The Toronto Estonian House board should have spent their efforts on better understanding the needs of the organizations which utilize the house for their own activities.
The paradigm in which the Toronto Estonian Board is entrenched in is “That we are only a rental facility.” In fact, you are much, much more than this.
The Estonian House is the hub of the Toronto Estonian community and home to organizations which are the life-blood of our community. First and foremost The Estonian Schools, the Toronto Estonian Men’s Choir, Kungla Folk-dancing Troupe, Estonian Guides and Scout troops, Estonian Arts Centre(with over 1500 pieces of artwork), Society of Estonian Artists in Toronto, Toronto Estonian Gun Club, Toronto Estonian Chess Club and the E-store.
The Toronto Estonian House Board has failed miserably to adapt to the changes in the Toronto Estonian community. Given the diminishing numbers of the community the board should have looked to the successful strategic plans implemented by Tartu College (a university student residence), in their marketing and event organization programs. Tartu College has through the hiring of an events coordinator, Piret Noorhani, introduced lecture evenings, film screenings, concerts by local and Estonian import entertainers, cooking and baking classes and fundraising events.
Instead the Toronto Estonian House Board decided to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire consultants to find out what’s wrong with the Estonian House. What fools these mortals be!
The Toronto Estonian House Board has failed to adapt and change their paradigm and as a result they have created un-needed stress in our community and have fractured the once intact community harmony.
The sale of the Estonian House and the displacement of all of the key community organizations which currently call The Estonian House- home will directly splinter our once cohesive community bee-hive.
The fault lies not with the Estonian House but with the inept and unimaginative Estonian House Board of directors.
To add insult to injury, the Estonian House Board has decided to spend another $750,000 on due diligence regarding the Madison Project. Stop the lunacy, fire the board and hire people who are frugal, imaginative and believe in the Estonian House to exist for another 100 years instead of 50 years at Madison Avenue.
Jaak Järve- concerned shareholder
