Posts tagged AA

Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are supposed to be a safe space , but not at the Boulder Alano Club.

Abuse Two homeless volunteers and hangers-on at this club target women and others, including me to harass. One of the men has a restraining order against him by a woman he assaulted. Both men have been arrested. What they do is wait for women or the elderly to come out of meetings and then target them for harassment. When anyone complains they are denied by the manager or Executive director.  This is the behavior of the classic alcoholic family, but it began when the club reinvented itself and moved to a new location in 2018.

Cheated out of money At one point after I had reported  abuse by homeless volunteers to Jame McFarland the manger he made a joke about it and then mentioned that I should renew my club dues  2 months early. Once he got my money , he threw me out of Boulder Alano Club for reporting crime.

Reports I reported all of these abuses  multiple times to Sheila Paxton the executive director and James McFarland the club manager but they refused to do anything. They both denied any of it….. Even with witnesses and testimony…When I reported the problems to them and to Paul Whittle the ops manager of the club, he not only only denied it, he embraced the problems. Numerous people have reported abuse and harassment to club management and in every case they did nothing.

Famed Boulder attorney Dennis Blewett said that these “people are incompetent to run a nonprofit charity lat alone an A.A.Club They have no idea how to run it. They should be trained social workers. But they have caused a mess. What they should have done is talked to the harassers. But instead they did nothing and then they hurt the people being victimized.”

Jann Scott I have been a reporter most of my life. An investigator, a snoop, talk show host.When I start snooping around, asking questions and reporting, not everybody’s happy. Some people some groups become downright hostile such as the NRA, the ku Klux Klan the characters in The JonBenet Ramsey case and certain gangsters.So when I started looking into the operations of the Boulder Alano Club just before its first anniversary imagine their surprise? Their management staff was infuriated and threatened to call the police and threw me out of their Club…When people have that kind of reaction to my investigations I know generally that I’m on the right track and they have something to hide.

Here’s what I found out so far. The Meadows shopping center who Leases the space to Boulder Alano Club is concerned about the level of crime, smoking, needle use, and homeless who hangout at the club and they warned the club…The club had criminal activity and people being harassed which I reported

The Meadows shopping center has already had a problem with homeless alcoholics and drug addicts and now they have a place to congregate during the day in cold weather. Boulder has few resources for that population. While homeless advocates may be happy about it some of the upscale shopping center neighbors  may not be and they’ve already started complaining.

Boulder Fire Marshal report that the club never registered with them. They had the space listed as vacant and not as a club. Fire Marshall found a host of violations which include fire extinguishers not managed, exit doors blocked, exit signs missing or broken no authorized occupancy capacity for various meeting rooms… The place is and was a firetrap waiting for a tragedy.

Boulder police report neighbor complaints about smoking, homeless addicts hanging out in front and back of the club.

Boulder District attorney told me he wants reports of abuse. The D.A.s office is especially concerned about elder abuse and abuse toward women. I am both older and disabled now and in recovery from surgeries so I have to be very careful about violent people who make a home out of places like Boulder Alano Club. What is shocking is that the club management itself targets the vulnerable.

Boulder County Health reports that the club holds event and serves food but does not monitor food temperatures and i’s a health concern such as their recent open stage night. The club also did not register with Boulder county health they had the facility listed as vacant.

Boulder criminal and civil rights attorney Dennis Blewett tells me that this non-profit charity operates like a private business, They’re breaking rules of nonprofits and breaking the rules of AA.

The club has a big celebration coming up in October and the fire marshal wants them to have a doorman and a counter to make sure that the facility is not overloaded with people. we shall see if they comply.

The board of directors all went into hiding since investigations began and removed their names from the website since they all have personal liability..

The Boulder fire marshal told me that” if there was a fire and a tragedy and someone injured trying to get out of the building that the club and board would be liable since they violated all of the fire Marshal’s code rules and laws.”

Meanwhile this club has pissed off a good portion of the AA community because they are selling art, running fundraisers, asking the public for donations and that the club is run by the rich for the rich and violates all of the AA traditions concerning individual self support

Some of the Young people in AA have started a boycott of the Boulder Alano Club because of its treatment of members. The club is actively recruiting them because they need their memberships to pay for the place but young people just don’t like it. They prefer downtown Church meetings at night. Where they all live and work.Boulder Alano Club is on the Eastern edge of Boulder in the suburbs and it exists for Rich ladies who lunch.

My spies on their board of directors tell me they are losing between 6 and $8,000 a month close to $80,000. a year. Though they have some rich benefactors most do not consider this a viable ethical AA Club.

Rule, Law and Tradition Violations They have consistently violated the anonymity tradition at the level of press. They had big stories in the Boulder Daily Camera featuring Sheila Paxton the ED. Paul Whittle a Boulder businessman wrote to me about his involvement with the club. Both dodged my questions and actually created lies to cover their tracks as did James McFarland their manager and janitor.

So now not only are people not joining this club, they have 141 members hardly enough to cover their costs, they need five or six hundred. They’ve created enough ill-will in the AA community that an exodus has begun. They’re  referred to as Boulder Alano Club Refugees

I suppose in some sense here I am a whistle blower besides being a reporter and journalist. The club has banned me which I’ll take as a badge of honor for not keeping their secrets and telling the truth.  They have warned people not to talk to me also a trust violation . They have even threatened me in a three page letter. All par for the course when I start digging around.

Attorney Denis Blewett said ” this club is a fascist state. It is not AA. It is a state run by the executive director and her board of yes men. but it is not AA. It is fascism and they need to change.