Ex-Sawdust Administrator Points Fingers

Editor:

Re: “Sawdust President Defends Board Actions,” Letters, Jan. 29.

The Sawdust Festival’s current president, Jim Stanaland, a five year man in the Sawdust Festival, referring to his job of representing artists as being comparable to “herding cats” is a testament to his arrogance and the way things have changed for the worse. Not to mention his use of the word “sadistic” is just a glimpse into the way the “unanimous” board of directors is shirking responsibility for 200 Sawdust artists.

By hiring a cost-consuming, fulltime general manager and an assistant general manager during these recessionary times when art is the first to be cut, may be naïve for me to assume that was why my job and our previous staff was so abruptly dismissed. After all the Sawdust has been running smoothly without these new job descriptions for 43 years and contrary to Jim’s letter these managers have not pulled up the gate, please call for statistics. These salaries have only taxed the artists by raising booth fees for the exhibitors.

It also occurred to me that this minority mentioned was duly polled at the last special meeting when 120 members in good standing showed up the last day of the summer show to vote on sensitive referendums, concerning disregarded staff and were signed by most of those members only to be told that the special meeting was not “duly noticed” and therefore there could not be a vote. The fact is that meeting should have been duly noticed by those board members. Maybe the members were all too tired to notice these board members elected were not complying with the bylaws or show rules, which is a serious charge as the Sawdust Festival holds a 501 C3 nonprofit status with the state of California.

Other stories from last summer’s show, of artists being put on probation without any notices of non-compliance are also disturbing, unfair and regretful.

The Sawdust Festival needs a board of directors that has all of the artists’ interests in mind in a fair and equal manner at all times. I have seen the shift in the way the show is governed after working there for nine years and it saddens me how over-policed this beautiful “artist run” show has become. I find this disheartening.

Maybe my letter will prompt the current board of directors to reread the Sawdust Festival’s charter.

Time for a change; the “cats” are paying attention.

Jennifer Tye,

Laguna Beach Past administrator of the Sawdust Art Festival