Washington – The American Red Cross was warned years before Hurricane Katrina hit to resolve its internal disputes or risk a repeat of snafus that plagued the Sept. 11, 2001, relief effort, according to internal documents made public by a Senate panel Monday.
Thousands of pages of Red Cross e-mail, corporate documents and whistle-blower complaints paint a picture of an organization whose mammoth structure contributed to the charity’s uneven response to Katrina.
In an Oct. 29, 2001, e-mail, board member Bill George warned Red Cross chairman David McLaughlin to resolve the group’s disputes. At the time, the nation’s largest charity was reeling from chief executive Bernadine Healy’s resignation amid charges it had mismanaged Sept. 11 donations.
“The worst thing we could do is to gloss over the split on the board, make some superficial changes in governance and see the whole scenario repeated three or four years from now,” the Medtronic Inc. executive wrote.
“I do not think the board can continue kidding itself that it wants a strong leader and then not giving that person the authority to lead,” he said. Four years later, the group’s next CEO, Marsha Evans, would resign in the aftermath of Katrina, citing board friction.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, calling for immediate changes, warned the Red Cross board Monday that “‘business as usual’ cannot continue.” He said the documents raise questions about the Red Cross’ ability to keep close watch on billions of dollars in donations.
“This type of culture, a culture that discourages people from coming forward, management that does not want to hear the bad news and is more concerned about good press than good results, is a theme that I am hearing too often,” said Grassley, who, as Finance Committee chairman, oversees charitable organizations.
The Red Cross said it would fully cooperate with the committee’s review.
