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Caribbean L 18 ife, Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2020
WIADCA expels four board members
ing that, “as a result of
her fight to assume that
role, she was met with
great hostility – to the
point of being accused of
‘breaking and entering’,
at which time, police
officers arrived at the
office to arrest her.
“This chain of events
became evident after she
informed the board of
the financial irregularities,”
the erstwhile members
alleged.
Sheinkopf said that
WIADCA’s treasurer is
responsible for overseeing
the organization’s
finances, and that, due
to COVID-19, the treasurer
was out of the country
when the president
raised concerns about
access to certain financial
documents.
“The board provided
remedial options to
address the concerns
raised,” he said. “However,
the options were
ignored by the (former)
president. Instead, the
president had the locks
opened and delegated the
supervision of the lock
replacement to a volunteer
of the organization
without neither she
nor any board member
present, given the sensitivity
of the documents
in the safe.
“In light of the facts
above, the board was
advised to file a police
report,” he added.
The former members
said their fiduciary
responsibilities and
concerns at that time as
board members included
“the unauthorized
issuance of checks, the
improper use of grant
proceeds, failure to provide
check books, lack of
transparency of cash collections
and disclosure of
and access denial to various
PayPal accounts.”
They also charged
that, “to date, no reports
were given for the 2019
Labor Day festivities”
and that, “an adequate
explanation concerning
the requested information
was never given as
to the delay in presenting
the reports.”
But Dr. Sheinkopf
said that WIADCA “has
always had an independent
auditor and accountant,
responsible for
annual audits and filling
of all required regulatory
documents, which
are publicly available for
review.”
He also disclosed that,
in 2017, the current
chairperson “loaned, at
no interest, funds to offset
up-front September
event costs.
“This debt was
reported appropriately,”
Sheinkopf said. “There
remains an unpaid interest
free balance.”
The ex-board members
said that the Caribbean
community “deserves
better.
“We believe that our
community needs, and
is deserving of, a board
that is a true representation
of the stakeholders
of our carnival and our
culture,” they said. “It
should not be comprised
of individuals whose only
agenda is one of selfinterest
and self-aggrandizement.
“Our carnival has suffered
tremendously over
the last several years,”
they added. “If one should
take a closer look at the
stats (statistics) of the
carnival, one would see
where our stakeholders’
participation has dwindled
over the years.”
The former members
also claimed that several
mas bands have “opted
out of taking part in
our festivities and our
parade,” and that “an
institution, such as ours,
deserves a board that is
made up of professionals
in the arts and entertainment
industry, leadership
from within our
business community, the
torchbearers of our carnival,
such as the mas
bands, steel bands and
artistes.
“We are advocating for
a reconstruction of the
WIADCA,” they urged.
“We need a board that
will act in the best interest
of our community,
not a self-serving board
nor a board that does not
understand the meaning
of the word transparency.
“This is imperative to
the welfare of the Caribbean
community, the
stakeholders and, most
importantly, the legacy
of our carnival,” they
declared. “We deserve
better.”
In response, Dr.
Sheinkopf said WIADCA
“has the right to conduct
its business and
run its affairs in accordance
with its governing
documents, mission, and
local, state and federal
laws.”
He said the New York
Band Leaders Association
and US Steelband Association
are not under the
jurisdiction of WIADCA,
and that they govern
themselves and their
members separately.
However, Dr. Sheinkopf
said that, over the
years, WIADCA has
continued to aid in the
viability of these associations
by encouraging
and aiding the respective
associations with
attaining not-for-profit
status, “to help them to
be better positioned to
apply for available state
and local funding;” paying
$65,000 to mas band
prize winners across all
competitions; and paying
$45,000 to steelband
winners for panorama.
Additionally, he said
WIADCA gives each steelband
a $4,500 appearance
fee and a $5 incentive
on every ticket sold
by the steelbands willing
to participate in selling
tickets.
Sheinkopf said these
dollar incentives are in
addition to the prize
awards that “goes above
and beyond what is
offered in the industry.”
He said that, when
WIADCA receives
requests from thirdparties
for the participation
of mas/steelbands,
it honors them, “which
either result in free promotion
or financial compensation
for their performance.”
Dr. Sheinkopf said that,
over the last 1 ½ years,
the WIADCA board has
been exploring initiatives
to improve organization
operations, stating that
creating advisory boards
is “a normal practice for
organizations.”
He said that all Board
and general members
are required to disclose
conflicts of interest, and
that WIADCA cannot
comment further on any
matter that might be litigated.
Continued from Page 3
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