Complaint about Fallbrook Senior Center board seat prompts resignation

A new member of the board of directors for the nonprofit that operates the Fallbrook Senior Center has resigned after complaints that she was not old enough to serve on the board.

Robyn Dahlson, who is in her 30s, was appointed to the senior center's board of directors in April and had not yet met all the board members, board president Jack Schirner said.

But although at least one contender for the seat Dahlson was appointed to claimed that her selection violated the senior center's bylaws, Schirner maintained that is untrue and said the complaints about her were simply a case of "sour grapes." He also said the board had a good reason to select Dahlson: her experience with fundraising, which is something the senior center sorely needs, he said.

Dahlson, who was the owner of The Social Flower, a florist in Bonsall, until May, has worked with nonprofits before, according to Schirner, and has a documented history of working with the senior community. He was featured in the Village News in 2016 for partnering with Regency Assisted Living to create a "Valentines for Seniors" event.

Bob Stanley was one of three people who showed up to the senior center's board meeting March 11 as a contender to fill an open seat on the board.

Bob Stanley and his wife, Kate Myers, said they did not hear back on whether he got the position until he repeatedly emailed Schirner and received a response, March 31, that he had not been selected.

The email Schirner sent to Bob Stanley reads, in part: "You indeed are very qualified for the board position, and I know you would be a strong asset for the center. The other three candidates were also very qualified, and I had to choose the one that seemed to be better positioned to help us move toward a more aggressive stance regarding our future fundraising tactics. If I could have picked two, I would have also picked you. I hope that you will continue to support the senior center until I can find an appropriate position to utilize your many talents."

But Bob Stanley and Kate Myers were dismayed to learn that Dahlson was not old enough to be a senior center member. Her selection, they claimed, would be a violation of the senior center's bylaws.

"They never voted. There was no vote and then he put somebody on the board that is not a member of the senior center, not been a member for three months like you're supposed to be and not even qualified because she's 37 years old," Kate Myers said.

Bob Stanley said he was disappointed that a non-member was selected over him, but that he will "continue going to bingo and helping with other parts of Fallbrook." But he did call the senior center's board "fairly out of control" in its decision to make a selection that he thought violated the center's bylaws.

Schirner said there was a vote, but because the senior center had closed by that point due to coronavirus, it had to take place via email.

"There was absolutely a vote, but it couldn't take place in person," he said.

Schirner, for his part, also said the Stanleys are going off outdated bylaws. He said the senior center's board formed a committee of two board members and two regular senior center members in September to evaluate 22 separate proposed changes to the bylaws, including the requirement that all board members must have been senior center members more than three months, and over 50 years old.

"They recommended that we change that requirement," Schirner said. "We wanted to get a variety of new ideas, and the old rule said nobody under 50 years old can have any good ideas, and of course, we know that's not true, (so) the board said that we need some young professionals that are interested in senior concerns that can introduce some new ideas."

Separately, after that change and 14 other ones were made, the opening occurred on the senior center's nine-member board, Schirner said.

"I had three that were members that expressed interest in sitting on the board, and one that is not a member but is very talented that expressed interest in it also," Schirner said.

He said the three that were interviewed before the board in March were the existing members, and that he did not become aware of the non-member – Dahlson – until after that meeting.

"The fourth person had experience in fundraising which is something that we needed to do desperately this year," he said.

Schirner said while Dahlson did not appear before the whole board, he and another board member interviewed her before he made the decision to select her.

"I said unless somebody disagrees strongly, I'm going to select this person and I sent that out to all the board members. One said they don't like it, the rest were OK with it," Schirner said.

The senior center's bylaws, per a copy provided by Schirner, state: "vacancies on the board of directors must be filled promptly with a qualified member within (30) days by the president of the board of directors with at least five (5) votes of approval by the directors," and that consideration shall be given to anyone who previously ran for a board seat, but it also states that "an exception to the membership requirement may be granted by the board with a majority approval."

However, Schirner said Dahlson resigned recently after learning the Stanleys had reached out to Village News, which he called "a shame."

Reached for comment Monday, May 11, Dahlson said, "I was completely unaware of any transgressions that the board may or may not be causing, I was just excited to further donate and give of my time to a community that I already care so much about. At this time, I have chosen to resign because I feel like though I find no fault in what the board did in my election, perhaps learning more about the organization before becoming an elected official will be beneficial for all parties involved. And, just lastly, being on the board is not indicative of my level of service to this organization."

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].