Johnny on the spot

They say the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

In the world of media, a five-minute interview to enlighten and inform an inquisitive reporter makes all the difference.

Especially an inquisitive reporter who has documents that deserve to be explained by the author of said documents.

Simplicity and efficiency are two principles unknown to VANOC, whose mantra is "we cannot be seen to be losing."

The paranoia about seeming vulnerable appears precisely why I cannot get a straight answer from chief financial officer John McLaughlin on his March 26 plea for more British Columbia taxpayers' money and the accounting for VANOC construction at B.C. Place Stadium, the ceremonies venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

I couldn't get it on an Oct. 26 conference call. I couldn't get it via email -- instead I got a prepared statement of little value from a public relations staffer.

I also couldn't get a straight answer from McLaughlin in-person on Dec. 21 when I persisted to ask the questions in a scrum at VANOC headquarters the day the latest quarterly report was released. I was interrupted by deputy CEO Dave Cobb (McLaughlin evidently couldn't do the scrum solo) and underling Chris Brumwell.

Am I naive to believe that a senior executive of a government-backed corporation with a $1.76 billion operations budget can't stand on his two feet, look me in the eye and answer questions on his own?

McLaughlin instead looked like a deer in headlights and offered a feeble answer about government funding being minimal in the VANOC operations budget. But, as is par for the course, he couldn't provide numbers or percentages. The operations budget wasn't supposed to be propped up by the government. Then the recession happened. It has been a trying year at 3585 Graveley Street; I don't envy them for a moment.

Cobb was a tad unhappy with me as he left the room. Not for asking the question, but for asking it in front of several TV cameras. I wasn't performing for TV cameras nor did I intend for McLaughlin for underperform in front of TV cameras. The real reason for Cobb's complaint is in paragraph four. See above.

Of course, McLaughlin and Cobb could have been answering questions on other topics had their organization followed the straight line axiom and satisfied the reasonable curiosity of an inconvenient sleuth.

Don't believe me? Check out the email trail below.


From: Bob Mackin bob.mackin@mac.com
To: Renee Smith-Valade; Chris Brumwell
Cc: John McLaughlin
Sent: Thu Oct 29 08:41:28 2009
Subject: annual report follow-up

Hi,
I have been unsuccessful since Monday in arranging through Jason and then Greg a chance to be briefed by John McLaughlin about the VANOC-specific construction funding at B.C. Place and a request made to the B.C. Secretariat for additional ceremonies and torch relay funding.

I asked John McLaughlin on the Monday annual report teleconference about a Feb. 5 invoice to the Secretariat for $3.5 million and a March 26 request for the additional funding. Both items -- letters to Philip Steenkamp -- were received through FOI. This is related to the June 16 announcement of increased funding for VANOC work at B.C. Place.

On the call, John said: "We're going to need to do a little bit of checking up for you on some of that stuff and we'd be happy to talk to you a little bit further about it... We'll arrange to talk after this."

I moved on to another topic of questioning and did not press the matter, since John has been very accommodating in the past. hope he would agree it would be mutually beneficial to spend a few minutes on the phone to enlighten me on the above communications with the B.C. Secretariat and how B.C. Place funding is reflected in the annual report.

I know this has been an abnormal week, what with the funeral and the torch relay. I am wondering if you could kindly help make this happen? I'm heading over to Victoria today after 3 p.m.

Cheers,
--bob

On 29-Oct-09, at 9:30 AM, Renee Smith-Valade wrote:

I can try Bob. But appreciate your recognition that this indeed an extraordinary week and our ability to make interviews happen
and follow up on media requests is not as fast as usual.

I will offer this; as soon as we are back in the office next week I will work with my team to get you some time with John m as soon as he is a available.

Does this work for you?


Renee


Original Message
From: Bob Mackin bob.mackin@mac.com
To: Renee Smith-Valade
Cc: Chris Brumwell; John McLaughlin
Sent: Thu Oct 29 15:05:30 2009
Subject: Re: annual report follow-up

Thank-you. Could we do it at the earliest convenience on Monday?
--bob


From: Bob Mackin bob.mackin@mac.com
Date: November 2, 2009 8:44:31 AM PST (CA)
To: Renee Smith-Valade Renee_Smith-Valade@vancouver2010.com
Cc: Chris Brumwell Chris_Brumwell@vancouver2010.com,
John McLaughlin John_McLaughlin@vancouver2010.com
Subject: Re: annual report follow-up

Good morning, ;Just touching base again regarding my request.;

Cheers,

--bob




On 29-Oct-09, at 3:40 PM, Renee Smith-Valade wrote:;
We'll do our best, Bob.

Thanks,
Renee


From: Bob Mackin

To: John McLaughlin 
Cc: Renee Smith-Valade; Chris Brumwell 

Sent: Tue Nov 03 06:56:44 2009

Subject: Fwd: annual report follow-up 


Hello Mr. McLaughlin,

I have tried both patiently and diligently through the official channels in the communications department to schedule an interview with you regarding the inquiry I made during the annual report conference call on Oct. 26. I have CC'd you on my correspondence with the communications department. I received no reply to my latest inquiry on Monday.

My deadline is 2:45 p.m. today. Would you kindly have some time to talk with me about this matter?

Sincerely,
Bob Mackin
Vancouver 24 hours
604-xxx-xxxx mobile
604-xxx-xxxx

From: Bob Mackin

To: Renee Smith-Valade

Cc: John McLaughlin; Chris Brumwell

Sent: Tue Nov 03 07:13:27 2009

Subject: Re: annual report follow-up 


Thank-you. The best, most accurate response is via an interview with Mr. McLaughlin. I hope you can help make that happen today by my 2:45 p.m. deadline.

On 3-Nov-09, at 7:06 AM, Renee Smith-Valade wrote:


Bob -- you will get your reply today. We appreciate your patience. Anything with financial content understandably goes through a number of checks at VANOC before being responded to and we are concluding the process on your request. 

Your questions include not only the annual report but also documents you sourced through FOI. I trust you appreciate that requesting and sourcing those documents under through FOI and determining your line of questioning was a process that understandably took you several days and we are taking the same to ensure you receive the most accurate response. 



Thanks, 
Renee


From: Bob Mackin [mailto:bob.mackin@mac.com] 

Sent: November 3, 2009 1:09 PM

To: Renee Smith-Valade

Cc: John McLaughlin; Chris Brumwell

Subject: Re: annual report follow-up

I must remind you that John was on the record saying: "We'll arrange to talk after this."

An email response is not a talk. Could you please reconsider?

On 3-Nov-09, at 7:23 AM, Renee Smith-Valade wrote:


Our response will be by way of an e-mail Bob. 

Thanks,
 Renee



From: Renee Smith-Valade Renee_Smith-Valade@vancouver2010.com
Date: November 3, 2009 1:52:02 PM PST
To: Bob Mackin bob.mackin@mac.com
Cc: John McLaughlin John_McLaughlin@vancouver2010.com,
Chris Brumwell Chris_Brumwell@vancouver2010.com
Subject: RE: annual report follow-up

Talk can happen over e-mail, Bob. We will send you a statement this afternoon.

Thanks,
Renee

Renée Smith-Valade
Vice President, Communications
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games



Begin forwarded message:
From: Greg Alexis Greg_Alexis@vancouver2010.com
Date: November 3, 2009 4:38:32 PM PST
To: Bob Mackin bob.mackin@mac.com
Subject: RE: annual report follow-up

Hi Bob,

My apologies for not getting back to you sooner but unfortunately John McLaughlin isn’t available for an interview so I’m hoping my email can provide some further clarification to your questions.

In regards to the $3.5 million invoice you mentioned, this amount falls under the $272,316 million project-to-date contribution from the Province of British Columbia which you will see on page 12 of MDNA. This contribution is part of VANOC’s $580 million venue construction program (funded equally between the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada) which has not changed.

As for your other inquiry about the March 26 letter to the Province of British Columbia from VANOC, as we have stated in the past we’re in continuous dialogue with all our partners regarding possible opportunities to further leverage their investment in the Games. I would recommend following up with the Province of B.C. for further details.

I trust this will answer any outstanding questions you have.

Thanks,

Greg Alexis
Specialist, International Media Relations
 Specialiste, Relations avec les medias internationaux
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games