Coup at Long Branch Concordance
Board removes Blair as executive director; member groups upset
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Members of the Long Branch Concordance are threatening to pull out of the grassroots collaborative in the wake of the removal of LBC founder and executive director Terri Blair.

"If Terri is not the executive director, then [Team Jump Off] cannot in good conscience stay with the Concordance," said Tonya Badillo.

"I had no notice of this decision. I called the [LBC] and they told me Terri was no longer there. It is very discouraging."

Badillo, director of Team Jump Off, said Blair is the heart and soul of the LBC.

"Terri has been phenomenal," said Badillo, who has opened her home as a safe haven to approximately 30 teens, known as Team Jump Off. "This is crushing."

"On Nov. 4, Blair said she was asked by the LBC board of trustees to step down from the post she has held since founding the community organization in March 2004.

"I was removed from my position," said Blair in an interview last week.

"I was given absolutely no reason for it. It was absolutely not of my choice," she said, adding, "I hope to be reinstated to my position."

The LBC is a nonprofit that helps Monmouth County residents access referrals and resources for health care, housing, rent and utilities, at-risk youths, job development, language skills and domestic violence.

When the LBC became a 501(c)3 in July 2005, the agency established a board of trustees to oversee the operation of the concordance.

Board members are: president, Golam Mathbor, associate dean of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences at Monmouth University; secretary, the Rev. Julius O. Adekunle, associate pastor at the First Baptist Church in Long Branch; JoAnn Abraham, local business owner; Jerome Scriptunas, of the nonprofit Monmouth Cares; Robert H. Scott, business professor at Monmouth University; and Steven W. Ross, who is with a nonprofit organization.

The decision to dismiss Blair was unanimous, according to former board member Kim Praitano.

At the LBC monthly meeting on Oct. 8 held at the Brookdale Community College Learning Center on Broadway, Blair took a seat in the audience while Praitano acted as interim executive director.

Praitano explained that she was appointed by the board to fill Blair's position until a permanent director is named.

"We know [Blair's] vision is something we will bring forward," Praitano said at the meeting.

Praitano said her role is to maintain the LBC and to search for a permanent executive director.

In an interview after the meeting, Praitano said the LBC Board felt that Blair was no longer qualified for the position.

"[The LBC] is growing very quickly," Praitano said. "The agency is working on a lot of projects and grants.

"Terri was a great visionary for this organization. She has done a lot to bring the [LBC] to this point. We want to continue with Terri's mission."

Under Blair's leadership, the LBC has grown to include as many as 50 community organizations including churches, food pantries, nonprofit programs and social service agencies.

According to Praitano, board members agreed that Blair lacked the nonprofit management skills needed to continue acting as the executive director of the organization.

Praitano added that the board had asked Blair to remain involved in the LBC as a consultant.

Blair declined to comment on what her involvement may be.

"The board is the governing body," Praitano said. "They supervise [Blair]."

"I know that people respect Terri's vision," Praitano continued, adding, "I know I do. That is what made me a board member."

The LBC holds monthly meetings that bring local, regional, county and faith-based groups together to network.

Many representatives of those agencies expressed concern and distress in the aftermath of hearing the news that Blair would no longer be the face of the LBC.

Julia Wheeler, chairwoman of the Long Branch Concerned Citizens Coalition, agreed.

"I was there when the doors first opened," Wheeler said in an interview last week. "Terri wanted to do something for all the people and for the City of Long Branch. It is just wrong how it was done.

Wheeler said if an issue needed to be addressed, it is the responsibility of the board to present it to the organizations that make up the LBC.

She said she has sent a letter to the board members expressing her disapproval of the decision.

"I have not even gotten any information," she said. "I think it is a horror."

A member of the LBC since its formation, Terri Booth said last week she is sad and confused about the removal of Blair.

"I have no idea why this happened," Booth, LBC communications coordinator, said.

"I am very upset. I do not know why the board acted the way they did."

"I have watched Terri [Blair] build this from the ground up," Booth said. "She has been very successful."

Terri Blair (center) talks with Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin and LBC member Colleen Meyer at a conference on gang activity, sponsored by the Long Branch Concordance last month.

audience while Praitano acted as interim executive director.

Praitano explained that she was appointed by the board to fill Blair's position until a permanent director is named.

"We know [Blair's] vision is something we will bring forward," Praitano said at the meeting.

Praitano said her role is to maintain the LBC and to search for a permanent executive director.

In an interview after the meeting, Praitano said the LBC Board felt that Blair was no longer qualified for the position.

"[The LBC] is growing very quickly," Praitano said. "The agency is working on a lot of projects and grants.

"Terri was a great visionary for this organization. She has done a lot to bring the [LBC] to this point. We want to continue with Terri's mission."

Under Blair's leadership, the LBC has grown to include as many as 50 community organizations including churches, food pantries, nonprofit programs and social service agencies.

According to Praitano, board members agreed that Blair lacked the nonprofit management skills needed to continue acting as the executive director of the organization.

Praitano added that the board had asked Blair to remain involved in the LBC as a consultant.

Blair declined to comment on what her involvement may be.

"The board is the governing body," Praitano said. "They supervise [Blair]."

"I know that people respect Terri's vision," Praitano continued, adding, "I know I do. That is what made me a board member."

The LBC holds monthly meetings that bring local, regional, county and faith-based groups together to network.

Many representatives of those agencies expressed concern and distress in the aftermath of hearing the news that Blair would no longer be the face of the LBC.

Julia Wheeler, chairwoman of the Long Branch Concerned Citizens Coalition, agreed.

"I was there when the doors first opened," Wheeler said in an interview last week. "Terri wanted to do something for all the people and for the city of Long Branch. It is just wrong how it was done."

Wheeler said if an issue needed to be addressed, it is the responsibility of the board to present it to the organizations that make up the LBC.

She said she has sent a letter to the board members expressing her disapproval of the decision.

"I have not even gotten any information," she said. "I think it is a horror."

A member of the LBC since its formation, Terri Booth said last week she is sad and confused about the removal of Blair.

"I have no idea why this happened," Booth, LBC communications coordinator, said.

"I am very upset. I do not know why the board acted the way they did.

"I have watched Terri [Blair] build this from the ground up," Booth said. "She has been very successful."