The Buzz: Save Historic Jackson Hole excluded from Old Bill’s

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Valley preservationist group Save Historic Jackson Hole announced this week that it has been excluded from the 2008 Old Bill’s Fun Run, a banner fundraising event for many of the community’s nonprofits.

In mid-June, the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, which organizes Old Bill’s, sent a letter to SHJH Board President Louis Wang, informing him that the foundation’s board of directors had “voted to deny” the conservative watchdog’s application for participation in the event. The board cited an April ad taken out by SHJH in the Jackson Hole News & Guide that questioned the “objectivity and credibility” of another Old Bill’s participant, the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust.

At that time, the nonprofit Housing Trust was partnered with a private developer on Teton Meadows Ranch, a controversial proposal to build 500 homes in South Park. That project was put on ice, perhaps for good, after county commissioners imposed a moratorium in early May.

The ad was headed in bold letters with, “Follow the Money,” and suggested that the Housing Trust had “lost their way.” The ad’s content questioned whether the private nonprofit had “sold out to a crafty developer.”

The ad claimed the Housing Trust would collect $2 million “initially and hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in perpetuity” from a transfer tax.
Citing the disparaging nature of the ad, the Community Foundation board voted to exclude SHJH from this year’s Old Bill’s, set for September 13.

“It’s tone was not in keeping with the spirit of Old Bill’s, which we think is one of collaboration, cooperation and immense good will,” Katherine Conover, president of the Community Foundation, said this week.

SHJH President Louis Wang said the group was counting on the event to help fill its coffers and that the group had already contacted potential donors, informing them that the organization was registered for the fundraising event.
“We have some egg on our face,” Wang said.

Wang said he asked for an opportunity to meet with the Community Foundation board, but said his request fell on deaf ears.

“Without an explanation, the Community Foundation would be taking a stance that is unsupported by reason or logic and is injurious to Save Historic Jackson Hole,” Wang wrote in a July 7 letter to Conover and Community Foundation Vice Chair Bill Weiss.
The Community Foundation and the Housing Trust boards are chaired by the same person, Jim Moses, who, according to Conover, recused himself from the vote to exclude SHJH.

“Anyone else who had a perceived conflict either did not attend the meeting or did not vote,” Conover said.

Moses was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
SHJH has not backed away from the ad.
“When millions of dollars change hands in conjunction with an endorsement, it needs to be reported,” Wang said in a phone interview Tuesday. He was out of state attending a seminar by the Dalai Lama.

The Housing Trust did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday.
In years prior, the Community Foundation board has voted to disallow Right to Life and Planned Parenthood from Old Bill’s participation, according to Conover.
“The board decided the issue of abortion was too divisive,” she said.

About 200 groups are currently registered to participate in this year’s Old Bill’s, during which time donors of means large and small can give to a number of area non-profits through a single donation to the Community Foundation. Conover described the event as “a very efficient - even elegant - process.”

The 2007 Old Bill’s Fun Run raised more than $7.7 million for area non-profits.
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The Buzz: Save Historic Jackson Hole excluded from Old Bill’s | Planet JH News Article: General News

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