March 20, 2006

Open letter to all USAT Board Members, also sent to Mr Friello, Mr Askinas, TRUE website, and OE Players,

I am a concerned USAT member troubled by the seeming inaction by you, the board members. You have a responsility first and foremost to the athletes of the USAT. Furthermore, you are entrusted with the operation of the USAT. That responsibility includes making sure the organization is operated in a transparent and responsible manner(as promised in the organizational meeting I attended in 05/2004). You, as board members, should know in advance of the various contracts and agreements entered by Mr Askinas. Your responsibility is to the athletes. Without the athletes there is no need for the board members or Mr Askinas. And when I say athletes, I mean ALL the athlete members of the USAT. The first thing I would do at the beginning of the meeting is make it clear, as a board member, you will not be silent about what is discussed in the meeting. That is not in the best interest of the athletes and we as parents, athletes, coaches, and referees have a right to know what has been decided for the USAT.

Now in the past 4 weeks I have brought up many issues you know about OR you should know about. One issue is whether or not there is a prior relationship between the chairman, Mr Berkey, and a possible entreprenuer the USAT is reportedly associated. Now, as I recall the board asked Mr Friello to step down as it was the board's feeling that Mr Friello had a conflict of interest. Well it seems to me there may be a few other conflicts the board has ignored. Maybe I am wrong, but since the USAT is not being transparent, the members have to find out by whatever means necessary what actually is occurring in Colorado Springs.

Another issue that is in hot debate is the High Level Training Centers(HLTC). It was disclosed to the USAT membership along with an astronomical price increase to coaches. No prior warning was given. The membership was never consulted about this in advance. The decision was made, I am guessing here, by Mr. Gambardella. I say this because the things that have occurred in the last 2 months could not all fall on Mr Askinas' plate. Now maybe some of these issues fall into the realm of the interim board. I can accept that.

But now you are the ones. It is my understanding that there will be a board meeting in April. It is also my understanding this meeting will be a conference call amoung board members. I am sure this was somebody's idea of a joke. I cannot believe you can effectively hold THIS particular board meeting by phone. You need to see contracts that have been assigned. You need to address what the bidding process was for these contracts or if there was even a true bidding process. The board needs to address the appointment of Mr Askinas. Rumour has there were 18 applicants for the CEO position and that only 2 or 3 were seriously considered. Why? And were there actually more qualified applicants passed over in favor of Mr Askinas.

As board members, you have put your personal credibility on the line. Chairman Berkey is listed as an independent. Is that a factual statement. There are 2 other independents as well. Are these 2 truly independent.(a question not an accusation) That brings us to the TKD members of the board. I think Ms Sweet has made it very clear where she stands. But as to the remaining board members you should think past this stint as board members. You will be members of the Sport TKD community for many, many years. How do you wish to be remembered. As TKDists that voted and acted in the athletes best interest or as USAT Board members who rubber stamped whatever was put in front of them and as seems to have been the case be kept in the dark and learn of issues as the rest of us. This is a historic board meeting for you. Your reputation for the years to come ride on what you do in the next few weeks. At the end of this letter are a list of questions that should be answered to your satisfaction by the CEO and/or board members and then the answers should be relayed to all the membership.

This HLTC progran should be put on hold and any fees appropriated by coaches returned. If necessary, pay Mr Perez his penalty clause rumoured over $100,000.00 and thank him for his "time". Funny how there is only one winner no matter the outcome and is not the kids. Have a committee study the issue, assess if there is an actual need for coaching centers , determine a fair way to implement a program that includes equality for members all over the USA, and what the cost of said program will be over 5 years and 10 years before awarding contracts. This whole thing as it was developed was irresponsible at best.

Another issue to address is membership numbers. It is rumored that numbers have fallen below 10000 members. It would be nice to know a figure so we have something to base on.

It might be a good idea to have the staff at COS have documentation available for contracts, bidding processes, membership numbers, Mr Perez' contract, the actual process and contracts with Century and all that entails. Also, one might think Mr Perez would be available to answer the boards questions and if there is a board member that may have a previous relationship with Mr Perez, then that member should remove him/herself from the meeting/conference call. It might be a good idea for Mr Gambarella to be present as well. All the above, in my opinion makes the idea of a phone conference ridiculous. It would be much more productive if the board could meet in person and face Mr Askinas, Mr Gambardella, and Mr Perez eye to eye and hopefully, board members will not blink. It is the aforementioned to operate the USAT but they must also answer to you, the board.

Bottom line, as the USAT board, you are responsible for overseeing the operation of the USAT. Though I am not a lawyer, I would think there may be some liability issues here if any board member were to be less than vigilant. I trust you will approach all questions and issues with this foremost on your mind. "What is in the best interest of all the athletes" If you let that be your guide you, as board members will most likely make the correct decision. But if that is not enough think about how we, the membership will view your decision or in the extreme, think about how 10 or 12 of your peers might view it.

Lastly, it would be nice if a timely(perhaps 1 week) release of the minutes of your meeting be released on the USAT website.

Thank you for your time,

Carl Hall, NH

One thing and I doubt a satisfactory answer will be forthcoming to the board, but I question the scheduling of these coaching seminars in Atlanta. Seems too "convenient" to me. The idea should be to promote the best opportunity for all Sport tkd athletes. One never knows where the next Olympian may come from but by impeding competition we may never know. I am a USAT member(11 years) and have never in anyway been involved with the AAU. I do however respect fairplay. TY