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Any BOT on this board or anyone here talk to a Board of Trustee member?

G

Goolsbyrules

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I left a message for my friend whose father is on the board of trustees to see if he had spilled any beans or really just trying to find out if he is spitting nails like everyone else.


If anyone here can get a "powers that be" update that would awesome.
 
I am a frequent reader of the boards but until now have not been compelled to post in a meaningful way. Given the current circumstances that are embarrassing the university, I want to share some thoughts. *

If you want to get attention and provoke change; organization is key. *My comments below are directed only towards pressure / change led from the administration / board. *I will let someone else speak for the Deacon Club.

Dave Odom gave a candid chat about 16 years ago, at an intimate lunch, for 4-6 key donors related to incoming freshman (their parents). *One comment sticks in my head from this lunch. *"Wake Forest has a path, it doesn't adapt to you - you adapt to her." I will never forget this quote, especially in context of the audience, question asked and anecdote used to personify this quote. *This was surprising to hear from a then beloved coach. *

Why this has context to today. *For better or worse, the administration of WFU has a strong penchant to stand together in good times and bad. *Best illustrated before a change in the then highly underqualified endowment office that has severely hampered the growth and future of the university that will only be solved by massive fundraising. *

If you want to be heard, you have to do it in a way that makes the administration / board listen. A couple thoughts: *

1. *One off letters, unless you are a $100k plus or scholarship donor, fall on deaf ears.

2. *Snippy / witty emails weaken your message. *

3. *Use facts. *Arrests in the football program. *The new embarrassing ESPN comments. *Highlight the Wellman / Bzz connection (coupled with lack of credentials, again facts only) - this will likely be the straw that breaks the camels back and creates a series of fractures. *

4. *Use concrete examples; read the ESPN re-cap of the Duke game this morning and read the player comments and compare those to comments of our football and basketball players. *

5. *Don't underestimate the pressure that can be brought to bear through bad press but please remember, reputation is hard to repair. *A powerful weapon but you don't control the message and some reputational wounds may take years to heal. *

Again, in one off emails, even with these facts you probably won't get far. *

Get organized,

Organize your fellow alumni. *Break the classes by five year increments (even if it just starts with the community here). *Have as many of your classmates as you can to write unique letters (not form) and send them in together. *Most important classes are the baby boomers, the oldest living alums, then the 35-45 year old professionals. *Young alumni should write in volume but have a lesser impact - commensurate with their generally smaller current wallet and stature. *If the letters begin to come to the board, administration and athletic department, your cause here may gain traction but don't forget Odom's quote. *

This is a march, not a sprint. As much as we are all embarrassed and want it to be over. *

As a final note, focus on basketball - the bridge is weakening everyday. You won't get far with football, at this juncture. *
 
I'm a former Deacon Club board member but have never been on the BOT. A couple of the very biggest athletic donors are still very good friends of mine, one of whom I speak to almost daily. Most of you Deacon sports followers would know these guys or at least know their faces or names. One of them I know has recently written a letter stating his reasons and desire for a head coach to be fired and the other felt like he was going to follow suit. They both have huge sway, or at least they have as much as an alumnus can have. Both of them are very unhappy with the athletic department and the situation with both our football and basketball programs. So if these guys are doing it, I'm sure others are. And these guys are always so positive about Wake sports, I would think they would be the last 2 guys to turn on coaches. Both of them know Grobe and Buzz very well personally.
 
Pretty sure UnleashtheFurby is on the BOT. Pussy^3 was also a long-time member. You should PM them.
 
That fact that there needs to be a massive letter-writing campaign from all ends of the Deacon earth to get this asshat fired is absurd. This decision is as easy as "should I eat dinner today?"
 
guitardeac said:
I'm a former Deacon Club board member but have never been on the BOT. A couple of the very biggest athletic donors are still very good friends of mine, one of whom I speak to almost daily. Most of you Deacon sports followers would know these guys or at least know their faces or names. One of them I know has recently written a letter stating his reasons and desire for a head coach to be fired and the other felt like he was going to follow suit. They both have huge sway, or at least they have as much as an alumnus can have. Both of them are very unhappy with the athletic department and the situation with both our football and basketball programs. So if these guys are doing it, I'm sure others are. And these guys are always so positive about Wake sports, I would think they would be the last 2 guys to turn on coaches. Both of them know Grobe and Buzz very well personally.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, this is the word I have been hearing as well. I take no pleasure in anyone losing a job or wanting someone to lose their job. But I have spent thousands of dollars a year on hoops and football and I really just dont feel like the last 4 years Wake has been a good steward of those funds and I feel like when I have made this opinion known to the administration they act indignant and that the average Wake fan is too stupid to understand the complexities of college athletics. The bottom line is there are really only two goals. Do the right thing and win. Right now Wake is not doing either one and the people not executing are making 4 and million dollars. Wake could pay high school coaches 400,000 and get the same result.
 
WestSideDeac said:
I am a frequent reader of the boards but until now have not been compelled to post in a meaningful way. Given the current circumstances that are embarrassing the university, I want to share some thoughts. *

If you want to get attention and provoke change; organization is key. *My comments below are directed only towards pressure / change led from the administration / board. *I will let someone else speak for the Deacon Club.

Dave Odom gave a candid chat about 16 years ago, at an intimate lunch, for 4-6 key donors related to incoming freshman (their parents). *One comment sticks in my head from this lunch. *"Wake Forest has a path, it doesn't adapt to you - you adapt to her." I will never forget this quote, especially in context of the audience, question asked and anecdote used to personify this quote. *This was surprising to hear from a then beloved coach. *

Why this has context to today. *For better or worse, the administration of WFU has a strong penchant to stand together in good times and bad. *Best illustrated before a change in the then highly underqualified endowment office that has severely hampered the growth and future of the university that will only be solved by massive fundraising. *

If you want to be heard, you have to do it in a way that makes the administration / board listen. A couple thoughts: *

1. *One off letters, unless you are a $100k plus or scholarship donor, fall on deaf ears.

2. *Snippy / witty emails weaken your message. *

3. *Use facts. *Arrests in the football program. *The new embarrassing ESPN comments. *Highlight the Wellman / Bzz connection (coupled with lack of credentials, again facts only) - this will likely be the straw that breaks the camels back and creates a series of fractures. *

4. *Use concrete examples; read the ESPN re-cap of the Duke game this morning and read the player comments and compare those to comments of our football and basketball players. *

5. *Don't underestimate the pressure that can be brought to bear through bad press but please remember, reputation is hard to repair. *A powerful weapon but you don't control the message and some reputational wounds may take years to heal. *

Again, in one off emails, even with these facts you probably won't get far. *

Get organized,

Organize your fellow alumni. *Break the classes by five year increments (even if it just starts with the community here). *Have as many of your classmates as you can to write unique letters (not form) and send them in together. *Most important classes are the baby boomers, the oldest living alums, then the 35-45 year old professionals. *Young alumni should write in volume but have a lesser impact - commensurate with their generally smaller current wallet and stature. *If the letters begin to come to the board, administration and athletic department, your cause here may gain traction but don't forget Odom's quote. *

This is a march, not a sprint. As much as we are all embarrassed and want it to be over. *

As a final note, focus on basketball - the bridge is weakening everyday. You won't get far with football, at this juncture. *
Click to expand...


This is an excellent post and the final point is critical. The energy and movement should be focused on basketball. WFU is a basketball school. Coach [Redacted] has severely damaged our program in many ways, but it can and will be repaired. As stated in this post, organization is key. My fear is that the folks on this board are the vocal minority of Wake Forest Nation. Certainly there have to be alum that don't really care about the athletic department and/or don't pay attention. Of course, I expect that many alum have now become apathetic to the entire cause. Mr. Wellman and Coach [Redacted] will not go quickly or quietly and it will really take a tremendous effort to effectuate change. Mr. Wellman is responsible for this situation. Coach [Redacted], though never deserving of a job at WFU and clearly the wrong man to lead our student-athletes, is almost collateral damage to Mr. Wellman's incompetence and lack of accountability. These are very sad days for WFU. Hopefully this long, WFU nightmare will end soon.

-22
 
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As mentioned in the previous posts, maybe someone wants to collect some of the letters from people and then compile them into one email with attachments so they may be sent to the appropriate people (BOT, boosters, school officials). Even if nothing is done immediately, it will help over time at the least.

Upper Level WF Management
President - Nathan Hatch, nhatch@wfu.edu
AD - Ronald Wellman, wellmanr@wfu.edu
Senior VP of Finance & Chief Financial Officer - Hof Milam, bhm@wfu.edu

Senior Advisary Counsil - Athletics
Doug Bland, blandwd@wfu.edu
Corey Jenkins, jenkinca@wfu.edu

Board of Trustees
BOT Chair, Donald Flow, No email so go buy a car and tell him your thoughts on Wake
BOT Vice-Chair - Bobby R. Burchfield, bburchfield@mwe.com
BOT Secretary, WFU General Counsel, Senior VP of School - J. Reid Morgan, jrm@wfu.edu
BOT Member - Deborah D. Lambert, dlambert@johnsonlambert.com
BOT Member - W. Louis Bissette, Jr., lbissette@mwbavl.com
BOT Member - Jocelyn Burton, jburton@burtonemploymentlaw.com
BOT Member - Peter C. Brockway, pbrockway@brockwaymoran.com
BOT Member - John R. Lowden, jrlowden@newcastle-partners.com
BOT Member - James T. Williams, jwilliams@brookspierce.com
BOT Member - David W. Dupree, ddupree@thehalifaxgroup.com
I'm sure there are more BOT emails available but these are what I have thus far

Please be considerate with these email addresses if you choose to contact these people and keep it short. These email addresses were all found through a simple Google search. ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE THEIR BUSINESS EMAILS so keep that in mind and try to limit individual emails. Instead, please collect a bunch of peoples' letters then send them one or two rather than making them sift through a lot of them.
 
The big donors HAVE to be pissed as well. If you give tens or hundreds of thousands specifically to the athletic programs then not only do you care a great deal about MSD, but WF athletics. Its not like these dudes are hanging out on a yacht in the south of France and occasionally checking scores on their sat phones in between cheese courses. They are watching the product on the fields and courts very closely. They are not the knee jerking lunatic fringe that posts here, but they are also not stupid. They know when they see a poor return on their investment.

The whole Wellman buzz slurpfest is the problem. If he isnt gone by the end of this year, then these guys will definitely be showing up at trustee meetings. It's just sad that the big donors have to essentially go to the top of the totem pole to engender action, since the athletic director is simultaneously wearing blinders and is asleep at the wheel.
 
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TheTwinAndreBen said:
The big donors HAVE to be pissed as well. If you give tens or hundreds of thousands specifically to the athletic programs then not only do you care a great deal about MSD, but WF athletics. Its not like these dudes are hanging out on a yacht in the south of France and occasionally checking scores on their sat phones in between cheese courses. They are watching the product on the fields and courts very closely. They are not the knee jerking lunatic fringe that posts here, but they are also not stupid. They know when they see a poor return on their investment.

The whole Wellman buzz slurpfest is the problem. If he isnt gone by the end of this year, then these guys will definitely be showing up at trustee meetings. It's just sad that the big donors have to essentially go to the top of the totem pole to engender action, since the athletic director is simultaneously wearing blinders and is asleep at the wheel.
Click to expand...

Speak for yourself, man.
 
DemonDeacons03 said:
As mentioned in the previous posts, maybe someone wants to collect some of the letters from people and then compile them into one email with attachments so they may be sent to the appropriate people (BOT, boosters, school officials). Even if nothing is done immediately, it will help over time at the least.


Senior Advisary Counsil - Athletics

.
Click to expand...


Sounds like quite the group.
 
For the low, low price of $100k you can have Ron Wellman ignore your opinions just like everyone else!
 
Letters should not be necessary if Wake Forest is truly serious about having a first-class athletic department that fields competitive teams.

If it's come to a letter campaign, you've already identified the problem.
 
Bringing pressure to fire Bzz is misplaced.

The real problem is Ron Wellman, and aiming any lower is just wasting time and energy.
 
Agree with previous post. If we must resort to a letter campaign we are effed from the top down. Any letters to the BOTs should basically say: "Have some self-respect and fire all these ass-hats."
 
I don't disagree that letter writing isn't ideal and doesn't produce instant gratification. *That said, you have to take a step back an understand how a board of directors works and who you are tying to give a voice to.

First, most everyone on the board has a business they run as their primary fiduciary responsibility. *By definition a non-executive board member is merely an observer and acts only when they must. *

Second, these are people that know each other. *Group think, regardless of personal stature, is pervasive at a board level. *They don't like discord or a squeaky wheel at the middle of the table. *

Third, if you want someone to champion a cause, you have to give the ammunition and a reason to take up the cause. *

Though writing letters isn't necessarily ideal, I question what other solutions the masses, who have essentially no clear voice, have to influence members or a member to action.*

The way change takes form at a board level, that isn't executive led, is usually a single board member with a clear thought and clear support slowly working on a 1 on 1 basis to recruit other members to their position. *

If you want something to happen faster than normal course you need to find a way to get one of the members or the key executive to champion your cause and illustrate that they have fulsome support from their constituents. *There is little incentive for people with busy schedules to take on a popular campus figure (ie Wellman) that is going to be personally consuming from both a time and emotional level.
 
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