As the Strut turns; or Let Them Eat Mango

There was a bizarre Coconut Grove gathering yesterday at "the official" King Mango Strut Inc. (KMS Inc.) board meeting, which was held at The Grove Spot at 5 pm. The whole meeting lasted about five minutes.

Jane Decker, Joel Kreiger, Nathan Kurland, Michael Lucas and Sue McConnell the "new board to be?" or "Len's Group" as Glenn Terry likes to call them, were present. George Ibars and Len Scinto of that group, were absent. Glenn Terry and Antoinette Baldwin were present, the two "official" board members.

Antoinette proposed that KMS Inc. accept the seven people who were voted in a couple of weeks ago to run the corporation. Glenn voted "no" by failing to second her motion. Glen then made these three motions:

1. He moved that they accept the seven members that were chosen to expand the board of KMS Inc. but that they first enter into a license agreement for the use of the King Mango Strut trademarks, which Glenn owns.

That agreement would give KMS Inc. exclusive use of the trademarks for thirty years to put on an annual King Mango Strut parade in Coconut Grove. KMS Inc. would have exclusive control of the parade, its income and expenditures.

2. If the motion above is not accepted by the KMS Inc. board, Glenn moved that the KMS Inc. be dissolved in the next 14 days so that a new, functional group can be formed to produce future KMS parades.

3. Glenn moved that KMS Inc. require Antoinette Baldwin provide an accounting of the 2009 King Mango Strut parade so that the KMS Inc. board, and the public, can know what money was spent and received to produce last year’s event. This would be in the form identical to the one that the BID usually requires following events that they fund and would include copies of checks written and received by the person and/or group that produced the event. To this date, no such accounting has been provided for public view.

As Glenn read the three motions and handed them to Antoinette, she responded by tearing them up one by one.

She then told the group that she did not really need Glenn's vote for her proposal to expand the board because Glenn has a conflict of interest. She said she was the only board member able to vote and that she voted to "accept the new board" or "the group of her friends sitting around her," as Glenn puts it.

Antoinette says that the purpose of last night's meeting was solely to approve the "People's Slate," selected two weeks ago, as board members to be in compliance wtih the State of Florida law which requires a minimum of three directors on a board of directors (Florida Statutes Chapter 617.0803).

The other items were not on the agenda and were not to be discussed at the meeting. At this point, the next step is to ask the "new board" at the next meeting, whether they are for or against signing the licensing agreement and whether they are for or against getting a tax-exempt 501(c)3 status, which will help them with fundraising.

Glenn said, "I am here to work with you guys. I am here to resolve our differences so that we can move ahead."

Glenn got up and left after that as Antoinette welcomed "her new board," according to him.