***PLEASE NOTE*** The Board of Directors will post a response to this resignation and correct mis-information. There is a motion to remove Eric Byler from the Board for misconduct that pre-dates this resignation ~Debilyn Letter of Resignation May 10, 2014 To whom it may concern, This is my letter of resignation from the Board of Directors of Coffee Party USA. During the past four months, I have made strenuous efforts to prevent what I consider to be a conflict of interest. The board has made a different decision, and therefore I cannot continue to serve in good conscience. My deepest concern is the possible perception that the Coffee Party is being turned into a for-profit venture, in part for the personal benefit of one of its Directors, instead of pursuing its nonprofit mission for social good. On April 28, 2014, I learned that a contract dated October 28, 2013 had been signed by one of our Directors. The contract enters Coffee Party USA into a network marketing agreement under Viridian Energy. The topic of conflict of interest with regard to this arrangement was first introduced at a Coffee Party board meeting on January 8, 2014. Over the next several weeks, the Director who had introduced the Viridian project disclosed that he and his father would both profit personally from this arrangement. During the meeting of April 29, 2014, I was the only Director to vote against a motion proclaiming that this financial conflict of interest was insignificant (two Directors abstained, and another, who has since resigned, was absent). I gave strong consideration to resigning from the board immediately after the April 29 meeting. But I was troubled by the discovery that a signed contract had been kept from me, and at least two other Directors, for a period of six months. I made requests to see this contract, and obtained a copy on May 7, 2014. Upon review of my records, it appears to me that a financially interested Director may have made a motion for, and also voted in favor of the Viridian business arrangement in October of 2013, three months before we began the process of determining if there was a conflict of interest. Because I feel procedures outlined by our bylaws were not followed, and, because I feel that I have not been properly informed in a way that allows me to carry out my duties, I am resigning as a Director. It is my hope that the remaining Directors, and the dues paying members whom they serve, will work together to restore corporate governance such that the duty to provide oversight, and prevent the appearance of conflict of interest, is transparently and faithfully fulfilled. Eric Byler
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 22:16:25 +0000
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