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Dedicated Mental Health Board members misrepresented
To the editor: In the Letter to the Editor in the June 4 issue, Tom Sullivan complained that the St. Louis Mental Health Board lacked a quorum at its May 15, 2008 meeting, leaving the false impression that the unpaid board members are less than dedicated to their public responsibilities. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The meeting Sullivan referenced is the first since 2004 where business could not be conducted due to lack of a quorum; in fact, it has occurred seven times out of 128 board meetings.
Let’s not forget that trustees are unpaid volunteers with families and jobs. As rare as it is, they should not be faulted when personal responsibilities and unforeseen circumstances conflict with attendance at meetings. For this meeting, one trustee was caring for a new baby, another was detained out of town due to bad weather and another, a school guidance counselor, was delayed at school.
Civic leadership is a personal quality which should be encouraged, not discouraged by unfair criticism. These board members didn’t deserve the letter in the first place, and they certainly didn’t deserve the headline “Mental Health Board is failing taxpayers.” Dun Cuvo Executive director of the St. Louis Mental Health Board
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