How many times around that tree can we go?

So, a few days back I sent my notification to the Alaska Mini Goat Cache, as posted below.

Imagine my surprise when I received the following email:



Dear 2011 Member or Membership Applicants,

It has come to my attention many people have been posting on various
public forums, requests, demands, and notices for a return of their
money submitted to the Alaska Mini Goat Cache for 2011 membership.
Per Article 3 of the AkMGC bylaws, “any member in good standing may
resign from the Club upon written notice to the Secretary. The Club is
not obliged to refund any dues to the resigned member.” If you wish
to make a request for a refund, or a resignation of your membership,
please do so in writing with an original signature and effective date,
and mail it to the Club’s address. Please include a detailed written
explanation for the resignation and/or refund, so that I may pass it
on to the Secretary for presentation to the Board of Directors.
Please understand that the Board of Directors have lives outside their
Board positions and will review any resignations or requests as soon
as reasonably possible.

The Club’s address is:

3060 N. Lazy Eight Ct.
Suite 2, PMB 103
Wasilla, AK 99654

Thank You,

Rayna Fritcher
2011 AkMGC President



A very curious fact is who the email is addressed to: Rachel Peterson, myself, Margie Buckwalter, Tina Judd, Mike Pendergrast and Lisa Stevenson.

Crud, they can't even get their numbers right, lol!! In the case of myself and the other four people expelled, we are neither members, nor applicants. We are just members of the public, and this pitiful excuse of a club has squatted on our money for nearly seven months. I responded:



Rayna, I find your email rather puzzling, on several fronts.

Primarily your plea for more time to address the question is most confusing. The club had no troubles with rapidly expelling me on December 27th, just hours after I paid my dues on line:

“I hereby lodge formal complaint against the following parties for violations of the AKMGC's objectives, purpose and bylaws: Suzanne Nevada, Lisa Stevenson, Margie Buchwalter, Tiani Heider, and Rachel Hecker-Peterson. Ten dollars times 5 complaint fee equals fifty dollars deposited pending swift review, response and action Signed Heather Fair. 12-27-2010”

Surely you are not suggesting that the club is entitled to keep my money for the over six months it already has? Since the club has accepted new members since January, according to testimony from Heather Fair, then it was certainly capable of refunds at any date since then. Additionally, you have had our money, complete with addresses since January 8th, so there is no excuses about contacting us individually either. Or are you saying the club is happy to keep our money, but keep us out?

If you (the club) can act within hours to expel people who are not even members, then you can refund the money within a day or so. You either step up to the plate and return the monies you are keeping for whatever leverage you think it gains, or you face the consequences. No excuses.

To which I received this response:



Considering that 2/3 of the 2011 AkMGC Board of Directors is different
from the 2010 AkMGC Board of Directors, I feel my request is reasonable
and polite.

If you wish to receive a refund for money you submitted for 2011 AkMGC
membership to the 2010 AkMGC Board of Directors, please follow the
instructions in my original e-mail.

Thank you,

Rayna Fritcher
2011 President



It took Rayna two days to come up with this response, which I find laughable at best. The SINGLE difference between the two boards is ONE PERSON. OMG, they sure feel we are stupid, don't they?

Shame on you, Madame President. Just shame on you. I saw your face in court when it seemed that your statement about the "no meeting" that took place on December 27th statement that you made to the membership might be read into the record and accepted by the judge. Panic much, there? The deer in the headlights expression on your face sealed any remaining doubts I might have had about your complicity to dupe the public. Heather then promptly stated for the record that she had the minutes of that meeting-right at hand. Not supplied in her response to the court, naturally. Naturally.

I am not as stupid as Heather Fair would have you believe, Madame President. You have been tooled, but good, and now you are as guilty as she.

What you did (deduced from logic) was this:

You had all forgotten that applications accepted through the website and PayPal were automatically members-according to your own bylaws.

When a bunch of us joined on the 27th, you held an "executive meeting" of the board to cope with it. Totally throwing out state law (and bylaws, and RRoO) which say that board meetings are only advisory in nature...and that ALL meetings must be noticed for any business to be conducted. But what the heck, Heather Fair did it anyway, and convened the meeting-remember, she stated in court she had the minutes and that the decisions for expulsions were unanimous-crafted the response and booted out the five people she felt most threatened by.

Now Heather was forced to argue two points about membership....first, by stating over and over again (at the Jan 8th membership meeting and on the clubs' Yahoo group) no new memberships could be "processed" because she was not the secretary. Period. And then by arguing that the action to expel the new members was also valid. OMG.....how ironic!

If there was no mechanism to accept new members at all until the results of the January 8th meeting and balloting took place (which evidently occurred in the parking lot of the Windbreak Cafe after the regularly noticed time) then your idiotic expulsions are worthless. They mean nothing since the people expelled were never members.

Seriously, you guys need to get your story straight.

What has happened in practise, is that the club has held onto my money under false pretences.

You have defrauded me of my funds.

And you plead with me to wait? Because your club officers "have a life"?

Best laugh I have had in a long time, Rayna. The only life that little fiefdom of yours is going have, is whatever Heather Fair manipulates you into having, lol