Month: March 2024

• The County Commissioner behind the Mylan Park scheme attempts to justify having “brokered a deal” to move The Pride off campus.
• His statements conflict with official records.

Exclusive – a Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 5

(Editor’s note : This article was prepared prior to the March 25, 2024 announcement that WVU has scrapped its plan to move the Pride of West Virginia marching band practice facility to privately-owned Mylan Park. After several articles in this investigation were published – and as a result of significant donor and alumni outcry – the university administration found space on the WVU campus to build the promised, state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility. However, Vernissage Magazine believes that the information obtained in the development of this and upcoming articles in this series is in the public interest, as it sheds light on the activities of those involved in the Mylan Park scheme.)

It is the evening of October 20, 2023.

The annual Homecoming gathering of the West Virginia University Alumni Band is over.

The anger many alumni feel is not.

Band alum and Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom had chosen the venue to announce what he’d billed in advance as “exciting news.” He told the hundreds of alumni present that the promised Pride of West Virginia Marching Band Practice Facility – which for years they’ve worked hard to fund – will finally be built. But not on-campus. It will instead be built at a privately-owned recreation complex called Mylan Park, five miles from the WVU campus.

Alumni Band members played a significant role in raising the money for the Pride Practice Facility, which is entirely funded by private donations. Many were unhappy with Bloom’s announcement.

Immediately afterward, Sandy Sibray posted a comment on the Alumni Band social media site. “I made one of the earliest comments on the Alumni Band social site,” Sibray told Vernissage. “I wasn’t disrespectful. I simply said that I thought it was a poorly thought-out plan and we were not going to get the state-of-the-art level of facility we were promised.”

Within minutes, dozens of other alumni began posting comments on the Alumni Band social media page.

“I donated with a specific project in mind, and this is not it,” wrote Sara Boppe. “I feel like I’ve been taken for a ride.”

“Talk about bait and switch,” Joe Lint wrote. “I made a donation so that the band would have a location on campus. Moving the band off of WVU’s main campus is wrong.”

Many alumni began raising concerns over the impact that a distant, off-campus practice location might have on band members.

“This sounds,” said Nathan Burdette, “like a terrible idea. What about members who don’t have their own transportation and have class conflicts or late-ending classes?”

Band alum Justin Hicks agreed: “Mylan Park is an awful location. And why would this news be coming out at homecoming? Poor timing. Poor location.”

Sometime later, Sibray says, Bloom messaged her: “He said, ‘We need to talk.’ When I called him, he was accusatory. He said to me: ‘You caused a shitstorm.’ But the fact is, I feel like my donations were encouraged under false pretenses. My trust has been violated.”

 

Midnight Confession

Sometime before midnight on the night of October 20th, Bloom posted on the Alumni Band social media site, offering his explanations for facilitating the move of the Pride Practice Facility to Mylan Park. His message is copied here in its entirety, lightly edited for clarity:

“To try and answer some questions.

1) in reviewing the information. The Band would have to share the field [Hawley Field site] with several other sports programs.

2) parking was a serious problem.

3) the idea of collecting $8 million by next year, was not a reality.

4) it would have taken years to build when the urgency of the field was needed now and there was concerns about the overall cost and when this all would take place.

In the last 4 weeks, I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park for the following.

1) we would be guaranteed a new astroturf field (identical to the stadium) and we would be able to use it by next August.

2) we will have lights, (baseball field was not guaranteed to have lights).

3) I was approached by WVU band office about the possibility of Mylan Park.

4) my question concerning transportation was not a problem and they wanted it away from the Coliseum.

5) just because there was a field, did not mean we could use the field.

6) in discussions with the AD, it was a WVU field which means we did not have control of use of the field.

So, WVU Alumni Band officers were not involved until the last week. My concern was: how do we get a field as soon as possible with lights, at a reasonable cost that will benefit the band members and future members. The pavilion would have cost $1.8 million alone. The field would have been over $2.5 million. We got all this for $1.7 million and ready for next year. I hope this clears up some confusion.”

Many alumni, however, thought Bloom’s post created more confusion.

“The ‘answers’,” commented alumna Carrie Cronin, “just give me 45 more questions.”

 

Veracity of Statements Called into Question

Information in public records obtained by Vernissage Magazine conflicts with most of Bloom’s assertions.

Bloom alleges that the band would not have priority access to an on-campus facility: “…just because there was a field, did not mean we could use the field,” and “…it was a WVU field which means we did not have control of use of the field.” Both statements are disputed by university press announcements, numerous donor solicitations, and by WVU internal documents describing the facility as it was originally planned and funded.

WVU’s very first announcement of intent to build the Pride Practice Facility, dated Nov. 11, 2019, did note that the practice field was intended to be shared. But according to the statement, the Pride of West Virginia would have priority usage: “When the band is not practicing,” the announcement states, “the facility will be open to WVU Athletics and the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.”

WVU donor appeals and WVU websites stated explicitly that the Pride Practice Facility would be “a dedicated rehearsal space on the Evansdale Campus.”

The Pride’s director, Cheldon Williams, appeared with College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson in a lengthy interview posted on YouTube by the WVU Alumni Association, soliciting donations to the facility. In the video Williams says: “This new field will give these students a real sense of pride and give them sense of ownership in a place where they belong, and they belong specifically; and it’s only dedicated to them.”

Williams statements in the video contradict Bloom’s claim that that the band would not control use of the field: “We worked with Athletics, and they’ve given us that space,” Williams said, “we have a wonderful standing relationship with our Athletics Department.”

University documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine also confirm The Pride’s priority use of the field. WVU Procurement Services description of the planned Pride Practice Facility states: “The playing field will be multi-purpose and WVU Athletics will share use of the field when the marching band is not using it.”

Another of Bloom’s statements, “…we will have lights, (baseball field was not guaranteed to have lights),” is untrue.

In a WVU Facilities Management document, entitled, “RFP202190000265, Design services for a Practice Facility for the WVU Marching Band, known as the Pride of West Virginia”, Project Manager Scott Owens and Procurement Officer Harry Youdell wrote, “WVU has secured enough funds to construct Phase 1 of the project, which includes the practice field, with lights.”

In fact, the planned field location already has stadium lights; the procurement document notes that companies bidding on field construction, “should investigate the feasibility of reusing the current lights from the former Hawley Field baseball facility.”

A solicitation for contributions to the Hawley Field site, posted on the WVU Alumni Band social media page by the WVU College of Creative Arts communications office, encourages alumni to donate during a WVU Foundation fundraising drive. The solicitation’s description of Phase 1 of the project is specific: “The first phase includes… repositioning of the lights.”

Paradoxically, as more information about the Mylan Park scheme was revealed, Bloom eventually admitted that the field being built at Mylan Park will not have lights. “Lights,” Bloom confessed, “are in Phase 2. However, the field next to the new field will have lights, and will be used by the band if needed.”

‘Phase 2’ would require the band to raise additional funds to install Mylan Park lighting

“’Lighting won’t be there?’ commented one donor. “‘They can just use the other field next door for half the semester?’ It’s a ridiculous “solution’ to just say ‘use another field when it gets dark.’ That’s not an answer, that’s a band-aid that had maybe two seconds of thought put into it.”

In his October 20 post, Bloom also claimed building the promised on-campus field would cost more than the $1.25 million donors have contributed: “The field would have been over $2.5 million,” Bloom stated.

But the College of Communications solicitation referenced above shows a Phase 1 budget of $1,161,686.

WVU internal documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine also contradict Bloom’s assertion. Records show installation of the proposed on-campus field was estimated to cost less than half the amount Bloom claims: a total of $1.15 million, including lighting.

That $1.15 million estimate in WVU records is in line with current estimates obtained by Vernissage Magazine from sports planners and artificial turf companies. The Sports Venue Calculator estimates installation of a new artificial turf football field costs an average of $950,000, depending on the quality of the turf, local conditions, infill material and regional price differences.

WVU internal documents state that, “WVU intends to utilize FieldTurf brand synthetic turf to match WVU’s other existing fields.” FieldTurf Company is a chief provider of artificial turf football fields for major university and NFL stadiums. According to FieldTurf, the estimated average cost today of a new artificial turf football field is $770,000.

WVU internal documents show the total cost for all phases of the promised, on-campus Pride Practice Facility is just over $ 5.6 million; that’s nearly $2.5 million less than the $8 million figure Bloom claimed in his post to alumni and donors. Bloom has failed to provide substantiation or the source of his claim that the facility would cost $8 million.

WVU Project and Procurement managers Owens and Youdell stated that WVU already had enough money in hand to fully fund the promised on-campus field when their university procurement document was issued in March of 2021.

On March 5 of 2021, Dean Keith Jackson himself posted this notice to Alumni Band members following the WVU Foundation ‘Day of Giving’ fundraising drive:

“Thank you so much for showing up on Day of Giving and doing your part to make the Pride Practice Field a reality for our marching band! We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love you showed the band this week… What I can tell you with certainty is thanks to your support on Wednesday, we met the goal that was established by University leadership to hold a groundbreaking this fall. And that, my friends, is reason to celebrate.”

That ceremonial groundbreaking was held in October, 2021.

Vernissage Magazine contacted Owens and Youdell to ask why, after that groundbreaking, construction of the Pride Practice Facility never began. Both men refused to respond to the question.

Bloom’s statement that “transportation was not a problem,” baffled many alumni and current students of the Pride, who soon discovered that the university, in fact, has no plans to transport band students to Mylan Park.

A WVU Bands FAQ that replaced a university fundraising site for the Pride Practice Facility addresses the subject, ‘What plans are there for transportation for band members to the new facility?’ The section reads: “Recent band students and alumni are familiar with the culture of ride-sharing that exists….”

WVU administrators expect students to carpool to band practice at Mylan Park.

Freshman clarinet player Riley Wessman told the campus newspaper she is concerned about being able to get to and from the new facility. “I just want to know how transportation will work… because it’s been kind of hard getting rides.” Carpooling, Wessman said, often fails, so she generally walks to the band’s current practice site, which is on campus next to the WVU Coliseum. That won’t be an option when practices move to Mylan Park. “It’s more convenient to be by the Coliseum in my opinion. I feel like the money could have gone elsewhere.”

Former Pride members like Nathan Burdette believe requiring students to carpool will severely limit Pride membership: “Any notion that carpooling will get everyone there is ridiculous. This is maddening.  People will be shut out of the Pride if they don’t have financial means.”

 

“A Significant Number of Crashes…”

What most concerns many is the danger to more than 300 students who will be forced to drive the winding two-lane road to Mylan Park in late autumn darkness and inclement weather.

As long ago as 2012, an independent regional transportation assessment found Chaplin Hill Road – the primary route to Mylan Park – to be deficient, with an average daily traffic flow of more than 25,000 vehicles per day, far more than its capacity. The study concluded that the route to Mylan Park, even at that time, would be able to accommodate “very few additional vehicles” and that the route was “approaching gridlock.” The study listed Chaplin Hill as a “corridor with a significant number of crashes.” The road has not been upgraded since the study.

One year after that study, in late summer 2013, a motorcyclist was killed leaving Mylan Park on a rain-slickened Chaplin Hill Road. The driver lost control of his bike and swerved into oncoming traffic, crashing into a Dodge Neon. The driver of the Neon was injured. According to reports, several other accidents occurred that day.

In the winter of 2020, snow and ice – not uncommon during late-season band rehearsals – caused an 18-vehicle pileup on Chaplin Hill Road. County sheriffs and EMS responded, and traffic to Mylan Park was shut down for more than two hours.

Even after he “brokered a deal” to force more than 300 students to carpool to Mylan Park, Tom Bloom himself – in a statement stunningly in conflict with his assertion that ‘transportation was not a problem” – admitted the dangers of the route to the new rehearsal field. Two months after announcing the Mylan Park scheme, Bloom guested on a radio show to talk about a federal transportation grant. The host mentioned the critical need to improve Chaplin Hill Road: “With the facilities we have out there at Mylan Park… the big drawback has been, well, that road’s not good.”

Bloom acknowledged the road wasn’t good. Then he admitted that the dangerously inadequate route to Mylan Park had, in fact, cost the county an opportunity to host an Olympic qualifying event at the park: “That was our number one problem”, Bloom said, “when we were so close to getting the Olympic trials… because of the problems down there on Chaplin Hill Road.”

Contacted by Vernissage Magazine, Bloom and WVU officials refused to comment about the threat to the safety – or the liability to the university – of forcing hundreds of students to carpool four evenings a week over the admittedly dangerous and deficient road to Mylan Park.

Bloom’s allegation that parking for band members at the Hawley Field site is inadequate – “parking was a serious problem” – is also questionable. The intended site of the promised practice facility is adjacent to WVU Coliseum and the university soccer stadium. Parking is available for thousands of vehicles, along with parking for dozens more across the street at the university’s Creative Arts Center. In fact, the band currently practices on a portion of the Coliseum parking lot; moving to the originally planned site a few hundred yards away would free up roughly 120 new parking spots. That’s more than enough to accommodate band members driving to practice at the originally planned on-campus facility, especially since many students would be able to walk to practice from campus housing, or from the campus rapid transit station located across the street from the Hawley Field site.

Alumni Band officers themselves directly dispute Bloom’s claim that “WVU Alumni Band officers were not involved until the last week.” As controversy over the Mylan Park site continued to rage, Alumni Band officers released an official statement, saying, “The WVU Alumni Band was as surprised as everyone else when it was announced the Practice facility was to be moved to Mylan Park.”

Emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom – contrary to his assertion – never involved Alumni Band members in the Mylan Park decision.

In an October 25, 2023 email to Keith Jackson, WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias, and WVU Foundation staff member Jennifer Jordan, Bloom expresses frustration over alumni and donors outspokenly opposing the Mylan Park scheme: “I made it very clear when we had our initial meeting that the Alumni Band needed to be informed.”

The date of that ‘initial meeting’ between Bloom, Jackson, and Jordan directly contradicts another of Bloom’s assertions; that, “In the last 4 weeks, I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park…” Email records obtained by Vernissage Magazine reveal that initial meeting took place on August 22, 2023, three months before Bloom’s announcement to band alumni at Homecoming.

Vernissage Magazine reached out to Tom Bloom, asking for documentation of the assertions he made in his post giving hes reasons why the Pride Practice Facility cannot be built on the site that was promised to band members and to donors in university and WVU Foundation solicitations. Vernissage also offered Bloom the opportunity to comment on the contents of this article. Bloom failed to respond.

 

Accusations of Malfeasance

Immediately after Bloom’s late-night post on the Alumni Band site, comments began rolling in.

“I respect you, Tom,” wrote Dylan Johnson, “but no matter how this is being spun it is wrong.”

Ann Mayle agreed: “I’m sorry, Tom… How can anyone justify this obvious bait and switch?”

Some alumni questioned Bloom’s statement, “My concern was: how do we get a field as soon as possible…”

“Is there a reason,” asked Mike Cerpa, “this is suddenly so urgent?”

There were 162 comments on Tom Bloom’s late-night post. Bloom did not respond to a single comment.

More and more alumni took to posting on the Alumni Band social pages. Comments on the site grew angrier, and some became accusatory.

“This is an absolutely short-sighted and ignorant idea that reeks of typical Mon County politics,” wrote one Alumni Band member.

Wrote another. “It has Tom Bloom written all over it. Dude has spent the last decade working on Mylan Park. Of course, he would use his spot in the Alumni Band to steal funds for his pet project.”

Within a few hours, site moderator Jerry Clark shut off comments, and deleted many of the posts. “I think all but two of the posts about the field have been removed,” Clark wrote. “Name calling and accusing people of malfeasance, etc. will not be tolerated.”

Members who wanted to continue discussion about the practice facility were directed to a private chatroom.

It would be another four days before anyone else involved in the Mylan Park scheme attempted a statement. Once again, the statement would raise far more questions than it answered.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article: 

• The Dean of the College of Creative Arts gives his reasons why the marching band practice facility that donors funded can’t be built on-campus.
• Documents reveal every one of the Dean’s reasons is dubious.

Download a PDF of this Article: Pride and Prevarication – Part 5 – Answers Raise More Questions

 

Pride and Prevarication – Part 5 – Answers Raise More Questions © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

 

• WVU Cancels Mylan Park Plan
• The Pride of West Virginia Practice Facility will be built on the WVU campus

Exclusive – a Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Breaking News

The Pride of West Virginia Marching Band Practice Facility was originally intended to be built on the West Virginia University Evansdale Campus, specifically, on the site of Hawley Field, the university’s former baseball stadium. Donors contributed $1.25 million toward construction; enough money, the university announced in 2021, to build the facility’s first phase, which consisted of an artificial turf practice field, stadium lights, and a band director viewing tower.

But last year, on October 20, 2023, WVU announced that instead of the location explicitly promised to contributors, the Pride’s money would be used to build a field for band members to practice on at privately-owned Mylan Park, five miles off-campus.

Angry donors accused the university of bait-and-switch. Over the last five months, Vernissage Magazine has been investigating why and how the Mylan Park plan came about.

To date, six articles have appeared, including four articles in the current series of investigative articles.

After the most recent article, “Whose Field Is It?” was published on March 25, WVU  announced it will build the Pride Practice Facility on-campus, as originally promised.

YOU CAN READ THE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCEMENT HERE.

 

• Mylan Park Director says “With the dollars the Pride has raised, we could install another field.”
• “We will go from one multi-purpose field to two multi-purpose fields,” Mylan Park official declares after the deal is cut: “It’s a game-changer for us.”

Exclusive – a Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 4

There is a turf war in West Virginia. An artificial turf war.

In the summer of 2023, Mylan Park was in danger of losing.

Mylan Park bills itself, ‘West Virginia’s Premiere Recreation, Sport, Social, Health and Wellness Complex.’ The local convention and visitors bureau boasts that the Mylan Park is a “recreational crown jewel.”

Youth and amateur sports are big business; it’s a $19.2 billion dollar industry grown steadily over the last two decades, pumping millions into the economies of host sites. Communities across West Virginia are building complexes to lure athletic events.

To stay ahead of competition, like Wheeling’s new Highlands Sport Complex, The Bridges in Bridgeport, and Charleston’s Shawnee Sports Complex, Mylan Park officials planned upgrades.

The Mylan Park Foundation’s goal is for their SportsPlex complex to attract playoffs and other major regional sporting events.

But the Mylan Park Foundation board had a problem: They couldn’t find a way to pay for a second artificial turf multi-purpose field. And to compete at that highest-level, Mylan Park needs one.

Then, last year, Mercer County, W.Va. announced the development of its own Ridges SportPlex. The Ridges complex will dwarf Mylan Park. It will, developers boast, “draw elite tournaments and tourists from all over.”

On August 6, 2023, West Virginia’s legislature approved a special tax district to fund the Ridges SportsPlex. The legislative summary notes that the $100 million Ridges project includes two multipurpose artificial turf football fields.

 

A Secret Deal for a Field

Emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Vernissage Magazine show that two weeks after that vote, Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom met with WVU’s Dean Keith Jackson and College of Creative Arts Director of Development Jennifer Jordan, who is on the staff of WVU Foundation’s University Development office, to discuss moving the location of WVU’s promised Pride of West Virginia marching band practice facility.

On August 28, 2023, Mylan Park board members, WVU administrators, and Monongalia County Commissioners gathered in an unannounced meeting. Records obtained by Vernissage Magazine show they discussed taking approximately $1.25 million in private donations – specifically solicited to build the WVU marching band a state-of-the-art on-campus practice facility – and use those funds to build a new artificial turf field at Mylan Park. In an email written that same day – obtained by Vernissage through the Freedom of Information Act – County Commission President Tom Bloom writes, “All of this was done behind-closed-doors.”

Few individuals involved in the Mylan Park scheme have publicly commented. Those who have – like WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindy Roth and County Commission President Tom Bloom – have made statements that directly conflict with WVU documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine. Bloom and Roth have repeatedly claimed that their respective organizations played no role moving the band’s field to Mylan Park. Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show otherwise. Other university records reveal that the reasons given to the public and the media by Bloom, Roth, and Jackson for not building the Pride Practice Facility on-campus, as promised in donor solicitations, are dubious.

Many donors call the use of their contributions at Mylan Park a “bait-and-switch” scheme. They wonder if they’ve been scammed, their donations diverted only to build Mylan Park its long-planned, multipurpose artificial turf football field.

Examination of public records and documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act suggests those claims may be valid.

 

No Justice for the Band

Prior to the announcement of the Pride Practice Facility’s move, the state of West Virginia gave the Mylan Park Foundation $3.5 million to improve its athletic complex. The grant provided funds to install artificial turf on baseball diamonds, but did not include money for the foundation’s desired second artificial turf football field.

The president of the Mylan Park Foundation, Ron Justice, appeared on a local talk show to discuss that grant. While Justice is President of Mylan Park’s Board of Directors, he is employed as West Virginia University’s Director of Local Government Relations. Records obtained by Vernissage Magazine show Justice was among those who participated in the behind-closed-doors August meeting in which using the Pride’s funds at Mylan Park was discussed..

The talk show host asked if those in charge of Mylan Park had other plans upcoming. Justice responded by noting the importance of Mylan Park having another artificial turf field, and he said: “We’re also seeing another opportunity, and I can’t let the cat out of the bag too quick, but to potentially realize that additional field in the near future.”

That ‘opportunity’, Justice added, would put Mylan Park: “On par with anything else in the state.”

One week later, WVU announced that the Pride of West Virginia’s Practice Facility funds would be used to build an artificial turf field at Mylan Park.

After that announcement, with donors expressing anger over the scheme, another Mylan Park Foundation board member took to the air to try to quell controversy. Like Ron Justice, board member Susan Riddle wears two hats. While she sits on the Mylan Park board of directors, she is also President and CEO of the local Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau. Riddle was billed as being on the radio show to talk about, “a partnership with the WVU Marching Band and a new facility at the park.”

But in a meandering interview, Riddle spoke little about the Pride of West Virginia, and a lot about Mylan Park getting a new artificial turf multi-purpose field.

 

Riddle Me This: Whose Field is it?

“Mylan Park’s always been an opportunistic group,” Riddle said. “We’re quite creative thinkers.”

Mylan Park, Riddle said in her interview, is, “a major, major tourism driver… from a tourism perspective this ( new artificial turf field) is another opportunity.”

Through use of the Pride of West Virginia’s money, Riddle boasted, “We will go from one multipurpose field to two multipurpose fields. It’s a gamechanger for us.”

Riddle claimed Mylan Park was approached about moving the band field: “Like, hey, you know, I know you’ve been trying to put another field in.”

When, weeks earlier, Ron Justice was interviewed about park upgrades, he said: “I have to give a lot of kudos to Susan Riddle and her staff.” He then added: “Certainly we’ve had the support of the County Commission.”

Riddle does not say who approached Mylan Park about using the marching band’s practice facility funds. Bloom has admitted to “brokering” the deal. According to the organization’s website, County Commissioner Tom Bloom holds a seat on Susan Riddle’s Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors.

The records obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that Bloom was also in the August 28, 2023 behind-closed-doors meeting when county commissioners met with Justice and other Mylan Park board members. In those records, Bloom states that he “brought up the idea about the band field being out at Mylan.” He also says, “Ron (Justice) and I came up with a proposal that everyone thought would be a good idea.”

But the announcement of the plan to use The Pride’s $1.25 million in private donations at Mylan Park misfired. Many donors expressed outrage over the redirection of contributions from their intended use.

In an October 25, 2023, email to WVU’s Keith Jackson, obtained by Vernissage Magazine, Bloom expresses anger about burgeoning donor displeasure over the redirection of their contributions. He accuses WVU of public relations missteps. In the email he points out that Riddle went “on the radio promoting the project” in an attempt to boost support for the Mylan plan..

Under the heading, ‘Concern of Band Field,’ Bloom writes to Jackson: “We have an obligation to Mylan Park.”

Many alumni and donors wonder what happened to the obligation they believe that the university and the WVU Foundation have to The Pride of West Virginia marching band, whose members were promised the on-campus, state-of-the-art practice facility for which contributions were solicited.

“People feel they’re being lied to,” wrote one angry donor in an alumni chatroom.

“Bells and Whistles…”

As donors learned more information about the planned field at Mylan Park, the less it sounded to them like their money is being used for a legitimate band practice facility.

For instance, they learned that the field at Mylan Park will not be built with lights.

Confronted in a band alumni chatroom, Tom Bloom wrote: “To answer the question about lights, they are in Phase 2. However, the field next to the new field will have lights and will be used if needed by the band.”

For Phase 2 the band is expected to come up with additional contributions.

Bloom’s statement has donors wondering: if Mylan Park truly is building a real practice field for the Pride, why would the marching band have to move to a different field when autumn darkness falls early during rehearsals?

“We’re being told,” an upset donor commented, “that Mylan Park won’t have lighting until Phase 2. Which is an indefinite timeline. And now the plan is to use a completely separate field when they need lights.  How is this, in any way, close to the original plan?”

Contrary to Bloom’s claim that stadium lights were not included in Phase 1 of the Pride Practice Facility plan, West Virginia University records show that lighting was incorporated in the first phase of the project as it was presented to donors.

WVU’s 2021 ‘Request for Proposals’ for the on-campus WVU Marching Band Practice Facility, reads: “WVU has secured enough funds to construct Phase 1 of the project, which includes the practice field, with lights and band tower. The band tower will be relocated from its current location.”

Yet, Riddle – in her attempt to talk up the Mylan Park project on the radio – tried to paint The Pride getting only a field as a ‘win’ for the band: “(It’s) a field,” she said, “that they’ve been trying to secure for some time. And they don’t have to wait till they raise all the money. They can begin the project with what they have raised so far. And it’ll be done probably in phases, because, you know, the cost of a field with lights, without lights, you know, those kinds of bells and whistles keep adding additional things, whether it’s relocating the actual (director’s) tower that they use now for their practices, or building additional storage onto it, whatever…”

Riddle addressed donor assertions of misappropriation of their contributions to benefit Mylan Park: “In today’s world,” she said, “people want to criticize when something doesn’t go exactly the way they might envision it.”

Many alumni who contributed to build an on-campus, state-of-the-art Pride Practice Facility are incensed.

“It seems like they are just throwing shit against the wall and hoping that it will stick,” wrote alumni Shaun Moyers. “Seems shady as hell.”

 

 A Field for High School Tournaments

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine suggest the Mylan Park Foundation may have never intended to build the Pride of West Virginia a true college marching band practice facility.

From August through October, Mylan Park officials worked with WVU administrators, County Commissioner Tom Bloom, and a staff member of the WVU Foundation on plans for the Mylan Park artificial turf field.

Mylan Park officials sent field schematics to WVU’s Keith Jackson. But there was a problem. Director of Bands Scott Tobias sent an email to Bloom and Mylan Park board members Ron Justice, Mark Nesselroad, and Leah Summers: “Keith shared the sample plans with me,” Tobias wrote. “In the drawing of the football field, high school hashes are shown… we would need NCAA college hashes on the field.”

In the Alumni Band chat, one concerned donor wrote what many band alumni fear: “This is a Mylan Park field that the band can use. Which is a lot different from a WVU Band facility…  we just donated money to save Mylan Park from having to pay for a project they already planned.”

During Susan Riddle’s talk show appearance, the host noted: “It’s going to be a full-size football field for the band to practice on. But you can’t practice 24-7, 365 days a year… that’s going to be another field that’s available in the park.”

Riddle agreed, stating: “Honestly, we would not be able to pull the trigger on this additional multi-purpose field If it wasn’t for the band. We’ve been talking about it for several years and we just have not been able to make it happen… It’s really, truly a gamechanger for us.”

“This feels less like a partnership and more like the alumni and donors funding a Mylan Park athletic field,” commented an angry donor. “This is no longer a matter of changing location, it’s a fraudulent reallocation of donors’ money.”

Susan Riddle and Tom Bloom did not respond to Vernissage Magazine questions or requests for comments on the content of this article.

WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth and other WVU Foundation officers also refused to answer questions from Vernissage. A WVU Foundation spokesperson responded: “No Foundation officers or employees were involved in the discussions… regarding the WVU Marching Band Practice Facility moving from the planned Hawley Field location. Upon being informed in October 2023 of the potential relocation of the facility, and the subsequent concerns expressed by donors, the Foundation requested our University colleagues provide further context regarding the decision. Further questions about the location of the practice facility should be directed to the University.”

Ron Justice, Keith Jackson, Scott Tobias and other WVU employees, through a university spokesperson, declined to answer questions or comment on the content of this article.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

• County Commissioner Tom Bloom attempts a late-night explanation of the Mylan Park scheme.
• Donors and alumni: “The answers just raised more questions…”

Download a PDF of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 4 – Whose Field Is It

 

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 4 – Whose Field Is it? © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

 

 

• WVU’s Director of Bands calls students who complain about the move to Mylan Park, “An embarrassment to their school and their state.”
• WVU Dean says the idea of considering student opinion is “Delusional.”

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 3

Members of the West Virginia University marching band – known as the Pride of West Virginia – have been awaiting a promised new Pride Practice Facility for years.

Their hopes were dashed during Homecoming Week in October of 2023. That’s when band members were told money donated for the project will instead be used to build an artificial turf multi-purpose field at Mylan Park, a privately-owned complex that serves as a community recreation center.

The announcement took band members and alumni by surprise. Over the last four years some 4,000 alumni and friends of the Pride have donated about $1.25 million to The Pride Practice Facility fund. University and WVU Foundation solicitations for the for donations were clear: The Pride Practice Facility would be built on the Evansdale Campus site of Hawley Field, the former WVU baseball stadium, which the WVU Athletic Department gave to the band for its new facility.

But in the Homecoming Week announcement, band members and alumni were told that, instead of the state-of-the-art complex depicted in numerous donor solicitations, starting next fall the band will practice on an athletic field being built with their donated funds at Mylan Park.

Mylan Park is five miles away from the WVU campus. There are no arrangements for transporting band members to the practice site.

 

Band Members Had Concerns

When students and alumni asked how members of the Pride are expected to get to Mylan Park, WVU’s Band Office released a statement: “…students and alumni are familiar with the culture of ride-sharing.”

The more than 300 members of The Pride of West Virginia are expected to carpool to band practice.

Some band members balked.

At WVU, being in the marching band is a for-credit college class. Students pay fees to march in the Pride. A state resident pays about $790 a semester for two credit hours; non-residents pay about $1,900.

What other class, Pride members asked, requires students to carpool off campus to attend? Others wondered: How will the need to leave campus early to get to Mylan Park in WVU’s extended college town rush hours affect students who must take late-afternoon classes required by their majors?

Within days of the announcement, WVU’s student newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum, ran an article about the plan to move the Pride’s practices to Mylan Park. Band members were interviewed, many saying they were worried about the effects distance and lack of transportation may have on the Pride’s future.

Freshman clarinet player Riley Wessman told the newspaper she is concerned about getting to and from the new facility. “I just want to know how transportation will work,” she told the paper, “because it’s been kind of hard getting rides.” Rachel said: “It’s more convenient to be by the Coliseum in my opinion.”

Another Pride member said they were worried about the added time it would take to get to the new location, especially given heavy afternoon traffic: “Between 12 to four is absolutely horrible, so I feel like people are going to have to plan to leave earlier.”

On social media Pride senior Hannah Neiman said, “I have heard from a few underclassmen saying they are unlikely to return because of the new location.”

As more details about the Mylan Park site emerged, the newspaper published a second article, featuring concerns of alumni and donors.

But suddenly, students were no longer outspoken.

 

Silencing The Pride

At the next home football game, alumna donor Alicia Mazon asked some Pride band members their opinions, but the students told her they were no longer permitted speak publicly about the Mylan Park plan. “I was told by current band members that they have been told not to speak out,” Alicia said.

Contacted by Vernissage Magazine, Neiman confirmed that band section leaders had been instructed to contact her fellow instrumentalists and tell them not to speak out negatively about the Mylan Park plan. “Apparently, section leaders were told to tell everyone not to talk to the media,” she said,. “I wonder if (the band office) knew the general feelings from the band (that members are) unhappy about the location.”

Another individual  -a high school band director- was told by a former student who is now a Pride member that they and their fellow students were being told to not speak out about the Mylan Park site.

“Silencing the current band members was such a concern of mine,” alumna Krista Baumgardner-Tetrick wrote in a donor chatroom. “I cannot express my sorrow and disheartenment that this concern has proven true.”

In a letter to WVU Dean of Creative Arts Keith Jackson, an alumni donor – whose name is redacted from the document provided by the WVU Freedom of Information office to Vernissage Magazine – complained about the mistreatment of students who openly expressed concerns about the Mylan Park plan. The writer is a high school music teacher who says that they have, “sent many students (to WVU) for their Music Education degrees.” The writer goes on to say: “I don’t like hearing that the students – my students – were told they were an embarrassment to their school or state by their Director of Bands.”

While the university employee who reportedly mistreated students is not named in the document, WVU’s Director of Bands is Scott Tobias, who reports to Jackson. Tobias and Jackson refused to respond to questions from Vernissage Magazine.

Some university instructors who learned of the belittling and silencing of students were angered:  “The band staff should want to know and care what the students think,” wrote one WVU professor, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of administrative repercussions. “A few of my advisees are in the band. Students should be allowed to voice their concerns and opinions, because it is they who will be affected.”

Another source on the WVU campus said, “Quite literally every current member I’ve personally spoken to about the new field wishes to stay on the current (practice) lot if Mylan Park is the other proposed option.” But, he told Vernissage Magazine, band members have been threatened into silence: “It was implied that some kind of adverse action would be taken against them if they were to speak out.”

“When they started rebuking the band students,” Sibray said, “I knew something was really wrong.”

 

Student Opinion Derided

In other documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine, WVU administrators exhibit disdain for the opinions of marching band students.

In late October of 2023, alumna Taylor Hall had a lengthy chat exchange with Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom, who documents show helped facilitate the scheme to divert the Pride Practice Facility funds. During their chat, Hall suggested polling band member opinions about the Mylan Park move: “I would love to see a vote of the band members,” she wrote.

The documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that Bloom sent a transcript of his chat with Hall to WVU Dean Keith Jackson. Jackson’s response is derisive: “Student vote? Wow, she is delusional.”

In response, Bloom told Jackson that Hall and other alumni expressing concerns about the Mylan Park scheme, are “instigators” and “entitled Karens”.

Vernissage Magazine contacted Hall, now married with the last name Kinney, to ask her thoughts about the comments of Bloom and Jackson: “Their remarks are so childish. The fact that they don’t realize that what they’re saying could become public knowledge is amazing to me, especially given their public positions. This isn’t about us,” Kinney said. “This is about current students and future band members. They’re the ones who are affected. I think the fact that they refuse to take student perspective into account is terrible.”

 

“We never want to censor a person’s right to free speech…”

If any student members of the Pride of West Virginia marching band were forbidden from speaking out, it would constitute a violation of West Virginia state law, and of the rules of the West Virginia University Board of Governors. West Virginia code explicitly protects free speech on state college campuses:

“Any person who wishes to engage in protected and lawful expressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely… activities protected under… this code include, but are not limited to, any lawful verbal and nonverbal speech.” [WV Senate Bill 657]

The law provides recourse to students whose rights are violated, noting: “Any person or student association aggrieved by a violation of this article may bring an action against the public institution of higher education and its employees acting in their official capacities, responsible for the violation…”

In addition to state law, the West Virginia University Board of Governors Rule 1.8 – Freedom of Expression, states:

“The West Virginia University Board of Governors acknowledges a First Amendment right of free speech and assembly and encourages open dialogue…”

Student members of the Pride of West Virginia have the protected right to freely express opinions about the proposed marching band practice facility. Their right is confirmed by West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, who is on record in a 2016 address to the “Mountaineer Family” of alumni, students, and faculty:

“We never want to censor a person’s right to free speech. It is through listening to people who think differently from others that we learn…  I believe that is one of the most valuable experiences one can have on a college campus…The University will always be committed to creating an open forum that supports free speech.”

To many alumni and donors, the enforced silence of students spoke loudly:

“If you have to threaten people to keep quiet,” wrote alumni Zach Bloom (no relation to Tom Bloom), “your idea probably sucks. That alone should be enough to fire a few people.”

 

Band Members Fear Retribution

In preparation for this article Vernissage Magazine reached out to band members. Most did not respond. One student who did told Vernissage that “the band office wasn’t happy” that some students had spoken to journalists: “I know the donor response to the (Mylan Park) move wasn’t the greatest, and I can understand not wanting to be negative as it could feed into those concerns.”

That student told Vernissage they believe that while a field at Mylan Park isn’t ideal, a practice field for the Pride is long overdue, “There’re pros and cons,” the student said.

But after the first two articles in this series appeared the student contacted Vernissage and asked to have their name removed from this article; they feared retribution from university administrators.

“I don’t want my name to be out there,” they said. “I just don’t want any backlash from the band office. I feel it’s better to be safe than sorry. ”

Even though the band member’s opinion about the Mylan Park field was largely neutral, they were afraid of reprisals from band administrators for speaking out: “I don’t want to be in hot water with them.”

Yet another student, who previously told Vernissage they had personal knowledge of band members being silenced through section leaders, changed their story in a follow-up interview. The student declined to confirm their original comments, denied having knowledge of the issue, and asked that their name not be used in this article.

Contacted by Vernissage Magazine, College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson, and Director of Bands Scott Tobias – through a university spokesperson – refused to answer questions or to comment on the content of this article.

Vernissage Magazine submitted questions to WVU administrators, asking about the ethical and legal implications of university students being silenced or berated. A WVU spokesperson responded for the administration, saying: “We have no comment currently.”

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

• In the fall of 2023, Mylan Park’s president claims: “We’re seeing an opportunity to build an additional athletic field, but I can’t let the cat out of the bag too soon…”
• While a  Mylan Park board director boasts: “With the dollars the Pride has raised, we could install another field.”

Download a PDF copy of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 3 – Students Silenced and Shamed

 

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 3 – Students Shamed and Silenced © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

• WVU Foundation VP questions the use of donor funds at Mylan Park.
• County Commissioner Tom Bloom calls concerned donors, “Entitled Karens.”

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 2

West Virginia University administrators, Monongalia County Commissioners, and a WVU Foundation staff member conspired to divert approximately $1.25 million in donations to build an artificial turf football field at the privately-owned recreation facility Mylan Park. Those contributions were solicited explicitly for construction of an on-campus practice facility for WVU’s ‘Pride of West Virginia’ marching band.

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal the machinations leading to the move were initiated in August of 2023 by Dean of WVU’s College of Creative Arts Keith Jackson, WVU Foundation Creative Arts Director of Development Jennifer Jordan, and County Commission President Tom Bloom, who is a marching band alumnus.

The scheme remained undisclosed for months. During that time, the College of Creative Arts and the WVU Foundation continued soliciting donations for the originally planned facility, promising that it would be built on WVU’s Evansdale campus.

The arrangement with Mylan Park was first announced on October 19, 2023 to Pride of West Virginia band members, who were told during their evening band practice that starting in 2024 they will rehearse at Mylan Park.

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that it took all of thirty-seven minutes for fallout from that announcement to begin.

At 5:37 pm on October 19, under the heading ‘High Importance’, WVU Foundation Associate Vice President Jessica Lunken – apparently unaware of the impending announcement of the Mylan Park scheme – fired off an email to Dean Jackson and WVU Foundation Creative Arts Development Director Jordan. The bold and italicized emphasis in the following is Lunken’s own, as written in the original:

“I am just learning about the new partnership regarding the Pride Facility and its announcement today at 5pm…

My most immediate concern is how are the donors who gave to the previously proposed space (which “broke ground” on October 23, 2021) and are learning about this new partnership with Mylan (going to feel)?

Were those donors contacted in advance? If not, what is the plan? I want to understand (the) plans or proposed plans as to how these donors to the previous Facility will be addressed… I want to make sure… that it doesn’t backfire.”

Lunken’s concern is valid.

In an analysis of the proper use of donor funds, the Foundation Group – a nationwide organization that assists non-profits adhere to legal compliance – notes:

“If a situation arises that is serious enough to necessitate re-purposing of restricted funds (meaning funds donated for a specific purpose), it is necessary to obtain permission from the original donor(s)… That is the only legal way to use the money for purposes other than the original restriction.”

Vernissage Magazine asked WVU Foundation CEO Cindi Roth why, once the plan to use the Pride Practice Facility Fund at Mylan Park became public, donors to the band’s Pride Practice Facility Fund were not notified and asked permission for the use of their contributions at Mylan Park? Roth refused to respond to the question.

On October 20, 2023 County Commission President Tom Bloom took to the podium to publicly announce the Mylan Park move at the WVU Alumni Band organization’s Homecoming gathering. It started a firestorm.

Bloom, a former Pride of West Virginia drummer, had been promoting “exciting news” upcoming at the event on the group’s social media site. But upon hearing the news, many Alumni Band members were upset.

 

The “Bait and Switch”

Marching band alumni played a significant role in raising contributions for the Pride Practice Facility, which is entirely funded by private donations. Many contend their donations were solicited with the promise that the facility would be built on-campus. Numerous solicitations – as the WVU Foundation’s Lunken noted in her email – stated explicitly that the Pride Practice Facility would be constructed on the Evansdale Campus site of WVU’s former baseball stadium, Hawley Field.

Many alumni and donors criticized Bloom’s announcement. They called using their donations to build a football field at Mylan Park – a privately-owned recreational complex which serves as a community athletic center – a “bait-and-switch” scheme.

“This is not the project that I donated to,” wrote Mark Dean in an Alumni Band chat, “I’m a bit miffed at the bait-and-switch. I find it suspect that a county commissioner brokered a “deal” for alumni-donated money to go toward a county project…”

 

Bloom’s subsequent attempts to explain his actions on the Alumni Band social media site met with such anger that the group’s administrator deleted the initial comment threads.

“I think all but two of the posts about the field have been removed,” wrote site administrator Jerry Clark. “Name calling and accusing people of malfeasance will not be tolerated.”

But the conflagration continued in a private alumni chat room. Donors accused Bloom, the university, and the WVU Foundation of betraying both the intent of their donations and The Pride of West Virginia.

The next day, Saturday, October 21, WVU’s Keith Jackson emailed Bloom. Under the heading ‘Regroup’ Jackson wrote: “Sorry you are getting beat up over this.”

In response, Bloom admitted to “losing his cool” with some who questioned the legality of using the band’s donations at Mylan Park: “…as soon as they throw out legal action,” he wrote, “I get mad.”

 

Calling in the Big Dogs

A day later, October 22, 2023,  Jackson emailed Bloom again: “I just wrote to Maryanne, Kreider, Cindi Roth, and BJ Davisson. Looking to get the biggest dogs together for guidance.”

Records reveal that within days of the Mylan Park announcement some alumni began contacting the WVU Foundation, asking for their money back.

One donor, whose name was redacted by WVU’s Freedom of Information office, wrote: “This significant change in the project’s location feels inconsistent with the initial proposal and vision that was communicated to donors. To many, including me, this feels like a bait and switch…”

Another wrote: “I feel like we’ve been duped. You promised the band a facility on campus and all your requests for money were for that facility.”

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show the WVU Foundation and the university circling wagons after the Mylan Park announcement, crafting statements to fend off allegations of fraud and deceptive practices.

In response to donor complaints, WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth claimed: “The Foundation played no role in the decision to locate the practice facility at any particular location.”

WVU Foundation representative Andrea Hasley sent an email to Foundation Executive VP and Chief Development Officer BJ Davisson – another of the ‘biggest dogs’ that Jackson sought to engage for public relations assistance – and to Jennifer Jordan, the WVU Foundation Development Director who helped initiate the scheme to divert Pride donor funds to Mylan Park: “Just got off the phone with [name redacted],” Hasley writes. “I ‘beta tested’ some of the talking points and he was quite receptive… “

When asked, the WVU Foundation refused to share those talking points with Vernissage Magazine.

As recently as late December, the WVU Foundation was responding to media inquiries about the Mylan Park plan with the official statement, “None of the Foundation’s fundraising activities have been conducted under false pretenses.”

But documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that, contrary to the WVU Foundation claims,  the WVU Foundation’s  College of Creative Arts Development Director Jennifer Jordan was directly involved in the scheme to use the Foundation’s Pride Practice Facility donated funds at Mylan Park long before the move was publicly announced. The WVU Foundation directory lists Jordan as a WVU Foundation staff member in its University Development office. Documents also show also that at least two other WVU Foundation staff members were aware of and involved in the scheme to divert private contributions to Mylan Park before the scheme was announced.

 

“They Are Entitled Karens…”

Many donors continued challenging what they considered misuse of their contributions. Discussions raged in private chatrooms. Bloom, a member of the Alumni Band, accessed and monitored the chatter, engaging some concerned members. As the conflagration continued, he emailed WVU’s Jackson: “I wanted to copy my private conversation with Taylor Hall. Since she is making up anything she can to stop this project.”

Taylor Hall is a Morgantown resident and alumna of the Pride of West Virginia marching band. She donated to the Pride Practice Facility fund.

In a lengthy exchange, Hall said to Bloom, “There are serious legal issues with this… a lot of people feel like they were lied to and deceived, myself among them.”

Bloom told Hall: “The Pride is paying for the new (Mylan Park) field… you can complain all you want.”

Bloom then emailed a copy of the entire chat to Jackson, writing: “Most of the complainers… believe they gave for a …(band) field… located on the Evansdale campus.”

Bloom makes a recommendation:

“My suggestion is to look at several of the major instigators and look how much money they actually gave.”

Then, Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom writes of donors who complain about the misuse of their donations to the promised on-campus Pride Practice Facility: “They are entitled Karens.“

Jackson replies:. “We are finding the same traits and instigators. We have been tracking the giving  records… the complainers are all in the smaller category.”

Jackson then tells Bloom, “We had been in discussion with major donors since our first meeting with you.” That first meeting was in August of 2023.

Yet, for months after August, WVU’s College of Creative Arts website continued soliciting donations for the originally-planned Pride Practice Facility, stating the facility would be, “dedicated rehearsal space on the Evansdale Campus.” The web page was illustrated with eight architectural renderings of the proposed state-of-the-art facility, all of which depict the complex located on the Evansdale Campus.

A button marked, ‘Make a Gift Now’ linked directly to the WVU Foundation, where donations were accepted. That WVU web page was still active the week after the University announced that contributions would instead be used to build a multi-purpose field at Mylan Park.

According to records obtained by Vernissage Magazine, around 4,000 donors contributed to the Pride Practice Facility Fund, many with the understanding that their donations would be used to build the band a practice facility on the Evansdale Campus.

Most were not ‘major donors.’

 

“An Enormous Level of Arrogance.”

“Why should that matter?” asked Taylor Hall – now married with the last name of Kinney – when contacted by Vernissage Magazine. Vernissage asked Kinney’s thoughts about Jackson and Bloom critiquing the size of contributions made by those opposed to the Mylan Park plan. “Thousands of people from across all generations and walks of life gave what they could to support the Pride,” she said. “It’s ludicrous. We may be smaller donors; but everyone who donated should be respected.”

Many donors were like the individual who sent the following email to Jackson after learning of the Mylan Park plan. The donor’s name was redacted by the WVU Freedom of Information Office. But the sentiment is clear:

“My brother and I donated in honor of my dad. We were assured of (The Pride Practice Facility) being on the Evansdale Campus, and had pictures of what it would look like. It wasn’t a ton of money, but what we could comfortably do…”

Another donor wrote:

“I forked over more than $500 over several years looking forward to the day (that the Pride of West Virginia Practice Facility) became a reality. I am disappointed and disheartened…”

Vernissage Magazine asked Keith Jackson and Tom Bloom why the size of a donor’s contribution should make a difference in the value of their opinion. Both Jackson and Bloom refused to respond to the question.

Contacted by Vernissage, former band member Sandy Sibray said: “I gave what I could afford. That’s what all of us did. That makes me a lesser person? What level of donation do I need to make before I’m considered a worthy alumna?” she asked. “The WVU Foundation isn’t shy about sending me requests for contributions, but apparently that’s not good enough for Keith Jackson. He’s diminishing the gifts of thousands of alumni. Which tells me he doesn’t care about us. That’s an enormous level of arrogance.”

Vernissage Magazine asked WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth why, once the scheme to use restricted Pride Practice Facility funds at Mylan Park became public, donors were not – as IRS regulations appear to require – notified of the diversion of their contributions and given the option of agreeing to use of their donations at Mylan Park or requesting a refund. Roth refused to respond to the question.

Employees of West Virginia University, through a university spokesperson, refused to answer questions for this article, or to comment on its content.

Tom Bloom did not respond to questions for this article, or to an offer comment on its content.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

• WVU’s Director of Bands calls band members who share concerns about the Mylan Park practice site complain, “an embarrassment to their school.”
• Students of the Pride of West Virginia are forbidden from speaking out… which is a direct violation of state law.

Download a PDF of this article: Pride and Prevarication Part 2 – Mylan Park Announcement Misfires

 

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 2 – Mylan Announcement Misfires © 2024 by Vernissage LLC – John D McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

• Monongalia County Commissioners held an unscheduled “behind closed doors” meeting with WVU officials, Mylan Park board members in August of 2023.
• WVU Foundation staff member was involved in the Mylan Park scheme months before it was announced.

Exclusive:  A Vernissage Magazine Investigation – Part 1

Monongalia County Commissioners held an unannounced meeting on August 28, 2023, in which commissioners discussed diverting about $1.25 million in private contributions – donated to build WVU’s Pride of West Virginia marching band an on-campus practice facility – and using that money instead to build an artificial turf field at Mylan Park.

WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker and WVU Director of Local Government Relations Ron Justice participated in the meeting. Baker, Justice, and County Commissioner Sean Sikora all sit on the Mylan Park Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal the Mylan Park plan was initiated in August of 2023 by College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson, Creative Arts Director of Development Jennifer Jordan – who is on the staff of the WVU Foundation’s University Development department – and County Commission President Tom Bloom.

Bloom, Jackson, and Jordan arranged a meeting to discuss the Pride Practice Facility’s future on August 22. The meeting was scheduled – at Bloom’s suggestion – at a restaurant franchised by Mylan Park Board Member Clifford Sutherland.

That discussion culminated in the October announcement that WVU’s planned state-of-the-art practice facility – originally slated for the Evansdale campus – will instead consist of an artificial turf multi-purpose field at Mylan Park, a privately-owned recreational complex nearly five miles from the WVU campus.

Emails obtained by Vernissage Magazine tell an entirely different story from the public statements made by County Commissioner Tom Bloom and by WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth since the Mylan Park announcement was made. Despite repeated public denials, records show that Monongalia County commissioners and a staff member of the WVU Foundation actively participated in the scheme to assist Mylan Park gain use of the band’s donated money to build an artificial turf field that the Mylan Park Foundation board has long wanted, but previously been unable to fund.

 

A Long-Promised Dream Derailed

Many alumni and donors contend the use of their funds at Mylan Park breaks explicit promises made in solicitations by WVU and the WVU Foundation that their contributions would be used to build the Pride Practice Facility on WVU’s Evansdale Campus.

Alumni and friends of the WVU marching Band – The Pride of West Virginia – have been raising money since 2019 for a practice facility on the WVU Campus. WVU’s Athletic Department gave the band the site of the former baseball stadium, Hawley Field on which to build the facility. In March of 2021 the university issued a request for proposals to begin construction. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held that October.

Yet during band practice on the evening of October 19, 2023, members of the marching band were told their long-awaited practice facility would not be built on-campus after all; starting the fall of this year, the band will instead practice on a multi-purpose field to be built at Mylan Park.

One day later, on October 20, County Commission President Tom Bloom announced the Mylan Park plan to members of WVU’s Alumni Band during that group’s Homecoming gathering.

Bloom, a former Pride of West Virginia drummer, had posted on the organization’s social media site that alumni should expect “some exciting news” during the annual event.

But many alumni were not excited about the new plan.

Members of the Alumni Band played a significant role in raising money for the Pride Practice Facility, which is funded entirely by private donations. Some 4000 contributors have given about $1.25 million to the project. Many contend their donations were solicited with the explicit promise that the facility would be built on the Evansdale Campus’ Hawley Field site.

Numerous alumni criticized Bloom’s announcement. They called use of their donations at Mylan Park – which serves as a county recreation center – a “bait-and-switch” scheme. Some angrily confronted Bloom.

Hours later, Bloom posted on the Alumni Band social page attempting, as he put it, “to try and answer some questions” about the Mylan Park move and his involvement in it.

“I was approached by WVU band office,” Bloom wrote. “In the last 4 weeks, I brokered a deal with WVU and Mylan Park.”

Later, in an online alumni chatroom, donors complained they could not get satisfactory answers from university administrators as to why the practice facility would not be built on campus, as donor solicitations promised. Contributor Aaron Dean asked Bloom: “Your initial post said you were the one to broker the deal. As an elected official… should we not be able to ask these questions to you or the Monongalia County Commission?”

Tom Bloom responded: “County Commission was never involved.”

Donor Sandy Sibray says Bloom told her the same when she spoke with him on the telephone after the announcement: “I asked him on the phone, “Are you involved as a County Commissioner?” And he told me, “The County Commission is in no way involved in this.”

 

Closed Doors and Conflicting Interests

In numerous public statements since the announcement, Tom Bloom has insisted he acted as only a ‘broker’ or go-between, not as a Monongalia County Commissioner. He has repeatedly claimed the Monongalia County Commission was not involved in the Mylan Park decision.

But documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act contradict Bloom’s statements.

In his initial August email to Bloom, WVU Dean Keith Jackson wrote: “Wondering if we can get together… would like to float an idea by you as County Commissioner.”

Bloom and Jackson met August 22. At Bloom’s suggestion, they had lunch at the Green Turtle, a restaurant franchised by Mylan Park Foundation board director Clifford Sutherland through a limited-liability corporation. The restaurant is in a business development that is also co-owned by Sutherland.

The next week, on Monday, August 28, Bloom emailed Jackson. Under the subject heading ‘Have a compromise,’ Bloom wrote:

“I met today with Wren Baker, Ron Justice, and the County Commissioners. We discussed several issues and I brought up an idea about the band field being out at Mylan. Please call me… Ron and I came up with an idea that everyone thought would be a good proposal. I am excited to talk with you. All of this was done behind closed doors.”

According to public records on file with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker, WVU Director of Local Government Relations Ron Justice, and Monongalia County Commissioner Sean Sikora all sit on the board of directors of the Mylan Park Foundation. Ron Justice is currently President of the Mylan Park Foundation board.

There are no records of an August 28 County Commission meeting on file in the Monongalia County Courthouse. Mondays are not advertised commission meeting days.

During the Reports from County Commissioners portion of the commission’s scheduled August 30 meeting, all three county commissioners briefly noted having met with the WVU Athletics Department. All fail to mention that directors of the Mylan Park Foundation or a WVU Administration official attended the meeting.

Sean Sikora, who is both a county commissioner and Mylan Park board member, reported simply, “Monday we had a meeting with the Athletic Department.” Commissioner Jeffrey Arnett reported only, “We participated with the Athletic Department in a meeting.” County Commission President Tom Bloom stated: “We did meet with WVU Athletics to discuss some future issues; and hopefully we’ll be getting back to discuss those issues.” Bloom then went on to report that earlier that week he had performed with the WVU Alumni Band at a local picnic.

The West Virginia Ethics Commission has determined that a quorum of county commissioners may meet outside of official session only so long as they do not begin deliberating toward a decision that would require official action. Otherwise, the meeting may be held to be illegal.

 

Donors Be Damned – The WVU Foundation Connection

After Tom Bloom’s attempt to explain his role in the Mylan Park move, dozens of band alumni replied angrily.

“How can anyone justify this obvious bait and switch?” Ann Mayle asked on the Alumni Band social site.

“You and every official who put this bait-and-switch together were wrong. We sold this idea to thousands of people who donated for the original plan,” Dylan Johnson wrote to Bloom, “This is disgusting.”

Mylan Park has long wanted a new artificial turf field but has not been able to finance one. After the announcement that the marching band’s funds will be used at the park, another Mylan Park Foundation director, Susan Riddle, said in a live radio interview, “We would not be able to pull the trigger on this additional multi-purpose field If it wasn’t for the band’s interest in doing so. We’ve been talking about it for several years and we just have not been able to make it happen.”

Many alumni, like Eric Kendall, questioned whether the Mylan Park scheme constituted a misuse of funds: “I’m genuinely curious how this doesn’t go against IRS regulations regarding restricted use of donor funds. We were told this would be for a specific facility at a specific location, and gave by specifically designating funds for that purpose.”

Many donors contend their donations to the Pride Practice Facility were “restricted use” contributions. Meaning, under IRS rules, the funds can be used only for the exact purpose for which they were solicited. They believe that their contributions were solicited explicitly for a practice facility on the Evansdale Campus, and using those funds at Mylan Park is, if not illegal, certainly unethical.

Wrote Heather Armentrout Dyer: “Having worked with nonprofit executives on fundraising campaigns for years, this absolutely was handled wrong.”

WVU’s own announcement of the diversion of donor funds to Mylan Park also quotes Riddle, who, in addition to sitting on Mylan Park’s Board of Directors, is also president and CEO of the local Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau. “For several years, Mylan Park has planned to build an additional (artificial) turf field.” Riddle states that using the Pride of West Virginia’s money to install that field will, “serve to further support the greater Morgantown area as a tourism destination.”

According to the organization’s website, Tom Bloom holds a seat on the Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors.

“Would this be misappropriation of funds?” asked Kristen Smith in the alumni chat. “Taking funds for a specific project and putting them towards something else.”

Faced with increasing criticism, the WVU Foundation, which is legally responsible for proper stewardship of the band’s donated funds, issued an official statement:

“On behalf of the WVU College of Creative Arts, the Foundation commenced fundraising efforts to support the construction of a much-needed practice facility for the WVU Marching Band approximately four years ago. At that time, the Foundation was informed by WVU that the facility would be constructed at the former WVU baseball complex known as ‘Hawley Field’, and the Foundation conducted its fundraising efforts accordingly. Recently, we were informed that WVU has determined to construct its practice facility at a location other than Hawley Field.”

On November 3, 2023, WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth wrote in a letter responding to a Vernissage Magazine inquiry about the use of the Pride’s monies at Mylan Park, “The Foundation played no role in the decision to locate the practice facility at any particular location.”

Records, obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the Freedom of Information Act, conflict with those statements.

Emails show that a staff member of the WVU Foundation’s University Development office was involved in the scheme to use Pride Practice Facility funds at Mylan Park as early as the summer of 2023.

The documents also show that the WVU Foundation continued soliciting contributions for an on-campus practice facility even as that staff member was involved in the design and planning of an artificial turf field to be built Mylan Park with those donations.

In his August 9 email scheduling a meeting with County Commission President Tom Bloom, College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson wrote: “I would be including (in our meeting) Director of Development, Jennifer Jordan.”

Jennifer Jordan oversees funding for the College of Creative Arts, which includes The Pride of West Virginia marching band. Jordan is listed in the WVU Foundation staff directory as a Director of Development in the WVU Foundation’s University Development office.

Documents obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that Jordan was involved through the autumn of 2023 in assisting Mylan Park with planning construction of an artificial turf field to be financed with the Pride of West Virginia’s donor funds. Jordan was invited to attend the August 22 meeting with Bloom and Jackson. Jordan was also part of ongoing planning discussions with Mylan Park board members Ron Justice, Mark Nesselroad, and Leah Summers, as well as Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom.

In an October 3 email, Bloom includes Jordan as a primary addressee in a discussion about drone videos of the Mylan Park field location, and how the videos could be used to solicit additional donor contributions: “My purpose is to show where the new… field will be situated,” Bloom writes, “a different perspective for fundraising.”

In another email, WVU Director of Bands Scott Tobias engages in discussion with Bloom and Mylan Park board members about the band’s practice requirements:

“I’ve attached a document with information about facility needs,” Tobias writes.

Bloom then requests, “Could you put Jennifer in this email.”

Dean Keith Jackson links Jordan into the discussion: “Looping in Jennifer,” he writes.

The planning discussion continues, with WVU Foundation staffer Jennifer Jordan included.

At about the same time, the WVU Foundation sent Jackson another email. It’s a copy of a donor solicitation being released in his name. The solicitation reads:

“Almost 4000 donors have invested more than $1 million dollars towards building a home for the WVU Marching Band. The Pride of WV appreciates your support as we work to raise another $5 million dollars…”

The pitch is followed by a link directing donors to the WVU’s Pride Practice Facility fund. That website, linked to the Foundation for contributions, explicitly stated that contributions would go toward an on-campus Pride Practice Facility, even though University Development’s Jordan was at the time actively working to use those gifts to benefit Mylan Park.

The emails obtained by Vernissage Magazine show that, contrary to Roth’s assertions, other WVU Foundation staff members were also involved in the Mylan Park plan prior to its announcement. Among those who documents show were aware of the scheme prior to its announcement are WVU Foundation Director of Communications and Marketing Garret Cullen and Communications Specialist Cassie Rice.

Confronted with complaints about the possible misuse of donor funds, WVU Foundation President and CEO Cindi Roth has consistently claimed that the Foundation “played no role” in the Pride Practice Facility’s funds being used at Mylan Park.

The Foundation has repeatedly told media representatives inquiring about the Pride Practice Facility: “None of the Foundation’s fundraising activities have been conducted under false pretenses.”

In response to questions submitted by Vernissage Magazine about Jordan’s involvement in the Mylan Park scheme, a WVU Foundation spokesperson replied: “No Foundation officers or employees were involved in the discussions from summer to late autumn 2023 regarding the WVU Marching Band Practice Facility moving from the planned Hawley Field location.”

In the case of Jordan, that assertion rests on a technicality: Jordan was hired by the WVU College of Creative Arts, rather than the WVU Foundation. However. Jordan’s name, photo, and contact information are listed in the WVU Foundation staff directory, alongside 22 other staff members of the Foundation’s University Development department who direct funding efforts for university divisions through the WVU Foundation.

Garrett Cullen and Cassie Rice are listed as staff members of the Foundation’s Communications and Donor Engagement department in that same directory. According to a WVU Foundation email obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Cullen and Rice were involved in planning communications initiatives prior to the Mylan Park announcement. “There was a question,” a WVU Foundation VP wrote to Jordan, “about whether announcing the (band’s) Macy’s Parade funding opportunity should be mentioned alongside (the Mylan Park announcement). I know that Garret and Cassie were contacted earlier…”

WVU Foundation President and CEO Roth refused to answer Vernissage Magazine’s question asking why donors to the Pride Practice Facility Fund have never been officially notified about – or their permission sought for – the redirected use of their contributions, as IRS regulations appear to require. Roth, and other WVU Foundation officers, also refused to answer the question of how building a multi-purpose athletic field for the benefit of the Mylan Park Foundation could be considered a legal and ethical use of funds that were explicitly solicited for a Pride Practice Facility on the WVU campus.

University Development Director Jennifer Jordan failed to respond to questions from Vernissage Magazine, or to the opportunity to comment on the content of this article.

Roth and other officers of the WVU Foundation have declined to explain how it could be possible that Jordan, Cullen, and Rice should be involved in the Mylan Park scheme prior its announcement, while other Foundation officers supposedly remained unaware. The WVU Foundation also failed to respond to the question of how, if true, that kind of disconnect within the Foundation might affect donor confidence in whether Foundation officers have the capacity to properly maintain fiduciary responsibility for donor contributions, or the WVU Foundation’s $2.8 billion in assets.

The WVU Foundation statement to Vernissage Magazine concludes: “Upon being informed in October 2023 of the potential relocation of the facility, and the subsequent concerns expressed by donors, the Foundation requested our University colleagues provide further context regarding the decision. Further questions about the location of the practice facility should be directed to the University.”

Through a university spokesperson, Jackson, Justice, Baker, and a number of other WVU employees declined to answer questions or to comment on the content of this article. Specifically, Dean Keith Jackson refused to respond to questions asking why he initiated the scheme to move the Pride Practice Facility off the WVU campus, where numerous solicitations promised it would be built, or why he first contacted County Commission President Tom Bloom.

Tom Bloom failed to respond to a list of questions from Vernissage Magazine, or to take the opportunity of an offer to comment on the content of this article.

In the next Vernissage Magazine article:

• The Mylan Park announcement backfires. Keith Jackson urges calling in “big PR guns.”
• County Commission President Tom Bloom calls constituents who complain about the redirection of their donations, “entitled Karens.” 

DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE: Pride and Prevarication Part 1 – The Secret Deal

The Pride and Prevarication – Part 1 – The Secret Deal © 2024 by Vernissage, LLC – John D. McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

• Why Vernissage Magazine chose to investigate

Preview to an Exclusive Vernissage Magazine Investigation

It is a glorious fall Saturday.

Breathe the crisp, clean air. Walk across hillsides of walnut and hickory that wave luminous gold leaves against brilliant blue sky, as if to beckon the gathering throng of fans.

The fans, too, are adorned in gold and blue, lured by the siren call of tradition. The stadium atmosphere shivers in anticipation.

Listen: the distant drums grow nearer. A hush falls over the crowd.

Suddenly, as if shot from a musket, hundreds of musicians burst onto the field, racing 220 beats per minute; more than three steps every second. Abruptly, they halt. Fifteen-score instruments sound in fanfare.

Sixty-thousand fans roar in unison. Their emotion is palpable.

“I cry when they come out,” says Sandra Huck. “So much pride!”

“It always puts a lump in my throat,” adds Rita Christopher-Close.

 

Fall Saturdays may revolve around football, but at West Virginia University the marching band is revered.

“Best university band in all of America,” says Del Phillips.

The Pride of West Virginia.

A sports announcer called them that during the 1975 Peach Bowl. The name stuck. Nearly fifty years later, The Pride firmly remains a symbol of everything West Virginians believe their state exemplifies: nose-to-the-grindstone, blue-collar ethic, and dedication.

Consider this: The Pride of West Virginia has been marching since 1901.

The John Phillips Sousa Foundation presented The Pride with its highest honor, an award the Los Angeles Times calls, ‘The Heisman Trophy of the collegiate band world.’ It recognizes The Pride for decades of excellence, to the point that WVU’s marching band has ‘made outstanding contributions to the American way of life,’ by setting an example for other bands around the country.

Today, Pride alumni direct the marching bands of other major universities, including Auburn, South Carolina, and Cincinnati. The director of the University of Alabama marching band started out as a Pride saxophonist.

WVU fan Patti Rose firmly believes The Pride of West Virginia is, “Absolutely, without a doubt, the best college band in the nation.”

But The Pride’s practice facilities don’t stack up.

Many university bands have on-campus complexes with dedicated practice fields, and rehearsal and storage areas.

The Pride of West Virginia has had to practice on the basketball arena parking lot.

So, friends of The Pride, including the WVU Alumni Band, decided that if the university wouldn’t pay to build The Pride a dedicated practice space, they would raise the money for one.

“The whole point is the band deserves a good facility on campus,” says alumni Brian Roberts.

Plans for the Pride Practice Facility included an artificial-turf replica of the stadium football field with stadium lights for autumn evening practices, a tower for the band director to oversee drills, climate-controlled storage building, and a covered music rehearsal pavilion. This state-of-the-art facility would put The Pride on equal-footing with other big university bands.

Fundraising began about four years ago. The WVU Foundation – the university non-profit charged with collecting and safeguarding donations – created a special fund designated solely for the Pride’s promised on-campus Practice Facility, and started soliciting contributions.

WVU’s Athletic Department chipped in, giving The Pride the site of Hawley Field, the former university baseball stadium, on which to build the practice complex. It’s located on the Evansdale Campus, just a couple hundred yards from the band’s current parking lot practice site.

An architectural firm was hired to develop a site plan and facility renderings

In just four years, the band raised over $1.25 million, all of it from private donors.

By March of 2021, enough money had been raised for WVU to issue a request for construction bids. In October of that year, WVU held a ceremonial groundbreaking on the Evansdale Campus.

And then… nothing.

Until late October, 2023… when it was announced that The Pride would not get its on-campus practice facility after all. The band’s donated funds would be used to build a football field for them to practice on at a privately-owned recreation center five miles away from campus The Pride will practice on it… but it will also be rented out for the benefit of the park.

Donors called it a bait-and switch. Unethical. Quite possibly illegal. But the University and the WVU Foundation – despite being legally obligated to safeguard contributions – are determined to follow through with the scheme to divert donor funds to benefit a private entity.

Now, 123 years of tradition and a beloved Mountain State icon is endangered.

Nothing about moving The Pride of West Virginia off-campus made sense. What few explanations university administrators provided just didn’t seem to add up.

That’s when Vernissage Magazine decided to look into the issue. The result is a continuing series of articles, which we have titled, The Pride and Prevarication.

The articles that will follow in the coming weeks are the product of more than four months of investigation. Information presented is based on public records on file at the university, local, state, and federal levels; open social media posts and chatroom communications; commercial media and organization press releases; audio, video, and other digitally-recorded material; internal West Virginia University documents; and email communications of WVU employees obtained by Vernissage Magazine through the use of the Freedom of Information Act.

In the Next Vernissage Magazine Article:

• • If a picture is worth a thousand words, these photographs speak volumes. A look at what donors were promised when they contributed to build The Pride a state-of-the-art practice facility, and where their money is going.

DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ARTICLE:  Preview – Fanfare for the Uncommon Band

 

The Pride and Prevarication – A Vernissage Magazine Investigation © 2024 by John McPherson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0