ANOTHER YEAR... with new adventures (Part 151o)

ANOTHER YEAR... new adventures (Part 151o)

Bert’s wife was an invalid suffering from polio. He was devoted to her to the extent that he was her caregiver from roughly 5pm to 9am each day. He prepared all her meals and actually fed her. While at work the nurse who had cared for my grandmother came to the house to look after her. Bert would usually arrive at the bank around 9:15am or so unless there was something really important happening. So... for him to have me meet him at 8:30am sent a message... and now I was going to find out what it was.

As usual, I climbed the stairs to the second floor. I stopped at the top and could see Bert standing behind his desk. To me, that wasn’t a good sign. I proceeded to the door and he waved me in and with another wave of his hand motioned for me to close it. He started talking even before it had latched. I did a bit of a ‘double take’ as I heard the words ”Think before you act.“ I could’ve sworn it was my deceased grandfather mouthing them. I’d heard the words many times as I was growing up around him. At that point I thought I was in for a diatribe.

Still standing, Bert, calmly, stated that he understood my frustration upon finding out about the details of the new hire. He went on to say that it had been his understanding at the close of the Board meeting that Hobie would speak to me and that now he understood that because of his mother in law’s health problem, that hadn’t occurred. BUT, (and it was emphasized) since it wasn’t a critical issue I should’ve waited to talk with Hobie before coming to see him. It was hard standing there and not saying anything... but I did. Bert went on to say that my taking the matter into my own hands and calling my friend at the new guy’s bank was the most egregious error. The man’s hiring was a Board issue and I had no right to make such a call. Not only that but my friend was also in error in giving out the information he did. Now I was really worried that Don was in trouble too.

All I could do was stand there and listen. Then, the mood of the meeting seemed to change. Bert acknowledged that he called my friend and the information that I’d passed on to Bert had been corroborated. The man was NOT an officer. Hearing that took a little pressure off me. Bert went on to say that he'd talked with the chairman of the branch committee to see what had been said or done to make him think that an assistant branch manager was a corporate officer. What he told me actually made me mad. The Board member had thought the new man was an officer. To me, it was just another example showing the Trustees were dealing in areas that they had no experience with. It was my understanding that they were to oversee the bank's performance, not manage it. That's why people like Bert, Hobie and I were hired and that was when I finally opened my mouth... but not for long.

I questioned Bert on why the people who actually run he bank, day to day, weren’t involved in the interviewing or in any of the decision making in the new hire. That made Bert put his hand up to shut me up. Only because I respected him as a person did I obey because I was just about to ‘go off’ on the whole concept of Trustees managing versus overseeing the running of the bank. With his hand still raised, as if he were about to take an oath, he asked me to let him finish. A couple of deep breaths later I nodded in agreement and he continued. Without going into specifics he stated that he got the Trustee to admit that he (and the others on the committee) had made a mistake. They agreed that it was necessary to contact the man and to have him come to the bank to renegotiate his title and that, if he agreed to it, would be the same as both Bret and I, assistant secretary, with him being third in line as far as authority was concerned.

To me, even knowing that the new man would have to agree to the proposal was a small victory. At that point Bert asked if that was satisfactory. I hesitated before answering because it still seemed wrong that he would be making more money than Bret and I and would, to some degree, be reporting to me... so I spoke up. I was watching his face as I spoke my piece and it didn’t seem to upset him. I waited to see if he was going to say anything and I’m glad I did. He reached for the phone and called Gee, the Trustee/attorney that was chairman of the salary committee. I listened as he questioned him about when he was calling for the special salary committee meeting that had been agreed to. When Bert hung up he told me that it would be addressed by the end of the month. I didn’t have an answer but the fact that Gee was involved gave me some confidence that there would be a favorable solution.

By then it was close to 9am. Bert had his secretary contact Hobie and to instruct him to come on upstairs. Hearing that kind of put a damper on what I’d taken as a somewhat favorable solution. Hobie was rather solemn and, not knowing the details about his mother in law, I could only hope that was the reason. Bert went over the conversation he had with me and repeated that he would get the new guy in on Friday to renegotiate his position. Hobie never said a word. Then Bert told me I was free to go but Hobie remained. The one good thing was that other than being told I hadn’t handled the situation all that well there was no punishment. For that I was thankful but wondered how my relationship with Hobie and members of the Board would be in the future as I made my way back downstairs.

To be continued...