OSOYOOS TIMES-October 28, 2009
In a letter sent to Osoyoos Golf and Country Club members earlier this month, club President Fred Meester speaks of being “mauled by local media who have obviously formed a one-sided opinion on a subject they apparently know very little about.”
“This newspaper, in their own misguided and biased ‘opinion’ editorial, provided this opinion without inviting and/or soliciting feedback from the Club’s Administration and/or Management,” Meester wrote, referring to an editorial that appeared in the Oct. 14 edition of the Osoyoos Times.
Since that editorial was published, the Times has received comments both critical and appreciative of the coverage it has provided thus far regarding the dues adjustment issue which the club is facing.
To clarify, the editorial was based on observations taken from a meeting of roughly 250 members on Oct. 8.
Based on comments put forth by members at the meeting, the editorial aimed to push through arguments from all sides in this matter in an attempt to flesh out what seems to be the deeper issue here.
The Times has no ill-will towards the club, its management or its members and the club’s inner workings are a concern for its leadership and members.
Indeed, it would be a shame if the community lost this valuable resource.
In a news article that appeared in the same issue as the editorial in question, arguments presented at the Oct. 8 meeting were reported on objectively by this newspaper and were balanced with opposing points of view that were raised at the same meeting.
That article was solely about the Oct. 8 meeting and people who contacted the Times afterwards to express further negative comments against the club’s leadership were turned away in the interest of objectivity.
When the Times was preparing a follow-up story about how the club communicates with its members and where members can get their information about the issues the club is facing, we received an email from the organization’s leadership stating it would no longer speak to us.
“The Board of Directors for the Osoyoos Golf and Country Club are disappointed that a few of our Members have chosen to take our internal issues/information public. We choose not to comment on recent articles and/or meetings and will communicate directly with our Members on these private matters,” the email read.
Prior to the Oct. 14, a lengthy story appeared in this newspaper where the club’s president and general manager were given the opportunity to explain the situation and counter negative claims about the club’s leadership from other members.
The Times has no doubt there are good people running the club and the information, financial or otherwise, that members need is readily available.
However, whether that information is accessible and transparent or not, a number of club members said they felt they were not being properly and thoroughly informed.
That right there indicates there is some form of communication problem and that is what the Times intended to discuss.
