United Way board member resigns in protest

The Times' Marty Petty cites United Way's decision to cancel a women's leadership event with Susan Sarandon.

By LEONORA LaPETER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 28, 2003

United Way of Tampa Bay's decision to cancel an appearance by Susan Sarandon at a volunteer function continued to reverberate Thursday, with one board member resigning and people calling to both oppose and support the cancellation.

Marty Petty, executive vice president of Times Publishing Co., resigned as member of the United Way board of directors and chair of the 2003 campaign. Petty said she did not support the decision to cancel the women's leadership event with Sarandon after United Way received three dozen complaints from donors and others about the actor's opposition to the war in Iraq.

"This decision is grounded in my lifelong personal and professional belief that our civic life is made stronger by the expression of all views, including ones that are controversial," Petty wrote in her resignation letter to Robin Carson, chairwoman of the United Way of Tampa Bay board. "These are core principles my newspaper and colleagues are so committed to protecting."

Meanwhile, Andrew Barnes, chairman and chief executive officer of the St. Petersburg Times, said he was "troubled" by United Way's actions and said the Times might reconsider its relationship with the organization. He said the Times would not make any quick decisions but would explore other options for giving to the community. The Times matches employee contributions to United Way and has done so for decades. In 2002, employees donated about $150,000 to United Ways in the Times circulation area.

Carson said she was disappointed by Petty's resignation. She has said United Way canceled the April event in Tampa with Sarandon, an Academy Award winner, because it felt the event had become "divisive" when its purpose was to promote volunteerism and bring the community together.

"The board will have to accept the resignation, but personally I'm just very sad," she said. "I really regret that this happened."

At least two United Way volunteers said Thursday they would no longer volunteer for the organization.

Cindy Redmond, a volunteer for 10 years and coordinator for the United Way Day of Caring, said she would find other ways to serve the community.

"I've been supporting them for 10 years, and this is the end of it," said Redmond, a Pinellas County Utilities Department employee, who was speaking as an individual. "I'm not in agreement on their decision to be selective on who they have as a motivational speaker. Apparently, it's okay to have speakers as long as you're not ticking off donors. I think their action is divisive, and I'm very offended by it."

Paul Brown, 67, a volunteer project coordinator for United Way's Hands On Tampa Bay, said he would resign as soon as the projects he's working on are complete. "I just think censorship of any kind is wrong," he said.

Diana Baker, interim president of the United Way of Tampa Bay, acknowledged the organization had received a number of calls, including some from donors saying they would no longer contribute. But she said there was an equal number of calls from people supporting the decision to cancel the event and offering financial support.

"We continue to believe that United Way is apolitical in every way, and we haven't taken a side on the political question," Baker said. "We're simply saying that an event intended to focus on women and leadership has been diluted by the luncheon program that was planned and we don't think it's proper for United Way to create any kind of situation that would be considered to divide the community."

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