CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Money raised at a VIP Clarksville Magazine event tied to the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville has been frozen by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office.
On May 14, VIP Clarksville Magazine held the Black Tie Ball, promoting it as a way to raise needed funds for a proposed Boys & Girls Club.
One attendee posted an image on Facebook of himself at the event, celebrating it with the caption, “It benefited a great cause, The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, coming to Clarksville soon.”
However, Ashley Mynatt, owner of VIP Clarksville, said the ball was a private business event paired with some fundraising for the nonprofit club and that there was an error made during the promotion of the event.
The Boys & Girls Club of America requires anyone looking to start a club to be under the umbrella of another established club. For the past several years, a steering committee in Clarksville has been leading the effort under the umbrella of the Hopkinsville (Kentucky) Boys & Girls Club, but that agreement was terminated on June 1, just weeks after the gala.
On Oct. 20, the day after a Clarksville Now investigative report on the situation published, Mynatt was notified by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office that funds raised from the ball are to be restricted and not disbursed until the matter is resolved. The Secretary of State’s Office is now trying to determine who should receive proceeds and in what amounts.
Mynatt: ‘That was an error’
On Nov. 15, Mynatt reached out to Clarksville Now to provide further details on why the money has not been given to the Boys & Girls Club. She said much of the confusion is rooted in errors in event promotion by one former employee.
“The Facebook post was an error, and, as shown on the screenshot that you received, it was posted by an employee. It was not posted by myself. That was the one and only reference, anywhere, on any Facebook post. As a matter of fact, the invites that went out to the winners did not even include Boys & Girls Club anywhere on it to my knowledge. But that was one single post, and yes, that was an error,” Mynatt said.
The line, “All proceeds from this event will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville-Montgomery County!” has since been removed from the post.
Mynatt noted that the employee who made the error is no longer with VIP Clarksville Magazine.
Ticketbud site and QR code
Mynatt also addressed wording on the Ticketbud event page that tied the event to the Boys & Girls Club.
She said that originally the Ticketbud page did not include a reference to the Boys & Girls Club.
“That’s the event site that we used to sell tickets to the event leading up to the event. The two items that were there were tables and tickets. That was it. The night of the event, those two items were basically closed sales on tables and tickets, because they’re no longer useful. A previous employee changed (the ticket site), and instead of it now saying ‘tickets,’ it said ‘donations’ or whatever to the Clarksville Boys & Girls Club.”
Mynatt said that the night of the event a new feature was added that was meant to receive funds for the Boys & Girls Club. At that time, the site was changed to reference “Boys and Girls Club of Clarksville,” for credit card payment of auction items, she said.
“The night of the event, after the ticket sales were closed, we changed it because that was the only way we had to collect those credit card payments at that time. I don’t have a scanner or a credit card machine or anything like that. So those payments went through the same site to be able to collect that money that was paid for auction items.”
Mynatt noted that the Ticketbud page QR code – a digital graphic that links users to a website – was placed in the magazine to continue fundraising efforts for the club.
But after the two-page feature was sent to be printed, the steering committee for the Boys & Girls Club received notification from Hopkinsville terminating their agreement.
“Between the time it was sent to the printer and the time the magazines actually came out, we received notification from Hopkinsville,” she said. “You can’t just kill a QR code.”
Gala funds
Mynatt said the only money raised at the ball specifically for the Boys & Girls Club involved the live and silent auctions, and even that was proceeds only – after expenses.
“That (auction) money, less the cost of the event, is what I would have donated. If you actually do the numbers, the amount is not that much.”
Mynatt had pledged to donate a minimum $25,000 from the event to the Boys & Girls Club, according to documents obtained by Clarksville Now.
“So, the amount that I actually said that I would give to Boys & Girls Club way exceeds the net proceeds of the night of the event. The rest of everything else is all tied to my Best of the Best (contest). It’s a night to celebrate my winners. Everything that was invoiced was invoiced as advertising sales.”
She noted that some cash collections for the club were taken up the night of the event, totaling $1,142.
“The intention was proceeds from the auctions and from the collections, (the) night of the event, the net proceeds from that, were what I would give,” Mynatt said.
Mynatt said the total revenue from the event was $88,612, with $73,729.78 in expenses.
She would not say how much is currently being held for the Boys & Girls Club. “They’ve (Tennessee Secretary of State) not given me a number at all. They just said, ‘Do not disburse any funds.'”
Hopkinsville or Clarksville?
Mynatt told Clarksville Now the funds she planned to donate were designated specifically to the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville, and therefore she did not want to give the funds to the Hopkinsville club.
Records provided to Clarksville Now detail communications between Mynatt and Danielle Stack, leader of the committee in Clarksville. During the weeks after the publication of the Clarksville Now report, the two considered options for who should handle the money, looking even at the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region.
On Oct. 14, Holly Bivins, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Hopkinsville, sent notice to the Clarksville steering committee calling for the funds to be surrendered to Hopkinsville within 10 days of receipt. The letter from the Secretary of State’s Office requesting the funds be restricted was sent Oct. 20.
John Miller, senior vice president for affiliate relations at the Boys & Girls Club of America, emailed Stack on Oct. 25 strongly recommending that the funds be turned over to either the Boys & Girls Club of Hopkinsville or of Middle Tennessee to be held in trust.
Mynatt’s attorney, Sheri Phillips, told Clarksville Now she contacted Bivins explaining the situation in a letter was dated Oct. 25.
“The money is ready to be paid to somebody, and she (Mynatt) would like to get this behind her,” Phillips told Clarksville Now.
In an email to Mynatt dated Nov. 4, Stack said she would prefer that Hopkinsville not receive the funds. “It does not appear that they have Clarksville’s club in their best interest,” the email said.
Clarksville Now has reached out to Stack for comment.
Bivins previously told Clarksville Now that any money raised or brought in for a Clarksville club will always be for a Clarksville club. Additionally, any money previously raised for Clarksville is still designated as such in an account.
Bivins: ‘That was clearly communicated’
Mynatt said she had received one check to be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Clarksville, but it has since been returned.
She said the Clarksville club had received two grants that are currently being held in an account by Hopkinsville. One was from the Clarksville Association of Realtors for $15,000, and the other from the YOW Foundation for $5,000.
“We’ve requested from Holly (Bivins) multiple times for copies of those. She will not provide those to us, and nothing has been purchased with that grant money,” Mynatt said, explaining that when the Clarksville committee signed over all the money they had, Bivins was not aware that a portion of those funds were restricted.
Clarksville Now reached out to Bivins about those grants.
“For 17 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hopkinsville-Christian County have served the community with our absolute highest priorities being the safety and protection of our youth members and the responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us by donors,” Bivins responded. “We take these issues very seriously and can assure you that we are working to ensure that all donor contributions intended to support the Clarksville Club be directed toward that purpose, should that be so desired.”
Furthermore, Bivins clarified why the agreement with Clarksville was terminated, as Stack and Mynatt both told Clarksville Now they didn’t understand why ties were cut.
“The MOU that was established to begin a club in Clarksville was terminated due to default of payment, per the of terms of the document. That was clearly communicated to all. Based on that and the progress to that point, it was apparent that the timeline to open the doors was an impossibility and there was no longer potential under that specific agreement,” Bivins said.
The agreement was terminated due to a default in payment by the steering committee in Clarksville, according to documents obtained by Clarksville Now.
Chris Smith contributed to this report.