Since December 2022, the Vancouver Racquets Club (VRC) has experienced a significant negative shift in how its management operates. This shift has ill-affected many VRC members, VRC Board Members, staff, renters, contractors and vendors. There is a growing sense of strong dissatisfaction with work output, work ethic and integrity of the club’s Executive Director. Her leadership, ability to communicate clearly and professionally, trustworthiness, her visibility around the club, her sound and impartial decision-making and ability to create a positive work and club environment has come into question and increasing scrutiny.

The VRC is a not-for-profit organization which exists to serve its members. The current Executive Director behaviour has demonstrated disrespect for members and the Board of Directors, their concerns, the Board’s authority. The Executive Director is treating members like she is managing a for profit private enterprise, her private enterprise.

VRC is here to serve its members and the community. Having a focus on the financial bottom line is the wrong focus.

There are at least five significant reasons why the VRC should fire current Executive Director:

1. She is not a good fit for the club, for its culture, and its members. There is great and growing dissatisfaction amongst members towards her.
2. She does not work cooperatively or collaboratively with members, Board of Directors and staff.
3. She operates in a passive/aggressive manner and shows disrespect to those who do not agree with her and plays favourites with those who are her friends.
4. Her employment contract was not presented to the Board for approval so the terms within her contract and the document itself has not been ratified on behalf of members. This exposes the Board to liability.
5. It is not signed in accordance with the VRC bylaws which again exposes the Board and its Directors to personal financial liability from members should they take action to recover funds disbursed without Board approval.

During these past months, the Executive Director been responsible for:

1. membership renewal for 2023-2024 - a process that lacked clear and timely communication with members, that was disorganized and chaotic.
2. taking vacation time during critical operational times such as the peak period of membership renewal.
3. not heeding to advice from members of the Board to limit badminton memberships - this has resulted in significant increase of court waiting time. Many members are not happy with the long wait times.
4. approving private badminton coaching times during prime/peak playing times. This has exacerbated court wait times.
5. contributing to several Board of Directors resigning. Never in the club’s 70 year history has so many Board members resigned during a single term.
6. Board of Directors being stonewalled, disrespected and unheard.
7. taking annual leave quietly without advising all board members
8. setting her own office hours to suit her personal life choices rather than what serves the members and staff best. The Board was kept in the dark.
9. changed VRC Guest Fees without consulting or obtaining approval by the Board of Directors.
10. bringing her dog into the club and office against VRC Rules 11.07.
11. not responding to numerous complaints and requests for response from club members and not passing along numerous letters of complaints from members to the Board of Directors.
12. unilaterally eliminating the regular elite junior morning program.
13. unilaterally not holding badminton summer camps till late August 2023. This is in stark contrast to the VRC tradition of summer camps in July and August. This is common at most badminton clubs.
14. recently firing a long-time janitor. This has sparked more controversy and might result in a legal battle for wrongful dismissal.
15. failing to negotiate a new or renewed lease agreement with the Vancouver Parks Board. This is in sharp contrast to the Executive Director’s overwhelming optimism in early 2023, claiming that she has excellent connections to the relevant officials.
16. unilaterally signing contract extension for food services without Board approval.
17. starting to charge members $25 for use of space (e.g. upstairs common room adjacent to the kitchen) for informal social gatherings or meetings. This new fee has discouraged members from organizing social events and has decreased a sense of belonging to the club.

To what extent has our current Executive Director listened and served the club’s membership? Her service of the membership should be a key measure of her job performance. From all accounts, she has failed miserably.

Is the Executive Director ignoring or oblivious to the dissatisfaction of members as per the letters of complaints coming into the office, hearing negative and critical comments at the AGM, and her lack of interaction with VRC members?

She has successfully manipulated the Board’s Executive (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) into letting her operate the VRC almost autonomously. She has not supported or collaborated with Board members with portfolios such as the Badminton Director, Squash Director, House Director, Fitness Director, Membership Director, etc. She operates unilaterally, often with a blatant disregard to advice, without consultation, knowledge of or respect of historical trends, past practice or rich VRC tradition.

If you are dissatisfied with the current Executive Director and agree that the VRC should fire her, please sign this petition so that it can be presented to the Board of Directors at their upcoming February Board meeting.