Non-profit organizations invite select people to pay to attend events

Dear Editor,

fli·er flīәr/ noun 1. a person or thing that flies, especially in a particular way. “a nervous flier” synonyms: air traveler, airline/air passenger, airline customer, jet-setter “frequent flyers”

2. a small handbill advertising an event or product.

synonyms: leaflet, handout, bill, handbill, brochure, circular, advertisement, junk mail “we distributed flyers promoting our cleaning business”

noun 1. the act of inviting. 2. the written or spoken form with which a person is invited.

I post the above definitions of the words flier and invitation in response to Mr Anil Nandlall’s letter published in yesterday’s edition of your newspaper (‘Monies raised at a private event for funding government projects are unlawful’). Mr Nandlall says that “Mr Kirton objects to my description of the document inviting people to this event as a ‘flier’. He prefers the label ‘invitation’. Quite frankly, this is a distinction without a difference.”

The above definitions are not created by me. They come directly from the dictionary. I leave it up to the readership to conclude whether Mr Nandlall is right. But I would reiterate that the document sent out by the planning committee for the Florida reception and town hall meeting was no handbill or junk mail. It was clearly an invitation which was e-mailed to a select list of invitees and requested an RSVP by a specific date.

Next Mr Nandlall states that the document charges a [minimum] admission of $35 which he interprets to mean that anyone paying at least $35 could have attended. The invitation advised that a minimum contribution of $35 is required of those invited to attend. Unfortunately our learned former Attorney General clearly lacks exposure to how things are done in the real world. Non-profit and other organizations invite select people to pay to attend and support events. But one must be invited and one’s name has to be on a list at the door before one can gain entry. Just recently my company bought a table for an event to which we were invited. I had to submit the 10 names that would attend. Among my guests were a diplomat and his wife who were late in advising me of their availability to attend. When they informed me I forgot to add their names to the list I submitted. They turned up at the event and although it was clear that my table still had two unaccounted for seats, they were denied entry until I was able to confirm that they were my guests.

Another reason which Mr. Nandlall advances in support of his argument is that the event was styled “town hall meeting”. Here again he shows his lack of exposure. In most cases in the real world town hall meetings hosted by elected officials, media houses and organizations require that one either be invited or seek an invitation by going to a designated location to get a ticket for the event. Usually some tickets are reserved for the uninvited public but even then some form of identification has to be provided and background checks are done. So there is nothing unusual about the need to be invited to a town hall meeting.

Mr Nandlall then accuses me of identifying only one expense ‒ the air travel tickets from Miami to Guyana ‒ which was being covered by the organizers for the visit of the two ministers. Here is what my letter said in relation to expenses:

“The invitation was accepted on condition that the group extending the invitation would be responsible for bearing the costs to be incurred, including the one way air travel to Guyana from Miami of the two ministers of government; an arrangement that is no different from what obtained on a few occasions when the PPP/C formed the government.” I would say that Mr Nandlall lacks the ability to read and comprehend well.

Finally Editor, the Member of Parliament addresses the question of the need for funds raised for a government project to go to the Consolidated Fund. Here again he failed to comprehend what I said in my letter. I made it clear that the funds will be used to purchase a bus for use by school children on the Corentyne. A bus is going to be acquired and donated to the President’s Five B’s programme. As I understand it, the buses, boats and bicycles are the property of the Ministry of the Presidency. I hope when the bus is acquired it would be well cared for, at least for the next 20 years. I expect that within the next three months or so Mr Nandlall will return to this issue to question where is the bus from the people in Florida. Let me inform him upfront that there is no timeframe for the purchase of the bus. Additional funds have to be raised and a cost benefit analysis has to be done to ensure that value is gotten for the money that will be spent. Yours faithfully, Wesley Kirton