Martin’s Dismissal Sparks 2 Board Departures By: Laura B. Withers The Winchester Star The Nov. 30 removal of Philip Martin from his position as board president of Celebrating Patsy Cline Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the country music legend with Winchester roots, has left some of the late singer’s fans in shock. Days after the CPC Board of Directors removed Martin from his position, two longtime Cline fans that said they were once actively involved in efforts to preserve her name resigned from the Winchester organization. C. Mark Willix, a Rockmart, Ga., native and former chairman of the nonprofit’s Membership Committee, and Theresa M. Shalaby, a former board member from Nashville, said they were shocked and disappointed to learn that Martin had been asked to step down. Willix and Shalaby announced their resignations in letters to board members following a private meeting held Nov. 30 in Winchester’s Kurtz Building. Board members announced Martin’s departure following that meeting, but they remain tight-lipped about the reasoning behind his removal. Since then, the group’s only correspondence to local media came in the form of a Friday news release announcing board member Judy Sue Huyett-Kempf’s election as president on Wednesday. Martin, who had served as CPC’s president since February, is not mentioned in the release. The Nashville native declined to answer questions during a phone call Friday. Willix said he was “astonished and stunned” to learn Martin had been removed from his post. He credited Martin with many of the organization’s accomplishments over the past 10 months. “Over their 10-year history, Philip has been the only person in a leadership role that has accomplished something,” Willix said of CPC. “There were a lot of hurdles in our way. Philip blasted through those hurdles as if they weren’t even in the way.” Shalaby agreed, saying Martin has done more for CPC in 10 months “than has been accomplished in the last 10 years.” She said she also felt ”absolute shock and dismay” after learning he had been asked to leave the organization as it was “on the cusp” of securing a site for a permanent Patsy Cline museum in Winchester. Though she has served as a member of the board of directors for three years, often participating in meetings via telephone from her home in Nashville, Shalaby said she was not aware of the movement to replace Martin until the Nov. 30 meeting. “It’s a decision that seemed to be very bad for the effort,” she said. “And it seemed to be very bad for the entire city of Winchester to eliminate someone without communicating it to other board members. “I felt that it was not something that I could any longer be a part of.” Willix said two board members spearheaded the effort to remove Martin. He declined to name them, saying, “I don’t want to be sued for libel.” Though a letter to Martin from those board members indicated a difference in “visions” was to blame for his subsequent removal, Willix said he thinks other selfish reasons fueled the decision. “Their egos got in the way,” he said of the board members who voted to get rid of Martin. “Most board members were not even aware this was happening. One begged them, ‘Tell me what’s going on’ [during the Nov. 30 meeting], and they were met with silence the whole time. “They owe people an explanation.” Shalaby said she is still trying to figure out what happened that night and why it was necessary. But so far, none of her once-fellow board members are talking. “We feel an honest, forthcoming answer is deserved,” she said.

Originally Published In The Winchester Star On December 10, 2005







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