UPDATE: March 27th, 2013    I have been notified by Network Solutions that Gayle Newcomb has attempted to take (steal, in my opinion), the following domain names: ladiesofwin.org, ladiesofwin.com, womensinnovationnetwork.org, and womensinnovationnetwork.com. These domain names were purchased prior to the creation of the WIN organization, and paid for out of my husband and my personal funds, via our own private account with Network Solutions. Neither WIN nor Valerie Beck nor Gayle Newcomb nor any other individual has ever paid me for any of these domains, and they have always remained on the private account with Network Solutions owned by my husband and I. Network Solutions rightly cancelled the attempt to transfer (steal, in my opinion) the domains which belong to me into anyone else's account, because all four domains clearly are my own personal property. The domains belong to Erica Thomas (myself) and DaShan Thomas. The only way, in my opinion, that the domains could be transferred would be via theft of the domains or theft of our identities. Identity theft is illegal, and these two are not Erica Thomas or DaShan Thomas. This is still the United States of America, and, in my opinion, stealing from individuals and members is wrong. I would like to also make this small request: that Valerie Beck and Gayle Newcomb please stop what in my opinion appears to be attempts at humiliating themselves and let this go. This has been an update (3/27/13): Network Solutions has DENIED Gayle Newcomb's attempt to take (steal, in my opinion) my personal property. Click Here for the evidence>> -Erica Thomas Co-Founding Director Valerie Beck says her email was "compromised"? When will the lies stop? Very Pathetic. For the truth Click Here>>    Posted: March 9th, 2013 You can find further information in the following links: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/transaction_detail_by_account.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/profit&loss_jan_through_dec_2012.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/profit&loss_january_2013.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/Finances.pdf And for a break down of some of my own contributions to the organization prior to today: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/graphics_and_tech_crimson2win.PDF    Hello Friends, Today at 4:30 pm I was summoned to an emergency telephone board meeting with Valerie Beck and her Mom. There was one agenda item: Due to "irreconcilable differences" which she did not explain or describe I was to be voted out of the Women's Innovation Network, which I founded with Valerie a year and a half ago. Some time ago, when registering with the State of Illinois, Valerie Beck found she needed a third person on the board so she "temporarily" listed her Mom, and today the two of them voted to have me removed. I understand that how Valerie Beck went about voting me out of the organization was not legal, at least in the opinion of those who have phoned me. However, I don't think there's much that can be done about it, now that her mind is made up. I've also been warned not to relay any of this information forward, but I am an honest person and a whistleblower at heart, and I can't change that. I believe people have a right to know these things. We have always said that WIN was to be transparent. This is transparency. Some of you are probably shocked by this kangaroo court, and others may believe I should have seen this coming. Either way, I just wanted to reach out to you once more to let you know what has happened here: I believe you have a right to know. What are the irreconcilable differences? I don't really know, exactly. I asked Valerie Beck for specifics, but she did not share them during the call. I do know that in recent months, when I have disagreed with some of Valerie's decisions regarding the running of WIN (elimination of WIN special events, refusal to adjust Committee Meetings so that Suburban members can attend, deletion of the WIN merchant processing account without a replacement, failure to address constant overdrafts and NSF charges), I have not been able to persuade her. In the end, I recommended that the way to deal with our disagreements was to address the real problem: No organization should be run by a two-person board. Although Valerie's Mother is a board member, in so much as she voted to eliminate me, she has never attended a previous board meeting, and has never participated in a previous vote. Then again, we almost never vote. Valerie has stated that any member is allowed to attend board meetings, but I find many are surprised to discover that they occur every month before Spa & Cupcakes. My suggestion was that we invite other leaders in WIN to become board members, so that we could actually vote on decisions that affect WIN, and so that the membership could have a real voice in the organization. Perhaps we could even finally have elections! Neither Valerie nor her mother were much moved by this. Instead they just voted to have me removed. The call was taped. As a member of the organization, you have a perfect right to hear it, and Valerie does have a copy. There were also two other witnesses on the call as well. There may be another reason that these "irreconcilable differences" were so irreconcilable to Valerie. Recently, in light of the behavior I have seen from Valerie lately, and the realization that the WIN bank account appears to spend  the majority of the year in overdraft, I have begun taking a closer look at the WIN finances. We do not have a treasurer at WIN - Valerie and I both run businesses, and I figured I knew how to balance my own accounts and she does too, and my trust in her led me to accept the documents she provided regarding any of her expenditures. WIN does have a book keeper - the same one Valerie uses for her own business. You may have noticed that Valerie has complained quite frequently of late that she has poured too much money into this organization. By her bookkeeper's numbers, that amount is $4,027.21. I poured through the numbers, and found one suspicious entry that Valerie counts as a donation, but appears to be the cost of her hotel room during a summer retreat and another amount that included the cost of 5 people's dinner - two of those people were my husband and myself, and he paid for both of our own dinners. Subtracting those two amounts from the amount she claims to have paid WIN, the result is $3,300.30.    Then I took a look at some of WIN's expenses, and found many things that in my opinion WIN really shouldn't be paying for. I don't know if these are meant to be repayments of Valerie's investment into the organization, or if she finds it justifiable for WIN to pay $943.17 to hotels in Miami during a vacation she describes as a WIN retreat, but which no other WIN members attend other than herself and her mother. I counted up the items listed in our account as repayment of Valerie's donations, and added in the items that by no logic should be covered by WIN in my opinion ($1,118.20 for Southwest Airline tickets in a month where we did not even have any out of town events planned; payments to my company for work I did for her company, which she told me would be listed as debt repayment to her for donations she had made previously, etc), and found that they totaled up to $5,305.17. If Chicago Chocolate Tours has donated $3,300.30 and been repaid $5,305.17, then that means the debt repayment has been overpaid by $2,004.87. If this is not the case, then those items in question need to be identified and explained as to their relevance to WIN operations.   If this is the case, then Valerie was repaid in full by 6/30/2012, and the overpayment of debt began by $500.00 that same day. WIN members are entrepreneurs, building dreams and fostering our economy - the dues they pay to this organization should not be used as anyone's second purse. I've been warned by very good people not to include many of those specifics in this email. I realize that it puts me in a dangerous position. I was on the board while these things were happening, I may be liable myself for any misappropriation of funds. I had no idea that this was going on until very recently, but it would probably be wiser for me to keep quiet about it for my own sake. However, I am very worried about the WIN members who continue to pay their hard earned dollars every month, or every year, only to possibly have it squandered. It may be better for me legally, under the gaze of the IRS for instance, not to say any of this. But it is better for my conscience to tell it all and be a whistleblower, so that's what I'm doing. I have all the documentation that she has brought to board meetings previously. Please feel free to call or email if you'd like me to email anything. Since I'm going, I guess I'll mention one other disagreement Valerie and I had - perhaps this is part of those irreconcilable differences. At the last summer retreat, the hotel staff at the Herrington Inn treated my husband deplorably, in a way that was plainly and inarguably racist in my opinion. I detailed the treatment to Valerie, who expressed horror and joined me in contacting the management. When the response from the management was tepid at best (suggesting that next time my husband planned to visit, that he call the manager first, to make sure this didn't happen again, which is hardly the way to ensure that this never occurs to anyone else), I wrote to the hotel to express my disappointment. In 2012 or 2013, it is horrible to think that an African American has to call a hotel first before arriving to make sure that the staff will not treat them with discrimination. Valerie contacted me and suggested that they should have offered me a coupon or some money, and I said that I wasn't really interested in that, I just wanted to make my complaint with the hotel that someone on a WIN retreat would be treated this way. Valerie suddenly stated that although I was her friend, the Herrington were her friends, too, and she did not want to get in the middle of it. The hotel emailed to say that they did not want to discuss the matter further. Valerie then proceeded to plan the next summer retreat at the same hotel. When I objected, she said I should come up with alternatives. When I did, she said that we had no time to pick anything else, and perhaps we could consider an alternate location next year for summer 2014. I had no voice in the decision whatsoever. If you're wondering why you haven't seen my husband at any WIN events since this summer, that's it - why would any sane man show loyalty to an organization that refused to back him up when he was mistreated at an organization's event?    This is a very long email now, and I know we are all very busy people, so I don't want to keep you too much longer. But I would like to address one last thought: Two years ago I walked away from NAWBO with Valerie Beck to form WIN. When we left, Valerie was being attacked in the press, via email, and in person, by people who called her tyrannical, a dictator, erratic and worse. I defended her with all the energy I could muster, as did my now-husband DaShan Thomas. Valerie was a bridesmaid at our wedding. I stood by her, and threw myself entirely into that defense, and into the building of this new vision of innovation inclusion and inspiration - that we both had. My husband designed the WIN logo, together he and I built and updated the site together, and Valerie and I talked and emailed and texted as we planned this new utopia of women's business. I considered Valerie one of my very best friends - and I don't take that title of friend lightly. Most of my friends are from one of two circles - people I have known for over a decade and speak to every day, and people I have known since high school and speak with every week. I think friendship is one of the most important human ties. Lots and lots of people warned me along the way about Valerie, and I thought they were horrible for it. Many of them are horrible - I still do not think Valerie's treatment at NAWBO was just. I still believe everything I said then. I am proud of the stand I took there.  I don't agree with the practice they used to oust her, or their behavior in doing so, or in any of the other problems that came to light during that time. But at least they are now free of Valerie Beck. Given her behavior recently - refusing to allow disagreement with any of her leadership decisions, going so far as to "fire" me when she declared me difficult - I must say that if she wasn't a tyrant before she is becoming one now in my opinion. To every other passionate defender out there in WIN membership I say: be careful. In fact, to every other WIN member I say the same: be careful. You may think if you approached the same situation sweetly, nicely and kindly, you might get a different result. Think again, that was my approach, that was me. Be careful. If she did it to me, despite my dedication to the organization, despite all that I built for WIN, which was everything, despite my dedication to our friendship, she can and may do it to anyone. It does not matter how much time you put into the organization, or how much you build. I cannot tell you how often I have been mistaken for a paid worker for WIN, given how much time I have put into this organization, but it didn't matter for me, and it won't matter for you. It doesn't matter how bad an idea is, if she is for it - she will sprinkle glitter on it and insist it shines, and if you disagree she will do the same thing to you that she has done to each of us that has disagreed with her. I am the 5th WIN Founder Valerie has had eliminated from the organization. None of the other founding members of the board remain, except Valerie. I'm very glad that the very last event that I ran within the organization was the WIN Black History Month Innovation Panel, and that it was a success. I'm proud of that event, and I'm proud of how well it went, despite Valerie's repeated insistence that we cancel. Just know this: in my opinion, if I & my husband did not go to the bank at 6am on the day of the event to pull out $260 to pay the university, the event would not have happened at all. I was terrified that the money would be squandered before the University of Chicago could be paid, and indeed, before the event had even begun, we had already sunk back into overdraft status by a check written by Valerie Beck. I am still passionate about supporting women entrepreneurs. With the time Valerie has now freed up for me, I'll have the time to finally launch NetworkHoncho.com (the new social media for business), and I may run simultaneous live networking events to coincide with online ones I will hold there. Or perhaps some likeminded WIN members would prefer to join something entirely new. If that is the case, count me in. I am as enthusiastic as ever, and I'm not tired or burned out or stressed out. I'm eager to get back to the work of supporting women entrepreneurs through effective networking events. May the rest of your weekend be glorious. Please feel free to contact me any time.    You can find further information in the following links: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/transaction_detail_by_account.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/profit&loss_jan_through_dec_2012.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/profit&loss_january_2013.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/Finances.pdf And for a break down of some of my own contributions to the organization prior to today: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/graphics_and_tech_crimson2win.PDF    -Erica Thomas Co-Founding Director Women's Innovation Network http://www.ladiesofwin.org Valerie Beck says her email was "compromised"? When will the lies stop? Very Pathetic. The details are below. Posted: March 13th 2013    You can find further information in the following links: Email Hosting Documentation: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/AccountCreationEmailandRenewalEmail.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/AccountTerminationEmail.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/TerminationConfirmation.pdf    Hello Friends, I just wanted to make a quick statement of fact, in reply to the email from Valerie Beck: Valerie Beck did indeed purchase 1 year of website hosting from me on Jan 3, 2012. On Jan 3, 2013, she had the option to pay for another year or switch to a different host. All of my clients are business owners, and they know when their bills are due. When Feb 21 rolled around, and I still had no renewal fee, I sent Valerie Beck a very friendly email talking about how time had flown, and reminding her that payment needed to be made right away. When I didn't get a response to that, I tried texting, and got a response that she was too busy making air travel plans to attend to her hosting. When she finally replied I stated again that she needed to make payment, and she replied that she wouldn't be able to until that Monday, when her bookkeeper would be in. One Monday passed by, and then another Monday. On Sunday March 10, the day after Valerie fired me with no notice or warning or justification (or legal right, I believe), I noticed to my surprise that she still had not switched to a new host, or paid for a new year. My company sent her the same notification of termination that any client would receive, from any web hosting company, giving her several hours to complete the switch, in the evening, when such a switch would cause the least disruption. When she complained, 15 minutes before the deadline for termination, I totaled up the amount of content in her emails, and how long it would take to back up all materials, and then gave her an extra 4 hours to make sure she had time to gather everything she needed before I cancelled her account. By that time, my company had provided her with over 60 days of free email hosting, which I think was quite nice. Neither my tech company, or any other company, is obligated to carry any customer indefinitely without payment. I have kept very careful documentation of all of this, and am happy to provide said documentation upon request. Some of it is below. In what is an even more distressing revelation, I have been getting calls and emails from former WIN members who have told me that they are being refused refunds when they attempt to cancel their WIN membership. This is deplorable, as is the language and hostility used towards these former members of WIN. Apparently, the story is that WIN has a "no refunds" policy. Prior to Saturday, March 9, at 4:30pm when Valerie Beck and her Mother voted me out of the organization, WIN had no such policy. In fact, in the financial documents posted on the WIN site, you can clearly see that there is precedent for WIN members receiving refunds, even for a single month. If you are attempting to recoup money you paid in WIN prior to the revelations of the past few days, and are being refused, please feel free to contact me, and I will do my best to put you in touch with a lawyer who can assist you.    As to the rest - it is all in the documentation and letter I sent and posted earlier this week, and backed up with facts and evidence, unlike the email full of nothing but innuendo she sent today. Also, a reminder that the telephone board meeting from Saturday was taped, and should be available for members upon request from Valerie, unless she has changed WIN's original policy on transparency, along with the creation of the new "no refunds" policy. My heart and life are quite well, and I'm only saddened that I and so many others have been treated so badly. Aside from that, things are pretty great. :) Business is good, I have wonderful, supportive friends and family, my identifiable handsome husband continues to be awesome and real, not a wish nor a hope but real and really awesome, and I'm enjoying life. Frankly, in my opinion, that letter from Valerie Beck today proves only one thing: she's full of it. It saddens me to see Valerie Beck humiliate herself like this, and in my opinion, she is doing just that. If in the future, she intends to address the questionable entries in the official WIN financial documents that she brought to board meetings, that's great, but if, as she suggests, she is bringing an entirely different set of books - well, we're all Chicagoans, we know what kind of organization has two sets of books. Only an unreasonable soul would spread misinformation and lies like suggesting someone "compromised" their email, when it has been canceled for lack of payment. If someone can lie about something small, like their hosting being cancelled for lack of payment, or something big like a "no refunds" policy than in my opinion that person can lie about anything. With all the documentation and evidence that is out now, I feel the truth of this matter is clear. I believe people can see it, and they can see right through the lies. Whatever is causing all this, I hope she doesn't destroy the reputations and businesses of whomever she touches. Valerie Beck has a lot of explaining to do to what's left of the WIN membership. Her best hope would be that I am wrong, and she has some evidence that she paid her email web hosting bill, evidence of a "no refunds" policy and some evidence in that audio of WIN's telephone board meeting, at which she and her mother voted to have me removed from the organization, that such an action was justified. If not, oh well. Thank you, and may the rest of your week be free from such drama.    You can find further information in the following links: Email Hosting Documentation: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/AccountCreationEmailandRenewalEmail.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/AccountTerminationEmail.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/TerminationConfirmation.pdf    WIN Finances Documentation: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/transaction_detail_by_account.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/profit&loss_jan_through_dec_2012.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/profit&loss_january_2013.pdf http://www.ladiesofwin.org/Finances.pdf And for a break down of some of my own contributions to the financing of the organization (my start-up costs) prior to today, please see below. If the organization owned my contributions, they would have a record of payment from the organization of my contributions: http://www.ladiesofwin.org/graphics_and_tech_crimson2win.PDF -Erica Thomas Co-Founding Director Women's Innovation Network http://www.ladiesofwin.org