Several longtime members of the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society, including former presidents, have resigned from the society in recent weeks, following the announcement of the 125-year-old women's group that it had hired a man to be its first executive director.
Last fall, the L.V.I.S., an all-volunteer organization, decided to create a paid position to help boost fund-raising and community outreach. It had been one of the only nonprofit organizations on the East End that did not have an executive director, said Ann Davis, the president at the time, "so we thought we ought to get on the bandwagon."
After a months-long search, the society announced that it had hired "the most qualified candidate," Russell Kratoville, a longtime public servant on the East End who most recently served as administrator, clerk, and treasurer of Southampton Village.
Even before Mr. Kratoville's first day of work, Feb. 22, several members, outraged that the leadership position had been given to a man, submitted their resignations.
"I am gobsmacked once again by your recent actions," Trace Duryea, a former L.V.I.S. president who had been a member for nearly 50 years, wrote in a Feb. 15 letter to Jennifer Tarbet, the current president, and the board of directors. Ms. Duryea cited "mishandling" of the search for an executive director and failure to promote Mary Anna Jun-Morris, a longtime administrative coordinator, to the position, and suggested that the group was fast becoming what she called a "stratified social club" whose members are increasingly more concerned with their "status in the community" than with community service. "I see changes which, in no way, reflect the values or tenets on which the LVIS was founded," she said in submitting her resignation.
Joan Denny, also a past president and a member for 48 years, said in an interview on Saturday that she had decided to resign for a variety of reasons. "I've had some wonderful times with the L.V.I.S. and some painful times," she said. She declined to comment personally on the decision to give a leadership position to a man, but said, "I know a number of members are irate, and until women have the same opportunities, I understand that." The board had not anticipated how poorly its decision would be received, she said, "but if they had been more in touch with their members, they would have realized it."
Micki Dion, another former president and a member since 1979, confirmed that she too had resigned. "My comments were made directly to the president and board. No further comment," she said.
"I'm hoping they sober up and say we made a mistake," said Faith Popcorn, a member for 46 years who intends to submit her resignation. "Isn't the board supposed to represent the membership?" The idea that the all-female board couldn't find a woman for the position was ludicrous, she said. "What are these women going to say to their daughters?"
Despite the resignations and criticisms from members, the board of directors has not had a change of heart about the decision. "The board remains unanimous and confident with the detailed and professional hiring process followed, and we believe our decision is in the best interest of the organization," it said in a statement on Tuesday.
"I'm still in a quandary as to whether or not anything can be accomplished by my resigning," said Lys Marigold, a member since 1976. The scarcity of leadership positions for women makes the organization's decision to hire a man especially galling, she said, "but then I say to myself, what do I expect from an organization that just this year was polling their members to decide whether they wanted to be listed in the directory with their own first name or as Mrs. so-and-so husband's name?" The future of the organization may be imperiled because of the decision, Ms. Marigold said. "The very desirable next generation of members are the ones who are resigning in protest."
Karen Fredericks, a member since 2008, said she had submitted her resignation "within hours of hearing the news" of the hiring. "There is no doubt how hard the women of this organization work, and I adore the women I have met and become friends with through L.V.I.S., but I thought it was completely insane to hire a man for that position." The organization did not take enough time to find the right person for the job, she said. "Sometimes I fear that women can be their own worst enemies. This is one of those times."
