Talk:Operation Homefront

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Edit note

I have relocated the following sections as a) the cited ad is from a dead link b) the other anonymous source cited is not cited anywhere else that I can find; c) there is no citation for the Marc Hedde memo (and I can't find any other mention online) d) the San Diego news link works but, in the absence of a larger pattern, is a bit peripheral; e) the DOD mention is worth retaining but in a rewritten form. --Bob Burton 20:25, 29 October 2007 (EDT)

Craig's List ads stir apprehension

The Craig's List ads read: Chapter President/Executive Director, "Compensation negotiable and OK for recruiters to contact this job poster." The ad goes on to say the employee "Reports to Chapter Board of Directors with oversight from [the National] Executive Vice President of Operations."

A careful reading of the lengthy job description suggests any skilled management type could easily perform the prescribed duties in an average eighty (80) hour work week. What's particularly interesting is the fact many of these ads appear for paid positions already covered by volunteer chapter presidents. Research suggests some chapter have folded in the face of new demands for higher expectations. "I'm going back to doing what I was doing before these unrealistic expectations came down on us," says one anonymous source. I looked for this chapter on the group's national website and sure enough, it was gone.

VA-media report

Update 9-27-07

Are there major changes in the works at Operation Homefront, Inc. and it's core mission?

Marc Hedde, writing under his new title "Interim Chairman Of The Board" notified Operation Homefront's independent chapters recently that "Effective September 25th, Steve Harrington is no longer employed by Operation Homefront." Missing were the normal "moving on for family or business obligations" or mention of the status of his six figure salary. Hedde went on the say former employee and Executive Vice President Amy Palmer would serve as the Interim President and CEO of Operation Homefront while the Board of Directors conducts a search for a permanent replacement. Palmer is a resident of Texas.

For the past month, sources within Operation Homefront have become tight-lipped about internal struggles. Relations between the Santa Ana headquarters and the once top performing San Diego Chapter may have become strained when the recently fired president for the San Diego chapter was found pleading guilty to two counts of identity theft. The San Diego Union-Tribune Article

There is little doubt this four-star rated charity has served military families well in past years. That credit goes to twenty plus nonprofit corporations in as many states. The vast majority of the smaller grassroots Chapter Presidents and volunteers did the heavy lifting at their local levels. Operation Homefront, Inc. and it's IRS group exemption was a big factor in empowering the local groups. The National organization did a good job leveraging that volunteer base into a Memorandum of Understanding with DoD's America Supports You program within the Pentagon.