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Hi SBW committee,
In March last year I received a typed letter hand-delivered by the SBW President purporting to be from the SBW committee which was stamped "Private and Confidential". Unfortunately, I had no idea how to treat a "Private and Confidential" letter from SBW, as there were no rules or guidelines on the website that I could find.
The letter did not actually appear to come from the committee. It was signed by John Kubale, and although it mentioned alleged committee decisions, I was not sure whether it was genuinely from the committee or just something that John had created.
There was no official logo or letterhead on the document, and I had to wonder why it was printed out and hand delivered rather than being emailed from the official SBW Secretary’s email address.
It really looked like a scam, especially given that all of the claims made in the letter were bogus!
It looked especially suspicious given that no committee meeting on the supposed date of the meeting had been advertised in the club’s Program or News. If the meeting was genuine, it contravened the club constitution. Rule 23 (i)(i) states that “committee Meetings shall be open to Club members subject to a decision by the Presiding Officer to restrict attendance to all or part of the meeting.” The Presiding Officer is determined at the meeting - not prior to the meeting - so the committee conspiring to keep a meeting “SECRET” from club members is technically illegal.
However, if the letter was genuine, what was I allowed to do with it? What options did I have to question it or dispute the findings of the committee? What options did I have to defend myself from the ridiculous claims made in the letter?
Could I talk to my wife about it? Could I talk to my friends? Could I talk to new members of the committee about it, even though they were not a part of the committee that allegedly wrote (or at least sanctioned) the "Private and Confidential" letter? Was I even allowed to contact the committee about it?
What were the penalties if I deliberately ignored the “Private and Confidential” stamp?
What were the penalties if I accidentally breached the “Private and Confidential” nature of the letter?
If there are guidelines on the website, could you please direct me to them? And if there are no guidelines on the website, could you please add guidelines so that club members will know what to do should they ever receive a similar letter to mine?
Cheers,
Brett
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