Saturday, May 23, 2009

Corenet 2 - Vegas

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

You will recall that Mr. Anderson spent a week in Toronto in the spring at considerable cost participating in this private club designed to develop real estate marketing skills and networks. A few months later in October 2005 he took another week out of his busy schedule to travel to Corenet Workshops in Las Vegas and shared a room while there at US $173.31 per night with Olive, signing a guest up for what appears to be one of the Corenet events at an additional cost of US $150.00.

Mr. Anderson also claims both his daily meal per diem as well as expenses for 3 people for dinner on the 26th of October ...... but a look at the receipt from the "Hibachi" at the Las Vegas Hilton reveals that there were only two guests and only two meals were purchased on Oct 26, 2005 at a cost of US $79.09 plus a tip of US $15.00.

Total cost.... not counting salary, airfares, etc $3,003.98 according to Mr Anderson's travel expense claim.

Question:

Is it SWSDA policy to allow staff to bring wives along on training programs and pay supplementary fees for their participation in training program related events?

Who approved this?

How did this trip help community development in our area?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"How did this trip help community develop..."
He sold both Shelburne Place and Shelburne Park for a pittance so it was a case of wasting more RDA funds. He should reimburse the agency for any of his wife's costs that were billed as expenses. Did Ralston MacDonnell attend the Corenet workshop?
For the board to allow this to go on shows deriliction of duties.

Anonymous said...

It must have taught Frank how to let a freeloader live for months on the base property under the pretext of buying the property. I had forgotten about this part of the Base story - hey, it sounds like Jimmy and Mary are pulling a similar scam on Frank.

BTW, where is the $250,000 that Justin George made as a downpayment on the Base property?

Frank reaped all the benefits, while the board sat and watched the mismanagement. Shame on you Frank, and shame on you citizens of Shelburne Co. for not speaking out earlier.

Anonymous said...

I am not a SWSDA employee or affiliate.

SWSDA operates to assist the growth and economic development of businesses in our region. They do so through engagement with local business owners, connecting them to additional help and resources they may need to overcome their business challenges. This blog, although holding some merits in accountability, is a complete disgrace. It seems set on destroying, via biased and uninformed bloggers, an organization which operates on trust, confidentiality and engagement.

In order to be effective, local business owners need to trust SWSDA in order to disclose enough information to allow Development Officers to do their job and assist these businesses.

As a business owner myself, I find it extremely inappropriate to publicly disclose such information as itemized expense statements. That is private information, which often involves martketing, networking and unique business expenses that the average public can not understand.

Although I am very well informed, there is no reason to do my homework here. This blog is very inappropriate and is simply an attack on one of the few organizations that exist, solely to help our community.

If the public was the expert they try to be when writing on this blog, then they would be the ones developing our region and SWSDA would have no more purpose.

Why don't you get out and DO SOMETHING!
Stop writing foolish blogs to pretend you are contributing to the community.

Here is what SWSDA is doing:
http://www.swsda.com/index.php?p=projects

What are you doing?

Rod Hemeon said...

Well thank God, someone with knowledge and insight has finally come along to set us straight, I for one have seen the light. How could I have been so wrong for so long? I will from this day on seek to mend my ways and follow the path of truth and enlightenment you have so ably layed out.
Mr. Anonymous,thank you.

Anonymous said...

I'm still laughing at Rod's post - can't cry.
To: Anon 2:55 pm,
There are still those who actually believe that Frank has their well being at heart - LOL! Here you have in front of you the unwarranted travel/expenses; base property sold for next to nothing, and the prime waterfront properties have been sold without so much as a first payment on the loan; and the boy school property appraised at over $20 million given away for $550,000. You are telling us that Frank has the best interest of the area in mind - get real!

Either he has passed you some "chump change" at one time or another, or you are content to sit and watch this area decline even more than it has since the loss of the two major employers of the area.

Summerside, Cornwallis, and many other small towns across Canada lost bases in the 90's and are doing well. What happened to this area - the SWSDA's inexperienced BofD sat back and allowed the CEO to take the reins, and look what has happened. It is time for Shelburne Co. ratepayers to wake up and smell the coffee!

Definitely not afraid to sign my name,
Shirley Fry

Anonymous said...

I had to reread Mr/Ms I Am Not a SWSDA Employee's words a second time to make sure there wasn't a bit of tongue-in-cheek. Geez, he/she is serious. This has to be someone from Eddie Nickerson's camp, or Richard Hurlburt's, or - nah, it couldn't be...

Fr: anxiouslywaitingforthe9th

Anonymous said...

To: "Anon:2:55pm" - This doesn't involve the threat of your private business information being released to the public. If you have read Mr. Cayer's May 24th, "Those Were the Days" blog you can see he is well versed in the ethics of business, be it large or small.
This is about a publicly funded agency that was ordered by the N.S. Supreme Court to release expense documents for the period 05/06 to Mr. Cayer. As you can clearly see, Mr. Cayer was correct in his concern over how the Board of Directors have shirked their duty in the control of the CEO's personal expenses. Without checks and balances the board has given a blank check to the CEO to spend RDA funds, the receipts of which many appear to have no relevance to ongoing or prospective projects.

If you support this practice the problem is with you, and not with Mr. Cayer or any of the posters.

The area needs more small business - that's what fuels our economy. Hopefully your business will succeed with the assistance and advice from all agencies concerned. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I feel impelled to answer the yet another anonymous blogger, who insists he is not a “SWSDA employee or affiliate.”

Claims that this person (B.S., as he is now known, I guess) is “very well informed” are patently untrue, or he would know that SWSDA does NOT “operate on trust, confidentiality or engagement”, but operates on blind faith (misplaced), misinformation and mis-direction. He would know that keeping secret the expenditure of public monies – for whatever reason – fosters an environment of disease and distrust and malfeasance. He would know that the public understands much more than we are given credit for. B.S. wants people to believe that the blog is a disgrace, an attack, inappropriate and foolish. This on his word alone, admittedly without doing any homework. Think about it. As for the claim that he is not an affiliate, full disclosure would have us find that the anonymous blogger (B.S.) is in fact the elected (by membership) head of one of SWSDA’s long-time, non-voting membership organizations. So much for homework and trust.

Anonymous said...

...and now the loyal followers of Ed's blog return to the list of non-voting members to see who B.S. really is.

Oh no, it couldn't be - could it?

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:42, Surely you jest! I had a bit of sympathy for B.S. who was so naive they didn't realize their business info wasn't in any jeopardy of being revealed.

Now to think that a non-voting member may have been the author B.S. is alarming to say the least - not only for their writing skills (or lack thereof), but mainly for their deceit.

I know where my finger is pointing!

fromwhatevillurksintheheartsofthatidiot

Anonymous said...

You're correct B.S. with your, "...SWSDA would have no more purpose."
If SWSDA's books were open for a forensic audit tomorrow, even you realize what would be found, as much as you hate to admit it.
SWSDA's purpose these days is most evident in the signing authorities, and the stacked deck of the Yarmouth/Clare executive on the board. Our Shelburne Co. board members have been holding onto a thread of hope that a bit of attention to their area will materialize.
Instead of holding on to false hope, they would be well advised to quit while they are ahead.
From losingpatiencewithmyrep