president on everything from the organization of Hyack Week events to how and where Hyack-branded clothing should be sold. Although the "volunteering in the trenches" days appeared to be long over for this group, they loved the special, life-long status that their one year of presidency granted them.
They were ever ready to put on their red jackets and take on judging and marching duties and attend banquets and parties as "ambassadors for the city" at Hyack events. They also especially valued the city-paid Hyack float and entourage that accompanied them when they went down to march in the U.S. parades and party in the VIP tents.
When Smith, in his second year, (and I along with him) started to question the value of these out-of-country activities and ask how all this money and energy really benefited the folks in New Westminster; and when concerns were expressed at a June strategic planning session that Hyack should eliminate any elitism and be more inclusive, then it appears to me that fears by this group of losing much of what they held dear came to a head and they decided to act.
So where can Hyack go from here?
I do believe that Hyack is facing a severe crisis, however it is a crisis that cannot be solved with admonishments by outsiders to "quit fighting and just get along." Like a marriage that has broken down, and where the two spouses have grown apart and want to pursue different activities and life goals, Hyack needs to split into two: one organization to be a festivals and events organization to run community parades, festivals, concerts and events "in New Westminster for New Westminster;" and another, perhaps more club-like organization that ends up with complete autonomy to pursue its own goals.
These two groups are currently joined at the hip within Hyack and so are fighting over what to do and which direction to go. They now need to calmly sit down and figure out in a business-like way how to split up the family assets, set up two new households and move on to pursue their respective destinies.
I believe that this is the only workable alternative at this point, and I would be happy to either participate if asked or leave it with others to negotiate this solution.
