EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE LETTER

July 31, 2002

President and Board of Directors
Road Runners Club of America

Dear RRCA Officers and Board Members:

Last June, President Freddi Carlip selected a group of seven individuals to serve as the Search Committee for a new Executive Director of the Road Runners Club of America. Our initial group consisted of Beverly Coville, as chair; At-large Board Members John Calotta and Susan Harmeling; past-Presidents Don Kardong and Carl Sniffen; and past-Vice Presidents Julia Emmons and Phil Stewart. Later in the process, the then-current Executive Director Henley Gabeau and President Freddi Carlip were added to the committee.

Working with a relatively short timetable, the committee took its task with the utmost diligence -- we wanted to find the individual who would be able to lead the RRCA into the 21st century.

The Search Committee unanimously selected David Dobrzynski from over 200 resumes and from among a group of three finalists. The committee, while acknowledging that he had no experience in the non-profit sector, felt Dobrzynski was the best choice because of his numerous positions in the business side of the sport. We felt his business acumen could be an asset in the RRCA's search for new sponsorship. During the interview process, he assuaged our concerns about his lack of non-profit experience by expressing an eagerness to work with the grass roots RRCA membership. At no time did he indicate to the committee that he needed sweeping new powers that would enable him to appoint the organization's officers and amend the RRCA bylaws without input from the member clubs in order to carry out his job.

Ten months into Dobrzynski's tenure, the undersigned members of the Search Committee would like to inform the RRCA Officers and Board that we feel his selection was an error.

It is apparent to us that Dobrzynski's insensitivity to the RRCA's rich heritage as a non-profit has proven to be a huge liability, and we have not seen any evidence of the fundraising abilities we thought he possessed. In addition, no one on the Search Committee was under the impression that Dobrzynski would not be moving to the Washington, DC area, but, to the contrary, would continue to work at least 50% of his time from Massachusetts. This simply would not have been acceptable had we known it in advance.

It is obvious that Dobrzynski's reign has been tumultuous. We feel it is time either to request to Dobrzynski that he resign as Executive Director or to remove him. These will be the first steps in rebuilding the RRCA back to its role as the leading organization for grass roots running in the U.S.

Sincerely,

Julia Emmons
Susan Harmeling
Don Kardong
Carl Sniffen
Phil Stewart

Note: As later additions to the Search Committee and because of their past and current RRCA roles, Henley Gabeau and Freddi Carlip were not asked to sign this letter. However, Henley has indicated her support of its contents and Freddi has voiced no objection to sending it forward to the officers and board.