Show me the Money:

[James Russell]

Hi All:
  	1/25/99

	In the past, I had believed that the mission of SCN was to provide
	internet service to the community.  Being a computer enthusiast,
	I was very excited about joining SCN and receiving an internet account.   In 1994, I was one of SCN's first customers.
	Though it took nearly 3 months to receive my account,  I was still
	enthusiastic.  Still believing in the mission of SCN, I decided to
	volunteer; and later in 1996 through 1997, I became a board member.
	My purpose was to assist SCN in serving the public better and faster.
	In my quest to make SCN more efficient, I volunteered to help with
	registration.  While doing this task, I noticed quite frequently that
	transactions were not recorded; checks and cash were misplaced or lost.
	When questioning the procedure for tracking transactions, those who
	collected the money did not respond to my question.
	Another concern was the speed and efficiency in setting up accounts.
	I was an advocate for on-line registration, but no one seemed to
	listen.
	My theory was that this procedure would enable customers to register
	immediately, at their convenience and at the same time, SCN would have
	record of their transactions.  With the previous registration system,
	there was a delay of up to 12 weeks, not to name other complications.
	It is my feeling that an on-line registration system could have been
	in place by the second year of SCN's existence.
	Another matter of concern was the treatment of volunteers.  In the
	past few year, we have had an excellent selection of volunteer
	committees.
	A committee that was really comes to mind, as far as excellence, was
	the fund-raising committee.  They were very competent, and these
	highly skilled volunteers drafted an exciting fund-raising proposal,
	presented it to the board to have it disappointingly dismissed.  After this discouragement, the committee disbanded.
	I have a disappointing volunteer experience that I would like to share.
	In November of 1995, KCTS-Channel 9 asked for volunteers to assist
	with a computer project at the Rainier Branch of the Seattle Public
	Library.
	I volunteered on behalf of SCN, I was not compensated, but some staff were.  I would later discover that staff who did not work at this event had also been compensated.  This act is questionable as SCN received money for the event!
	As I have listed above, I have many concerns about the mission and
	ethics of SCN and I would like the following concerns addressed:
	The need for an audit
	Evaluation of the quality of SCN services;
	quality registration system
	Evaluation of the treatment of volunteers
	Evaluation of customer service
	When I was a board member, I asked for an audit, and it was not
	received.   I am now insisting on an audit.  If SCN does not comply,
	this matter will go to a higher authority!

	Sincerely,
	    
	James L. Russell  
	jamesr at scn.org


 * See you @ http://www.scn.org/~jamesr/ *  

jamesr at scn.org               scn.org=Seattle community network

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