The controversial Grand Strand Humane Society continues to turn over highly regarded board members. The group currently operates in the City of Myrtle Beach, however the city has given the organization a timeline on finding a new location.
After $1 million in state tax payer funded monies were appropriated in the 2023 SC State Budget, the group looked to build a new facility in River Oaks. Residents in the Waterway Plantation Community, however, petitioned those plans.
It wasn’t because of what they were building, but where, said Carolina Forest residents.
Grand Strand Humane Society Executive Director Jessica Wnuk told local news that the organization has been able to make great progress by connecting with Carolina Forest residents and addressing any of their concerns about animal smells and noises. Disenchanted residents say otherwise.
In the midst of controversies that includes issues with the City of Myrtle Beach, purchasing black market drugs from China, and the leadership’s disfavor among area leaders and residents, a city appointed board member has now resigned.
A source connected to the “not for profit” organization tells MyrtleBeachSC News: This is yet another resignation letter from a Board member at the Grand Strand Humane Society. The saga continues. The illegal and questionable activities surrounding this Board leadership and the Shelter Director continues. When is the City going to stop funding a significant quarterly amount of taxpayer dollars to this Board, which includes Karen Riordan who is the President of the Chamber? The city needs to get a new Shelter Director AND insist Board members are dismissed if they want the continued funding from the City. The current Board President is Lindsey Rankin – a train wreck who uses her spouse’s role as leverage. This Board collects public donations and use these monies… HOW????
Mr. Contreras is a consummate professional and one of two city appointed Board members that represented the city of MB on this Board.
In his letter of resignation, Dr. Vincent J. Contreras writes:
- I leave with mixed emotions because I have served successfully on the boards of many organizations in the past, however I do not characterize my experience with GSHS as a “success”. I find that I have major differences in philosophy with the current leadership of the board.
- The legal charter under which the GSHS operates is an entity that is open to the public. Under the current leadership major steps were taken to limit public participation in Board Meetings. First electronic access to the meetings by the public was eliminated and later the Board Members themselves were not allowed to attend meetings electronically. This elimination of public participation was decided by fiat by the President without discussion or a vote by the Board.
- I believe in the organization’s By-Laws and Roberts rules of Order supersede the arbitrary decisions of individuals on the Board. Current leadership uses these rules when it suits them and ignores them when it doesn’t meet their needs.
- The current leadership has totally mismanaged the search for an appropriate site to build a new facility. Firstly, they had this mystery property that they could not tell the Board anything about it and a year later, we were told our interest in it failed. All that time was wasted while other potential sites were ignored. Secondly, pursuing a property that had little chance to succeed because of surrounding residential neighborhoods and a variety of approvals that were needed to make it happen. It was an obvious risk in which the interests of the residents should have been addressed first instead of waiting until the very last minute. If we had determined at the beginning that we could not overcome the opposition of the neighbors, we could have avoided the loss of all this time and the concomitant feelings of disappointment that accompanied the recent vote of County Council.
- There is a small group of close, personal friends, some of which are on the Board and some which are not, that control the GSHS. The friends that control the organization condone the use of illegal drugs and the fraudulent use of GSHS funds to suit their personal purposes. In recent months they have turned over the management and control of the organization’s finances to the one individual who perpetrated the fraudulent use of $10,000 of the organization’s funds to buy illegal drugs.
- Since I have been on the Board, they have noticeably avoided financial audits, even though regulations regarding these entities require it.
During my tenure a great number of highly quality members of the Board have resigned because they were disillusioned with the mismanagement of the organization and the inability of the organization to break the stranglehold the “friends” have on the organization. The saddest aspect of this is that the “friends have orchestrated an atmosphere of opposition against all who question or disagree with them. They push them out of the organization so they can continue to have their way.
I wish the organization success in their endeavors, but I don’t hold out a lot of hope for an efficient, effective, and legitimate process to achieve their goals.
WORKING FOR LUKE RANKIN TO RAISE STATE TAX FUNDING
Heather Ammons Crawford was able to get $1 million for Lindsey Bonds Rankin in state funding for the Grand Strand Humane Society. Bonds Rankin heads the organization and is the wife of Horry County Senator Luke Rankin.
