Damien Strogen The originator of the failed attempt to mount the Auckland Outgames 2016 says the board created to oversee the project was "disengaged" and "irresponsible" and made its final decisions - including to resign en masse - "behind closed doors." The board publicly confirmed in mid-August that it had quit the project in July, saying it had lost confidence in its executive team's ability to fund the games. Despite frantic attempts by a number of Auckland glbti community members the Outgames, scheduled for this February, could not ultimately be rescued. In an exclusive interview with GayNZ.com Damien Strogen says that in retrospect "the signs were all there that the board members were quite disengaged. They were engaged at the meetings but not a great deal between meetings." “I think they didn't want to get their hands dirty, or get involved too much otherwise they would become liable for it. I don't know where they were coming from but they certainly weren't a responsible board in the way they operated." Underscoring his allegations, Strogen says he also believes an early decision to have a governance-focussed board separate from those responsible for managing the preparations for the event was a mistake. Other than issuing the statement belatedly confirming it had quit the board has not responded to any following attempts to discuss the matter publicly through GayNZ.com Daily News. See the first part of Strogen's interview with GayNZ.com Daily News here.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 24th October 2015 - 10:32am