On November 21, 2009 I was placed on an involuntary leave of absence. I was told by the Board that some staff had complained that they felt intimidated by my management style. I was instructed not to speak to staff, media or you, the donors. I voiced my concern about the donors not being told of my status as it was the end-of-year giving time. I did not want to be party to the donors being misled. My concerns fell on deaf ears. I hired an attorney because the Board would not communicate directly with me.
On January 19, 2010, I was removed as CEO, President, and Board member. I was offered employment as Director of Global Outreach which would effectively remove me from the Sanctuary; from my on-grounds home of 15 years and my access to the elephants, including Tarra. This job would further restrict me from doing any elephant welfare work in the United States.
Even though the request was made numerous times, the Board refused to mediate. Elephant experts from around the world wrote letters of support asking the Board to reconsider. Among them were Cynthia Moss of Ambosili Trust, Joyce Poole of Elephant Voices, Gay Bradshaw renowned expert in elephant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Will Travers of The Born Free Foundation. Also former Executive Council Emeritus Presidents of The Elephant Sanctuary wrote letters of concern regarding Board action and asking for mediation. All communications to the Board went unacknowledged.
On March 17, 2010, I was called into the office of Mary Baker, Acting CEO. I was terminated from the Sanctuary.
As you can probably imagine I never thought that this could happen at my beloved Sanctuary that I envisioned, co-founded and built. When I was put on leave, removed as CEO, President and Board member, I was restricted from communicating with donors. These past four months of silence have weighed heavily on me. I had hoped through mediation or some reasonable action the Board would have found a solution. At this time I feel a moral and ethical responsibility to inform you of the situation. Your support and trust in me has been the life blood of the Sanctuary and for all you have done I am eternally grateful.
Carol Buckley |
18 comments:
Can place for the balance of the season:
Solo Elephant
Rollerskating a plus.
Contact;
Dewey, Screwem and Howe Combined Shows
route per The Billboard
no collect calls
no bad habits
cannot send bus money
State lowest price in first letter.
Dear At Lib,
Your offer of $10 per month is entirely too much. We can offer you some peanuts and as much used hay as you need for a bed. If this meets your needs, please join ASAP per route.
Yours Insincerely,
E. Scrooge
General Manager
There is a Santa Claus and he just gave an elephant sized gift to the circus community !
My hand is shaking with joy as I pen a letter of thanks to the board for removing this vampire.
As the munchkins sang in the Wizard of OZ:
"hi ho the merry o
sing it high and sing it low
the wicked witch
the wicked witch
is
(in this case at least gone) "
Will someone please send this by snail mail to the Dutchess???!!! John G....please! This will make her DAY, month, year, and all that. Just in case she might not know this has been going on and has now happened. Thanks!
Karen:
I'll be happy to!!
Woo-Hoo!!!
:-)
Cindy Potter
Me, too, CINDY. This will come as a welcome belated birthday gift for The Duchess.
For us 3rd and 4th of Mays please
tell us who the Duchess is
Karma
The caption above this says it all:
What goes around comes around...
Now she will have to sell her hooks on eBay, oh no, wait, she doesn't have any!
I think I shall have a glass of wine! Cheers, all elephant care-givers; here's to you!
Cannot wait to hear what the "Dutchess" has to say on this one! Thanks Cindy and Roger....keep us posted on her wicked response! Would love to be a fly on the wall for that!!
Someone help me out here - I don't know anything about Carol Buckley or the Elephant Sanctuary. Why is everyone happy for her departure? It seems like there isn't a good word to be said for this person. ~frank
Carol, if you read this, I can't think of a more fitting ending!!!
Pete Rosa
...having been out of touch for a while, who is the "Dutchess"? And Carol, I am not surprised they say your "management skills" where a bit tough....they have it right. And can we say "Democrat"? Your "Goddess" affliction may have finally been your down fall....
For CHIC and JO DEE: The "Dutchess" is Rebecca Apponey, retired as a presenter of a number of cage acts, and now owner-operator of a refuge for unwanted small animals, along with a boarding and dog-grooming kennel. To say the least, she is vehemently anti-cruelty without being an activist nut, and has long been an outspoken critic of Carol Buckley. I sent her coverage of Buckley's dismissal, and will advise of her response. For the present time, our Duchess (my spelling) is off-line.
Sorry Dewey, Screwem and Howe, we get first dibs on Ms. Buckley over here on Bringem & Bangem. Winterquarters open. Cookhouse flag is down. Report to The Duchess.
A few years ago, on some Circus Blog that I would frequent, I came upon Duchess. She was flying under the radar but at times had some venomous banter with someone who obviously knew her. We communicated back and forth for a while, I found her to be a hoot, and I feel honored to have had her attention. It would not be appropriate for me to share what I know about Duchess, other than the pleasure I had communicating with her.
Yes Little John, the Duchess is a Dear!
Someone does not know who the Dutchess is?? OH MY!!! That is hard to believe. Her handle on her for a while was "Low Beams" as mine was "High Beams"...wish she was back...she kept us on on toes!! And in stitches too!!
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