I ask for specifics. In recent months, that query has always yielded a reference to the October "Veterans Angels Gala" (See flier above). That event came and went, followed by a series of emails from IVC President Glenn Roquemore's office, thanking everybody and broadcasting news of the event's epoch-shattering success.
From the start, various people told me not to believe Glenn's announcements. They'd refer to them and then roll their eyes.
Let's take a look at one of those emails. Here's the one we all received on Oct. 19, 2012, nearly a week after the event:
(I wonder if Glenn really thinks "angel" is spelled "angle"?)
There can be no doubt that, in the above communication, Glenn declares the event to be a success—something, anyway, about which everyone involved should be "proud." It "set a record in funds raised by a single ... event," he says.
He even gives us a specific sum of money raised. The event raised $16,588.50, he says.
"What about that?" I ask my carping associates.
Their answer: "if the event raised $16K for the veterans, why then haven't the veterans received it yet?"
"They didn't get that sum?"
"They ain't received one thin dime from it."
—OK. So what about that? Is that true? If so, why is that?
Inquiring minds wanna know.
Could we have a little honesty for once, Glenn? We're tired of your endless BS and plastic smiles.
* * *
Months ago, a friend told me that the college's new foundation director has driven away half a dozen or so members of the foundation board. According to a new arrangement, I'm told, new members are supposed to bring a certain substantial sum of cash with 'em. $10k, I think.
Has that been happening?
Last week, I made some inquiries. Yep, quite a few longstanding members of the board have gone and some are about to leave. Have new people come in to replace them? Have they plopped down that scratch?
Nope.
I see Glenn at board meetings, hanging around with Don R, Saddleback's current director, and Richard, the new director he's hired for IVC. That crowd puts on a good show. At the last meeting, they showed up once again claiming great success but arguing that they are held back by a lack of professional staff, and that takes real money. "You gotta spend money to make money," they say.
They seem to make a good case for the strategy of adding staff. They've got lots of facts and figures and comparisons with other colleges and systems. Still, it all adds up to an added expense for the district, even if the promised results will actually materialize.
I watch the trustees. They're pretty tight lipped. I don't know what they're thinking.
I sometimes wonder if Glenn and his new pal Richard are pulling a kind of bait and switch up there. I'm prepared to believe that the Saddleback operation is really rarin' to go, poised to pull in the big bucks. Not so sure about IVC.
I'm thinking that Glenn and Richard are standing real close to Don and Tod, clutching their sleeves, disappearing in their billowing regalia, heads poking out from the side—so that the trustees don't notice that, well, they're not Don and Tod. They're not even Little Don and Little Tod.
They're just Dumb and Dumber, taking a ride.
