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Former R-CALF member says group's lawsuit is wasting producer dollars
R-CALF USA has recently filed, with producer dollars, two lawsuits against former directors and members of R-CALF who left the organization in disgust in February. These lawsuits were sanctioned by the current R-CALF Board of Directors against hard-working industry leaders, including my husband Dennis McDonald, with absolutely no basis or proof of any wrongdoing. There was not even a letter written to the defendants prior to the filing of these lawsuits to determine the true facts. Thousands of producer dollars could have been saved if that had been done. Instead, in my opinion, the board arrogantly, and with total disregard for the people they supposedly financially represent, paid fees to their attorney to arbitrarily file these frivolous lawsuits. It seems their actions prove the current board no longer has the best interests of the U.S. cattle producer in mind. Wasting thousands of producer hard-earned dollars on ridiculous, unfounded lawsuits when there are so many critical issues before the industry that must be addressed is not a legacy Leo McDonnell had in mind when he formed R-CALF many years ago. Unfortunately, I believe R-CALF has now positioned itself, through its current Board of Directors and CEO, on a course of action lacking in integrity, competence, and credibility. I resigned my eight-year membership in R-CALF in February during the "power takeover" and became part of the new United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA), which was formed by all those who left R-CALF at that time. That group has moved forward, and I am proud to say they are really making a positive impact in Washington D.C. Although there were hurt feelings when the takeover occurred, as most of those who left had been with R-CALF from the very beginning, there was never any vindictiveness on their part--they have moved on, continuing to work in a positive manner for the U.S. cattle producer. I don't think you can say that about this current R-CALF Board. These recent lawsuits seem to be laced with vindictiveness. I suppose they are afraid they will lose members to USCA, and they probably will. In fact, I predict R-CALF membership will continue to rapidly spiral downward as this Board's incredulous shenanigans further unfold, hard-earned dollars are carelessly wasted, and producers finally say "enough is enough". --Sharon McDonald, Melville, Mont. Date: 7/11/07
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