To: CCA Board of Directors

MoGH Board of Directors

Convention Chairs

Dealers/ Convention 2022

CCA Club Membership

Date: March 31, 2022

I am hereby presenting my Letter of Resignation for the Presidency of the CCA and as CCA Convention Chairman. effective April 5, 2022. This will afford me the time to tie up any loose ends and send all my documents and Club assets to whoever my replacement may be.

When I joined the Club it was for the purpose of having fun and contributing. That has slowly faded away once I became an Officer of the Club. This last year I have been humiliated on the boards instigated by members who hardly know me. I rarely receive any support for my actions as those that support me are silent. That silence is deafening as the only voices out there are negative. The election for Presidency was a farce. Mark Lighterman was propped by my detractors to run against me. He had no real desire to be President but only to satisfy a group of members who resented my efforts to make changes. He could have stopped all the negative rhetoric instead kept silent and polarized the Club. Two claims filed against me, negative posts, and constant bickering has finally turned me sour. All this has affected my family, health, reputation, and any remaining positive attitude that I have.

I have lost all confidence in both the CCA Bod and the MoGH Bod to move the Club forward. At the CCA level, many of my ideas have been thwarted by David Spragg and now Jim Follis with the remaining members either capitulating or abstaining. They fail to see my logic and my vision. Their sudden intervention into the running of the Convention makes it impossible for me to continue in putting on what I had planned as a steller experience.

What this board has become is a Board of Disdain rather than being progressive enough to make the Club better. My project of redesigning the Website was met with heavy resistance from David Spragg as there is no real concern for him to finish it. There is a definite conflict of interest as he is paid for work he does for the Club and has a vote to approve it. His reluctance is obvious. I also appointed Jim Follis as Co-Webmaster and he has not contributed anything to the project. Trying to clean up some of the dated events to the Convention has also met with resistance. Recently I offered Jim Follis the position of monitoring the trading sessions to eliminate the corruption and he deemed that proposal as inappropriate. Jim Follis’s mishandling of the 2 claims filed against me and the Boards reluctance to make a quick decision caused me to wait over 3 months for a decision from an outside 3-member tribunal for which I was exonerated.

The MoGH Board Chairman Charles Kaplan has also played a part in my resignation as there is an obvious hatred for me. What he fails to understand is that I could have been his greatest ally. His attitude towards me is overshadowed by his ego, so much so that he doesn’t understand his priorities. I have criticized him for his lack of leadership and short-sightedness in furthering the mission of the MoGH. The MoGH Bod has not spoken publicly about his behavior, so I am assuming they are accepting his pettiness and sour demeanor. I recently exposed Jim Follis concerning lost or misplaced loaned items for the exhibits. On many occasions including unethical behavior with loaners for the MoGH Exhibits and action on that has been ignored. His total incompetence in this area puts the whole purpose of loaning items in jeopardy if contributors cannot someday have items returned to their owners. His unethical behavior casts a dark light on the Club as his actions are a direct reflection of his character. and the Club.

These three individuals should be removed from leadership positions and allowed to do other duties but not make decisions that prevent the CCA and MoGH from moving forward. They pose a serious threat to the well-being of the Club.

I understand there will be collateral damage with my resignation but at this time I see no other way to rid myself of the anger and stress that has befallen me. I apologize for taking this drastic measure but without the support, I needed there is no way for me to continue in my position. I truly believed I could have made a difference

Submitted March 31, 2022

Jerry Vergatos LM -8093-241