Hey All,
Just to clarify...
Glenn has tendered his resignation and it has been accepted by David. For those who don't know him, David Ondaatje has owned Winston since '91 and is from Canada and lives in Malibu, CA. Jerry has resigned as well and I am writing mine now. It needs to come first so I won't spend much time here. Please don't forget that Wayne Maca has been an important part of the Boo Boys @ Winston and continues to help us while building his own.
Winston needed a successor to Glenn.... someday. Even after 20 years in this shop, I don't have a true passion for fishing (mine is flying) and Winston had made it clear for several years that I wasn't the guy. In January I let Glenn know that it was time for me to go, putting Glenn in the difficult position of finding my replacement and his eventual successor. This summer he found that replacement and sent that choice to Mike Woodard (Woody) the CEO that David hired several years ago. Woody refused to accept Glenn's judgement, and said that anyone hired for the bamboo shop would be of his own choosing, not Glenn's.
Glenn, with over thirty years just @ Winston as part owner and later manager of Bamboo and many years prior, said if Winston would not respect his judgement for what was best for Bamboo, he would resign, which he did.
It's my understanding from those who had spoken to him, that Woody's specific comments were that David should have never kept Glenn on when he bought the company and that there should be no Gurus or other identifiable personalities @ the bamboo shop. It is Woody's idea that the bamboo shop be a factory. Woody's comments to me directly is that he wants to see sales of 2500 units in bamboo. That in comparison to our decades long history of about 100 a year. It's my understanding that David continues to support Woody's judgement.
Glenn is to me the finest man on the planet, words cannot give justice, and I can never repay what he's given me in terms of mentoring and friendship. If Winston will not respect the judgement of this impeccable man, that's enough for me. Additionally I oppose Woody in his vision of what Winston Bamboo should be and I will not support him in that goal.
I was told yesterday that Woody was telling Winston employees that Glenn was retiring. Glenn told me and others SPECIFICALLY, that he was resigning from Winston but not retiring. The details I don't know @ this time, I hope that I can help him in some small way.
Hope that helps. A sad day for me. Jeff
