Open Letter to Patriot Guard Riders - Signing Off

Crash Course - Integrity 101 for the ethically-challenged - aka Patriot Guard leadership...

Wisdom is: knowing the right path to take. Integrity is: taking it.

Effective 27 August 2014

To Patriot Guard Riders Board of Directors and Patriot Guard Riders Membership at large:

We the undersigned choose to disassociate ourselves completely from all connection with the organization known as Patriot Guard Riders. After seven years with the Patriot Guard as a family dedicated to the mission we are saddened to discover the organization is rotten at its core. The leadership from the petty-minded ride captains in the Red River Region of north Texas to the slanderous state leadership of Texas to the smug and patronizing National Board of Directors is corrupt, dysfunctional and dishonorable.

This sorry excuse for leadership (a misnomer if there ever was one) has actively engaged in blatant abuse of the PGR code of conduct, selective discrimination, libel and slander, character defamation, negligence and the blacklisting of another 501c3 organization. They (each and every one) are complicit in the mob character assassination of a well-known and well respected USAF Bronze Star Vietnam Veteran and former PGR ride captain. Instead of answering a call for fair play they have chosen to hide behind a wall of sullen silence. Instead of speaking the truth they remain maliciously mute. Instead of holding themselves or the wrong-doers among them accountable for aberrant behavior they remain diligently protective of their own and complicit in a whole collection of nasty transgressions against the innocent. By exhibiting nothing but contempt for due process, the responsibilities of their positions, the integrity of the organization they allegedly serve and common decency they confirm their GUILT and COWARDICE in our opinion. This is not the Patriot Guard we joined.

The Patriot Guard mission is at risk of being perverted by a self-obsessed, group of men and women who are completely devoid of honor and integrity. The leadership (sad thing that it is) runs the organization as if it were a motorcycle club rather than a non-profit, all volunteer organization. If PGR were a motorcycle club these miscreants would have already been kicked to the curb. We have witnessed many good people leave the organization or step down from leadership positions and I suspect many more will do so in the near future. Understand the current leadership will not suffer so much as a pang of loss. The credibility of a once proud organization and the entire membership has been compromised by a despicable group of individuals apparently incapable of policing themselves.

For our family being Patriot Guard Riders is/was about paying our respects and lending our support to Veterans and families of Veterans. We have done that job well and to the best of our ability - especially the head of our family. To stand the flag line as a representative of an organization that claims to support and respect veterans while actively defaming a living veteran is a particularly low form of hypocrisy that can be likened to the antics of those we shall not name. We refuse to participate in such low brow activity. Fortunately, as veterans we do not have to be PGR to carry on with our personal mission of respect and support for veterans. We have moved on and are carrying on. That fact seems to annoy petty-minded PGR leadership and remains the source of the issue whether they will own it or not - chalk it all up to plain ol' pissy mission envy.

To summarize, we are signing off because we find the conduct of Patriot Guard Rider leadership [Texas] and the National Board of Directors grossly negligent with regard to the Patriot Guard Rider code of conduct and mission statement and as such in direct conflict with our personal code of ethics. We desire no further association with Patriot Guard Riders and find we must immediately distance ourselves from what can only be labeled the toxic and destructive leadership of the organization.

This leadership removed a hat from a respected veteran and former PGR ride captain based on nothing but manufactured mendacity. This leadership failed to remove the blue hat from a member who violated the code of conduct by disparaging in public the names of veterans and a Gold Star family - repeatedly. Over a 60 day period, I (the daughter) did everything in my power to do and be everything and worse than what they accused an innocent veteran of doing. Yet, I still have my hat without so much as a finger wag coming from leadership. I am certain there are more examples of it, but it should be glaringly apparent the MO of these leaders is to do exactly the opposite of what actually serves the organization. Granted, it is hard for some to do the “right thing”. Apparently this leadership missed the memo: Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.

Finally, we have said again and again, Patriot Guard Riders is a fine organization with a noble purpose. We have many friends found among the ranks of PGR. We are proud of seven years’ service and proud of our Veteran patriarch who served the PGR over seven years, successfully executing nearly 400 missions. Patriot Guard Riders deserves better leadership. How they get better leadership with so many good men and women signing off or being railroaded out of the organization should be a cause for concern among the membership because it is obviously no concern of failed PGR leadership.

If you ride with the PGR, ride proud - ride free. If you stand the flag line, stand tall - stand silent. If you are PGR, have a care for your name and reputation and whatever you know to be the truth because current leadership will not.

There are no winners or losers in this scenario - only those who know and carry the truth forward and those condemned to wallow forever in the folly and shame of their own making. At the end of our days all we have left is the strength of our words and actions. Some will be able to lean on the strong foundation of solid character. Others will find themselves in quicksand.

We serve the mission not the patch. We carry on free of the hindrance of disreputable PGR representation and association.

We stand with honor. We stand with integrity.

We stand with Veteran Ted Foster. We are not alone.

Normally we sign our missives with respect.
In this instance - we find we cannot in good conscience do so.

Vickie L Foster Downing
Daughter and wife of Vietnam Veterans
Timothy A Downing
USAF Vietnam Veteran

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UPDATE: Just as a point of clarification for how the BoD deals with membership...
*****
Actual letter of resignation that went to the BoD:
27 August 2014
Effective Immediately

We the undersigned choose to disassociate ourselves completely from all connection with the organization known as Patriot Guard Riders. After seven years with the Patriot Guard as a family dedicated to the mission we are saddened to discover the organization is rotten at its core. The leadership from the petty-minded ride captains in the Red River Region of north Texas to the slanderous state leadership of Texas to the smug and patronizing National Board of Directors is corrupt, dysfunctional and dishonorable.

We are signing off because we find the conduct of Patriot Guard Rider leadership [Texas] and the National Board of Directors completely lacking in integrity and grossly negligent with regard to the Patriot Guard Rider code of conduct and mission statement and as such in direct conflict with our personal code of ethics.

We desire no further association with Patriot Guard Riders and find we must immediately distance ourselves from what can only be labeled the toxic and destructive leadership of the organization.

Remove our names from the membership roster immediately.

Normally we sign our missives with respect.
In this case - we find we cannot in good conscience do so.

Vickie L Foster Downing
Daughter and wife of Vietnam Veterans
Timothy A Downing
USAF Vietnam Veteran
*****
Reply from PGR VP/members:
On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 12:39 PM, Mike Childree wrote:
Fortunately, many thousands of members do not share your views. We do not normally state this, but in this case, must in good conscience say that we gladly accept your resignation.

The account team will need your userID and email address to remove them.

Mike Childree
VP/Members
National Board of Directors
Patriot Guard Riders
*****
Daughter's response:
Mr Childree,

Smug and patronizing as always... how quick you are to jump on the opportunity to be be rid of me/us... but as apparently it requires more effort than I am inclined to offer it appears you are stuck with me unless you employ the same underhanded tactics you used to get rid of my Dad... I do not recall you needing additional information to remove him from the ranks.

Figure it out because I am in a decidedly uncooperative mood.

V Downing
*****
Reply from PGR VP/members:
On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 1:18 PM, Mike Childree wrote:
Oh, believe me....I hold no illusions that PGR is "rid of you". I am quite certain that your narcissism and burning need for drama will drive you to more of what we've witnessed from you over the last few weeks.

Yep, we'll scare up your info. You bet we will.

Mike Childree
VP/Members
National Board of Directors
Patriot Guard Riders
*****
Daughter's response:
Mr Childree,

It was my understanding from the get-go that although it appears to be the nature of your position at the BoD you are far too busy to address the concerns of individual members in good standing. I know many members who will testify to that. That's why you are losing members as we speak. My concern for what you think about my burning need to see a Veteran treated fairly by the PGR BoD ended with my resignation. Please try to refrain from indulging your narcissistic tendency and burning need to have the last word in a conversation. Just get a grip buddy and do your job if you can.

V Downing
*****

The Daughter's last word

The last word from the daughter... To the cowardly excuses of PGR leadership that came knocking on our door with petty-minded grievance and tried to sell lies and slander in the real world where most people still operate within the bounds of decency... it appears the only people who will suffer long-term for such poltroonery (cowardice) is YOU. As for me and mine - we have barely missed a step since those first few days. It was a poorly planned surprise attack. I believe we have answered boot-to-butt. Ouch!

It is rare these days to voice an opinion in the public arena that goes unchallenged or unanswered. Astoundingly so! I feel I should thank PGR local/state/regional leadership and the PGR BoD for allowing me the decidedly craven courtesy of free rein in that regard.

When we engaged in our pursuit of fair treatment by sharing the truth in the court of public opinion I said to Dad (Frosty), "Say when enough is enough. Your Name. Your Call." It should go without saying; those four words [your name, your call] equally apply to those who continue to cower behind a wall of silence and apparently care not enough for the credibility of their own names and reputations to realize the result of such careless behavior is they will carry the irremovable stain of their actions into the future.

As for us, having exposed the festering dysfunction of PGR local/state/regional leadership and the PGR BoD - we walk away with clear consciences, our reputations intact and with the will and mindset to carry on. We do so under our own power, perhaps with a bit of help from our like-minded compatriots. Not so, those who believe themselves so far above reproach they are not compelled to play by the rules of the PGR code or for that matter, common decency. Not so, those who sought to get ahead by tearing an honorable man down. Not so, those who huddle in complicity hoping one of the untrustworthy among them does not finally find a shred of guilt-laced integrity and go off the reservation. Not so, those who refuse to be accountable for the irresponsibility of their grievous action and/or inaction. For people of such low character and questionable ethics it is doubtful the size of their egos will allow the realization that accountability has been removed as a personal choice in this matter and now rests in the court of public opinion which necessarily includes those who may choose not to stand with you in a flag line.

They will call this a win, although that would be stretching reality a bit - not that doing so is a problem for this bunch. If by way of winning by misdeed, you lose good people who have worked hard and long to promote the good name of an organization - how is that a win? Good people intent on doing good work will simply find another outlet for good deeds and carry on. An organization that condones aberrant behavior in leadership will soon exhaust the resources that keep it afloat.

I say disassociating ourselves completely from what has revealed itself as the ugly yellow underbelly of the PGR is a wise and timely move. A self-obsessed leadership devoid of even a modicum of honor and integrity has done irreparable and unforgivable damage to the image of the Patriot Guard Riders organization as well as a huge disservice to the membership at large. Even an organization with a volunteer membership as fine as the Patriot Guard Riders cannot long sustain itself if at its core lies disease of the mind and corruption of principle. Most organizations with a volunteer base will not tolerate autonomy-minded leadership for long.

Fair Warning: For those who stand foolishly loyal beside those who are complicit in the mob character assassination of a well-respected veteran and faithful member of the PGR for many years - tread lightly and have a care for your reputations - one misstep, one word of dissent or dissatisfaction even if it is not your own and what happened to Frosty and Nezzie could very well happen to you. Recidivism is a common flaw among those who indiscriminately do wrong to others.

I say again and will continue to say it. Patriot Guard Riders deserve better leadership. How they get better leadership with so many good men and women signing off should be a cause for concern among the membership because it is obviously no concern to existing leadership.

A final word by way of one more pithy quote:

Never tell the truth to those unworthy of it. -- Mark Twain

Footnote to Frosty and Nezzie's thank you note...

FYI: Effective 22 August 2014 - the Vietnam Veteran Fired by the Patriot Guard BoD public Facebook page and Blog go into hibernation-mode. What that means is we do not plan to make new posts. We will not take the pages down until we are done or we find another source of amusement out here. It is my desire they remain a source of irritation to those for which they are intended. Of course, all that really means is new activity is completely subject to my whim and redirection is entirely possible. We have accomplished our somewhat adjusted purpose out here. We came looking for fair treatment but as soon as we realized we were dealing with an entire leadership devoid of integrity it became our purpose to expose them as the disreputable posers they are. I believe we have done that well.

Before I give said posers my final word - let me offer my appreciation for the overwhelming support we received during our short term out here. To each and every person who signed on with support, encouragement and participation we offer the hand of friendship and gratitude. Over 300 people liked this page and have stuck with us through thick and thin. Over 400 people signed a petition designed to make the PGR aware that they had erred and give them an opportunity to make things right. Understand it is not our effort that failed. It is the PGR who have miserably failed a veteran, the membership and an outraged public at large.

It started out as an experiment we approached with no small amount of trepidation. The result is a renewed faith in our fellow human beings. You have no idea how encouraging it is to know there are still some people out there who know the difference between right and wrong and where they stand in the struggle. Thank you for standing with us.

Respectfully to those who deserve it,
You know who you are and are not...
The Daughter

Before you posers run out and buy party hats, you should know I rarely choose my words poorly. Hibernation is not death. Be advised... you should stay tuned...

A word from Frosty and Nezzie...

Posting on behalf of Frosty and Nezzie:

To our friends aka Frosty’s Friends,

As most of you know the last three months have been very difficult for Nezzie, me and my family and a multitude of friends. We want to thank each and every person that wrote letters, sent e-mails, made phone calls, signed the petition and rallied on demand to our call for help and support. Because of your efforts, there are hundreds of good folks, many of whom we have never met out there who offered support and encouragement at a time when it was needed most.

Having said that, we did not achieve the desired result and it is not likely we ever will. We realize at last that none of the PGR people [leadership and the BoD] with whom we are dealing possess any honor or integrity and no matter how hard we try they cannot be persuaded to do the right thing. How they can look a veteran’s family in the eye or even look at themselves in the mirror baffles us.

As Vietnam Veterans, Tex and I can handle criticism and insult leveled at us but when they allow one of their own (one ride captain’s son) to disrespect a Gold Star parent in public they have crossed the line of no return. It simply is not to be tolerated.

A special thanks to our daughter, Vickie and to Laura (Vickie’s sergeant at arms) for waging the daily and sometimes hourly Facebook war. Thanks to all of Frosty’s Friends for their tireless support and personal contribution to our cause. We will never forget your selfless effort and dedication. We do not know how we would have managed all this time without the supportive, kind and comforting gestures and remarks that came our way.

We feel truly blessed because we know we have the very best of friends in our lives.

We have weathered far worse than this aggravation in our sixty years together. We are ready to close the book on this nonsense and move on. Let us try to put this stuff in our rear view mirrors, get some wind in our faces and have some fun. Let us get on with the business of being happy in our pursuits. There are many missions and events in our future that need our undivided attention. We are not PGR any longer but we do not need PGR to validate our activities – never did – never will.

Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the caring and loving things you have done and said for us and about us during the past three months.

Yours in friendship,
Friends Forever
Ted “Frosty” Foster
Inez “Nezzie” Foster
August 21, 2014
© All Rights Reserved

How is it I am still PGR?

A friend asked, "After all that you have put out there about the dysfunction of Patriot Guard leadership and the Board of Directors how is it that you are still PGR?"

What an excellent question, one best put to those who wear (albeit badly) the cap of leadership.

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Addressing PGR leadership and PGR BoD:

06 June 2014 BoD Childree wrote: ...your [Foster] termination remains in place unless you are able to present evidence that these accusations (which were corroborated by multiple people) are not true.

Just for the record: We presented evidence to refute all allegations as false supported by statements from "multiple people" who put their names and caps on the line to do so - an act of faith in fair play and belief in the truth we sadly have yet to see from PGR leadership or PGR BoD.

Just for fun: Let's explore how my own activity measures up to what was falsely alleged against a respected and innocent Veteran... because if I pass and understand I am somewhat of an over-achiever - how is it the PGR can fail to terminate my membership (and I might add the membership of hundreds of others) if termination is based on the following criteria?

Systematic and repeated disruptive activity against PGR leadership. I plead GUILTY!

***** Yes. I have repeatedly and with disruptive intent aired the dirty laundry of the PGR leadership and PGR BoD without the least bit of concern for their collective reputations. I did not damage their credibility. I merely exposed their credibility issues. The fact that the culprits function without a shred of honor or integrity can be laid at their own feet not mine.

Interference with PGR missions. I plead GUILTY!

***** Yes. It goes something like this. If you live in north Texas and require honors for a Veteran or Veteran's event I suggest you forgo PGR presence and contact an organization whose leaders are honorable and whose membership consists of Veterans who respect all veterans and whose members and leaders will show up on time, at the right church or event location, looking good, conducting themselves in a professional manner (no knocking heads with their spouses in the parking lot) and get the job done right. I can recommend American Legion Post 202 - Wichita Falls, Texas. Ask for the services of the Honor Guard.

Activities damaging to PGR reputation (Journey 4 Justice). I plead GUILTY!

***** Yes. It is hard for me to fathom how my actions can possibly be more damaging to the reputation of the PGR than recent despicable actions of leadership and the BoD but I will own that I am a proud member of Journey 4 Justice and a staunch supporter of Journey 4 Justice and I embrace without apology the ongoing mission of Journey 4 Justice. If I still wore a PGR patch I would wear it on a Journey 4 Justice mission as I please without garnering the permission of anyone. I have never been any closer to Topeka, Kansas than Marysville, Kansas but as we all know apparently my presence there is not required in order to be placed there by state leadership of Texas. I am certain the state captain of Texas can do a much better job of imagining the details of my presence in Topeka than my actual presence could reveal. The state captain of Texas indulges in fiction to serve his whacked out agenda more often than not and the PGR BoD love his little stories so much they have banned truth from all due consideration.

Discriminatory ideas you have expressed. I plead GUILTY!

***** Damn straight - I object to standing the flag line with liars and slanderers (aka PGR Texas local/state/regional leadership and PGR BoD) and consider doing so an act of hypocrisy and disrespect that should not be tolerated among the ranks of honest PGR members. You betcha I discriminate based on the principles by which I live my life - no purveyors of bullshit allowed.

You have repeatedly attempted to undermine the efforts of female leadership in your area. I plead GUILTY!

***** I am working on it. To be up front about it... undermining leadership in my mind is not based on or limited to a particular gender. In my opinion, the entire leadership from the lowest man/woman ride captain in the north Texas Red River region to the president of the PGR board of directors are a disgrace to the caps they wear, the position they hold, the membership at large and the organization as a whole.

The items outlined are potentially damaging to the reputation and mission of the PGR, and it is the opinion of the PGR Board of Directors that any single one of these items is sufficient justification for termination of your membership.

***** Well now, looks like I passed the "termination test" with flying colors. If anything over the last couple of months I have outdistanced by activities that can be validated the veteran PGR leadership and PGR BoD have wronged based on lies and slander. I mean, I believe I have made it quite plain - I do not give a hairy rat's butt about the image of the PGR or the reputation of PGR leadership. If leadership cares so little about it that they engage in foul play why should I care if they become the victims of their own vice and folly!

I ask again... how is it I am still PGR?

I love this part...

This event [loosely refers to J4J activities] is in direct contradiction of the PGR mission statement, and the PGR organization desires no association with it. Your persistent participation now makes it necessary for PGR to distance itself from you personally.

***** Here's my backatcha boys: The conduct of PGR leadership and PGR BoD is in direct conflict with the PGR code of conduct/mission statement as well as with my own personal code of ethics. As such, I desire no further association with it [PGR] and believe it will eventually become necessary to distance myself from the PGR personally - but - not yet. Unless the PGR sees fit to dismiss me for speaking my mind and supporting my Dad and my disrespected PGR friends - I plan on being PGR for a while longer - just because it pisses PGR leadership off.

I remain inconveniently yours,
Frosty's Dissident Daughter
© All Rights Reserved

PGR leadership falls short of the mark...

I love a pithy quote. I use them often to send a point home or express a point of view.

Apparently the following quote is circulating on social media pages of Patriot Guard state leadership and board of directors. I can envision them patting themselves on the back and nodding sagely as they stroke one another's egos. Having enough on our plate, we are not actively trolling for misleading banalities but we will not reject what is offered by those who may indulge in freelance trolling.

Leadership when craved will always be faulty. Leadership as a means of service to others will never result from a desire to be out front but from a desire to see a thing done right.

Hmmm... I guess one could surmise that PGR leadership likes the sound of context that alludes to excellent leadership while failing to grasp the concept of what actually IS good leadership.

The phrase, a desire to see a thing done right... gave me pause when I consider how badly the case of Ted Frosty Foster vs PGR has been handled from the get-go, from the complete and utter disregard for due process to the disservice done to a respected veteran and the membership as well as the organization. The only thing done right by leadership and the BoD at this juncture is the massive wrong done to the innocent as they stand united and obstinately silent in blatant and despicable character assassination based on lies and slander.

Otherwise, in my humble opinion the integrity of PGR leadership from the lowliest of north Texas Red River region ride captains to the president of the BoD has been weighed and measured on the scales of truth and found decidedly wanting in credibility.

Here's another pithy quote:

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -- Aldous Huxley, Complete Essays 2, 1926-29

'Nuff said...
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Karma 101 for PGR leadership

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