Glenn Blakley resigned as president of Saskatchewan’s general farm organization last week, citing numerous difficulties with board members and staff.
In a scathing three page memo to representatives of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan Oct. 10, he said he “can no longer in good conscience continue to support a board of directors that focuses on petty internal politics, power struggles and personal agendas rather than to do the work that they were elected to do.”
APAS has struggled throughout its eight-year history to get over such problems. It has seen tremendous staff turnover – 42 people – and resignations at the executive level.
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Blakley, a founding member of APAS, said recent events left him with no choice but to resign. Those include continuing board interference with staff, and unwillingness by both board and staff members to maintain nonpartisan political positions, even though the organization’s strategic plan requires them to do so.
He criticized some individuals for refusing to provide detailed information about expenditures to the finance committee, noting that APAS is funded by taxpayer money and spending should be transparent.
In an interview, Blakley said he wrote a blunt memo outlining specific concerns about specific people because things have to change before APAS loses credibility.
“If the reps don’t get the message, they’re not going to make any informed decisions at the December AGM,” he said.
He said he first thought about resigning a year ago but decided to stay when it appeared the situation would improve. It wasn’t long after last year’s annual general meeting, however, that the APAS roller-coaster set out again.
Discontent among the membership and a loss of rural municipal members led to an April 1 meeting called by the representatives. At that time, they decided to decrease the size of the board to streamline decision-making.
The organization appeared to be back on track, although the bylaw changes required to reduce the board were never implemented. Blakley said things went well until about the end of July, when the wheels started coming off again.
He had had enough.
Blakley still believes APAS has a future. He singled out several current and former board members for their positive contributions and said a board comprising people who are at the table for the right reasons will make it work.
He suggested radical changes are needed for APAS to survive. Those include: a permanent eight-member board of one director from each district, plus a vice-president and president elected by the membership at the annual general meeting; structured districts with councils to allow more grassroots participation; term limits on board members to eliminate any notion of an “old boys club” and encourage new members; and quarterly board meetings focusing on operational and financial matters.
Blakley also called for the formation of an APAS policy council to set the organization’s policy positions. He said operations and finance should be kept separate from policy.
