December 28th, 2009
To the Board and Membership of Girth and Mirth Columbus, and all other concerned parties:
In the Summer
of 2008, when I was elected as President of Girth and Mirth, I made a horrible and frankly shameful mistake. Out of frustration
and shortsightedness, I allowed and voted for a member to be removed from the group. It was deeply regrettable, had far reaching
and damaging consequences for the people involved, and beyond those immediately involved. Since this happened under my watch,
I would like to extend an apology to Geoff Braasch and his partner Erik Sorrenson. I would like the Board to make this apology
public.
If I had the opportunity to do it over, I would have handled the situation more effectively with a cooler head.
I would handle it in a more personal, one-on-one negotiating method. I deeply regret my lack of foresight, and I feel
that we need to reverse the actions taken then. As a current Board member I move that we do so.
I apologize to the Membership
for this action, as it created difficulties for the Membership at large, far beyond my short-sighed scope and focus. I take
responsibility for this action, and would like to welcome Geoff and Erik to any functions or situations they wish to attend at Girth
and Mirth.
Even more importantly, I would hope that the membership and Geoff and Erik forgive my inexcusable actions. Beyond
a personal forgiveness, I would hope that they not hold the actions of a misguided few against the club at large.
I extend this to all members and officers past and present. The power and scope of these regrettable actions were certainly not wasted
on me.
The current Board has voted unanimously to give an apology to Geoff Braasch and to welcome him to any and all events with
the Girth and Mirth Columbus Group along with his partner Erik Sorrenson. Since July of this year there have been a lot of talk of
reconnecting with some past members and we feel this is the first step of starting the conversation of reuniting folks from the past,
present, and future. The current Board offers an apology with the regard of things that were mishandled in the past with Geoff Braasch
and the minutes were officially documented on December 19, 2009.
As Vice President, one of my responsibilities is to assist
in the promotion of the club and it's social events. I personally want to invite everyone to attend our January Social
Potluck on January 30, 2010 at 7pm at our President Ralph's home. This Social Potluck is estimated to be the biggest turnout
since the night of Gay Pride in 2008 at Spaghetti Warehouse. The Board and some of the members are wanting this night to
be remembered as a Reunion of sorts for our Girth and Mirth Columbus Group. The special we are having is a $10 for the year
2010 and it includes any single or coupled memberships. There are some open officer seats and they are posted on our Website www.GmColumbus.
Sincerely,
Philip Pearl
Vice President
Girth and Mirth
Columbus, Ohio