Dear Sir,

This is some information I would like the public to know about Summerhaven and the board. John Powell has been chairman of the Summerhaven board for approximately 12 years. Under his chairmanship, Summerhaven has been in a mess. The late founders, Sir Richard Gorham, Lady Ramsbotham and Margaret Carter, would turn over in their graves if they knew how Summerhaven is being seen.

The residents have asked to meet with the Summerhaven board, but the chairman has declined this request every time. The residents’ main concern is not having a full-time administrator that we can take our grievances to.

The chairman is acting administrator, project manager, treasurer, deals with the accounts on his own, plus manages his private business of wheelchairs out of Summerhaven. If this is not a conflict of interest, then I don’t know what is.

The Government ordered the chairman to hire a full-time administrator and Rick Wynn was hired about three months ago. The residents were pleased with his work and the staff under him. He had brought back harmony and activity among the residents, which was missing for many years.

The residents, and their families and friends, have come together to express to the board publicly that we are unhappy with the chairman and the board members in the running of Summerhaven.

Board member Ron Davenport has been overseas for the past nine months; he returned only a month ago and has been ordered to fire Mr Wynn. Two days later, Mr Davenport became the acting administrator. We believe this came as a favour from Mr Powell. I am very concerned that, with all the negative reports spoken about Summerhaven, not one board member came to any residents to show concern or care, especially after Glenn Blakeney spoke about it in the House of Assembly and on the radio talk show.

There is much going on here at Summerhaven that the board has no knowledge of.

The board should have learnt its lesson with the tribunal of Ianthia Wade and Janet Raynor’s wrongful dismissal. The money awarded to them was given from the donations made for the running of Summerhaven. Now we are repeating this error again of wrongful dismissal with Mr Wynn. I know Mr Powell doesn’t seem to learn his lesson; I wonder if the board does.

WILLARD FOX