Seed Savers, Executive Director, Kent Whealy fired!

SSE’s Long-Range Strategic Plan, which Neil Hamilton helped write in 2001, allows three whole years for my training of a new Executive Director. I do not want to come back as SSE’s Executive Director myself, but I am very willing to assist a new SSE leadership group in helping to select an appropriate successor and then transfer to him or her as much as possible of my three decades of knowledge and experience. I also do not want to come back as a board member right now either, because I feel that it’s extremely important to give SSE’s new Board the time needed to independently set things right. However, because I have devoted my life’s work to this organization, I would always be available as an advisor to SSE, in any capacity, and know that my knowledge and input would be highly valuable.

In complete contrast, I will never accept this board’s hollow offer to be an “Honorary Director” (“77ze position of Honorary Director shall have no voting rights, nor any other rights, responsibilities, nor duties of a director of the corporation”) That language was just added to the current board’s new Bylaws (Article IV. Section 14), I suppose so that they could tout their meaningless award to me as PR for the benefit of SSE’s members in your next membership publication.

This letter is being sent to all of the Listed Members in SSE’s Yearbook, which are all publicly published names and addresses. However, I am also mindful that there are many other gardeners out there who care deeply for, and are an important part of SSE. That includes about 7,000 subscribers (SSE’s Non-Listed Members), approximately 1,300 who are Lifetime Subscribers and would all be strong supporters of keeping SSE and its current programs intact. This letter needs to go out to all of SSE’s membership, so I am asking for all of SSE’s Listed Members to help me get this message out to our entire membership. Just contact me at my new address (below) and ask to have additional copies of this letter sent to other SSE members and concerned friends..

Everyone needs to understand exactly what I am asking you to do, and what you should not do. First and most important, I don’t want anyone to do anything that will cost SSE a penny: don’t cancel your memberships; don’t let this affect your generous donations or decrease your purchases from SSE’s catalog; and especially don’t do anything that will affect SSE’s yearbook exchange. I believe it’s not Seed Savers or its programs that need changing, it’s this board. Contact information for each of SSE’s board members is listed at the end of this letter, because, in my opinion, those responsible should be held responsible for their misguided actions and incredibly poor judgment. Please write and e-mail and phone all five of them repeatedly, and don’t let up on the pressure until they resign. Your public pressure is the only way to get these present board members to step down. I don’t have any leverage anymore, other than not signing the confidentiality clauses in the board’s Separation Agreement. As I said, it just cost me $240,000 to send this letter to SSE’s Listed Members. Now it’s up to all of you.

In closing, I want to tell all of SSE’s members that I’m sorry for not being able – somehow – to keep all of this from happening. I’m blaming myself right now for not being even more far sighted. Years ago I should have loaded up the board with the folks who were doing the actual work of the organization. For me, all of this has been a devastating psychic shock. I’ve spent the last 33 years of my life creating and funding and putting into place the Seed Savers Exchange, Heritage Farm and Twin Valleys (and the projects for each). Way back in 1981 I incorporated Seed Savers as a nonprofit, because that’s the only legal structure in the U.S. designed to live on beyond its founder (which I thought would be essential for long-term genetic preservation projects). Every book I’ve ever written, every business opportunity and land deal that ever came my way -1 have selflessly given to Seed Savers. Now, I feel like I’ve been robbed of all that, and so many precious years and so much of my life’s work!

And I absolutely hate the way all of this has come down! I never got to say goodbye to my co-workers, some of whom I’ve been working with for more than 20 years, nor will I get to say goodbye to SSE’s members in the publications I’ve created. I’ll never have a retirement celebration/party at Heritage Farm, or attend future Campouts as an honored guest. I’ll never get to write (or use all of my photos for) the complete and truthful history of the Seed Savers Exchange. I’ll never again feel the same about

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