Kent Whealy responds to SSE board’s letter

I will stop my efforts against SSE’s current Board of Directors (and will ask all of SSE’s members, friends and donors to do the same), if the board agrees to take the following three actions:

1. I want written assurances, signed by all five of SSE’s current Board of Directors, that I will never again be prohibited from walking anywhere on Heritage Farm or Twin Valleys (or anv of their projects) which I have envisioned and worked so hard to implement during the last 33 years.
2. Amend SSE’s contract (with INHF and NRCS) so that SSE’s herds of Ancient White Park cattle are specifically and permanently included in the conservation easements for Twin Valleys. I would be willing to work through Neil Hamilton, currently Chair of INHF’s Board, to create language designating “Twin Valleys as a permanent sanctuary for SSE’s Ancient White Park cattle.” That joint contract already establishes about 300 acres of grazing areas (right down to the five, 50′ wide, cattle watering areas). SSE’s board should be proudly displaying the world’s two most beautiful herds of Ancient White Park cattle (the rarest cattle in the English-speaking world), but instead I understand the board is talking about selling SSE’s herds and grazing someone else^’s dull-eyed beef cattle on Twin Valleys. That’s outrageous! Arthur Schmelzer, nearby farmer and cattleman who has rented portions of Twin Valleys for a decade, would probably be glad to manage SSE’s two herds. Or Aaron Whaley, who grew up with the cattle, could head the project. But don’t turn it over to Matt Barthel and the garden crew, or somebody will get seriously hurt! (Angie Otteson voiced that same warning to Matt Barthel and it got her fired.) Look, these are SSE’s cattle, not mine, but that doesn’t mean SSE’s current board can just sell them! I’ve spent 20 years developing SSE’s two herds of Ancient White Park cattle (and all of their facilities and fencing), and the entire project is virtually complete! SSE’s eight original heifer calves were purchased with SSE grant money (1987 to 1989), and keeping the cattle has been written into SSE’s Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. For two decades SSE’s boards have annually approved expenses for the cattle (in the budgets for SSE and Twin Valleys), and the year-end fund raising mailings during the Twin Valleys Capital Campaign have prominently featured the cattle. These proposed changes to SSE’s contract need to be completed quickly, because the cattle are scheduled to return from their winter feeding quarters on April 1st, which is the start of their calving season. If the cattle do not return then, SSE is ripe for lawsuits by SSE’s foundation donors who are furious that SSE’s board is apparently backing away from its 20-year commitment to this great project.
3. Double the size of SSE’s Board of Directors by inviting any (or all) of the nine SSE Advisors (who just signed the letter to stand with the board) to be on SSE’s board. For nearly a decade there have been discussions at board meetings about enlarging SSE’s board. Who better to choose from than the nine members of SSE’s Board of Advisors who have publicly declared they stand with the board, not with me. These folks have always been deeply dedicated to SSE, and some are actively involved year-after-year with Heritage Farm’s projects and the Campout’s workshops (Dan Bussey – Historic Orchard; Keith Crotz – Robert Becker Memorial Library; Glenn Drowns – Heritage Farm’s Preservation Gardens; John Swenson – SSE’s garlic collection). There have already been discussions at previous board meetings about putting Glenn Drowns and Will Bonsai on SSE’s board because of their huge long-term contributions as Listed Members. Doubling the size of SSE’s board with these folks would insure SSE’s Listed Members again have a voice on the board (especially in the usage of SSE’s seed bank and the huge recent increases in its financial resources). Doubling the board would also greatly reduce the opportunities for any personal agendas. SSE’s members should carefully watch these additions as the true indicator of the board’s intent, because any of these Advisors would provide an increased voice for SSE’s members, but electing other professional types who have no previous involvement with SSE will be a clear sign (despite their rhetoric) that the board is continuing to back away from SSE’s members and still intends to change SSE and its projects. We don’t need anyone on SSE’s board who needs to be educated about SSE.

I’d like to call a “time out,” so everyone can calm down while SSE’s board makes its decision. If these actions are not implemented by mid-March (the normal time for SSE’s spring board meeting, and two weeks before SSE’s cattle should be returning to their calving pastures on Heritage Farm and Twin Valleys), then I will immediately contact SSE’s Listed Members again. I truly hope that does not happen, because all of us want what is best for the Seed Savers Exchange, especially me.

In celebration of diversity,
Kent Whealy
P.O. Box 653 (231-547-7374)
Charlevoix, MI 49720 (kentwhealy@gmail.com)