PORT ANGELES — The 10 donors who signed the Sept. 17 letter to Olympic Medical Center CEO Eric Lewis and OMC Foundation Executive Director Bruce Skinner were Sara Maloney and her husband, Brown; David and Patricia Mattingley; Michael and Lynn McAleer; Andrea Alstrup; and Bill Littlejohn, all Sequim residents; as well as Jack and Terri Harmon of Port Angeles.
Brown Maloney is the former owner of the Sequim Gazette weekly newspaper, and the couple run Olympic View Properties, a real estate company.
David Mattingley is a federal Drug Enforcement Administration retiree, Michael McAleer is a real estate broker at RE/MAX Fifth Avenue, Alstrup is a retired corporate officer for Johnson & Johnson, Littlejohn owns Olympic Ambulance of Sequim, and the Harmons co-own Arrow Launch Services and Arrow Marine Services Inc. in Port Angeles.
Littlejohn was alone among the 10 donors interviewed who said he had regained confidence in the OMC Foundation.
But the other nine donors said they intend to continue withholding funds to the nonprofit.
What some donors call the foundation’s lack of transparency still irks most signers of the Sept. 17 letter 11 months later.
“I have never seen an organization operate the way this one does,” Alstrup said.
“I would hate for people to keep donating money to go into salaries and parties.
“That’s not what the money is being donated for.”
Alstrup is suspicious that “the public has been deceived,” she said.
“When you look at the percentage of costs versus the percentage of money raised, it’s off balance.”
Terri Harmon said she and her husband are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“We’re just gonna pull back and see how things end up,” she said. “I want to know we’re making a difference.”
David Mattingley said he distrusts foundation officials and would rather not meet directly with them.
“I think they need to be transparent, need to pay more attention to their governance.
“They need to replace Bruce Skinner, need to have more openness to the community.”
Mike McAleer said foundation finances should be audited on an annual basis instead of every three years.
“There were an awful lot of expenses that were clearly beyond the pale,” McAleer said.
McAleer and his wife have cut their donations to the foundation in half, he added.
During an interview with the PDN he, too, called for Skinner’s ouster.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
