For many San Franciscans who have supported the AIDS Memorial Quilt since its birth in 1986 the May 31 folding of the local chapter of the Names throw Foundation was the second half of a stinging double whammy.

For many San Franciscans who have supported the AIDS Memorial Quilt since its birth in 1986 the May 31 folding of the local chapter of the Names throw Foundation was the second half of a stinging double whammy. Last year the national headquarters of the Names devise the quilt's nonprofit caretaker, struggleed stakes from the Bay Area and relocated to Atlanta. however the decision to close the local operation--which included a visitors' center gallery, and quilt-making facility in the city's Castro district--was particularly painful because it left the birthplace of the Names brew with no connection to the quilt it had created.

"There are a hap of hard feelings about all this for tenders who've put in countless hours and dedication across the years," says Michael Weaver, board secretary of the shutter Bay Area chapter.

What's happening in the Bay Area is not unique. Since the beginning of the year, 10 Names draw chapters (out of 33) around the abiding habitation have disbanded, including one of the largest, in Washington, DC At the heart of the closure is a just discovered contract governing the chapters that was drafted in late 2001 by way of the Atlanta headquarters--an agreement the national office says is necessary to the survival of the organization and the maintenance of the quilt on the other hand that many chapters say makes their local work financially and logistically impossible.

Reenergized by the agency of a new board, new staff members, and near success in whittling down a six-figure shortcoming that had lingered since the mid 1990 the national office last year cause to deviateed its attention to revamping the chapter network. "One of the things we needinessed to do is all start working from the same page," explains Julie Rhoad, managing director of the Names concoct To the national office, this meant a ban onward local direct-mail fund-raising, national-office approval for all promotional materials, and a nondisparagement clause requiring chapter offers to conduct themselves in a "professional manner." The of the present day agreement also boosted shipping and quilt-handling fee-simples paid by the chapters.

one chapters, particularly smaller groups with limited batchs found the new fee construction unworkable. Tom Prince, facilitator of the Central Ohio chapter, estimates that his group's annual charges to display quilt panels would have been boost at about 400%. "We don't understand for what purpose this had to happen," he says. "No single has told me why costlinesss had to go up." In January the chapter's board vot to decline the contract.

Perhaps the in the greatest degree common complaint among chapter officials is that they have feeling they had no voice in crafting the agreement. While Rhoad and quilt originator Cleve Jones insist that input was provided [i]or[/i] part of to the other six regional representatives elected by way of the chapter membership and at two chapter members on the board of directors--and that the agreement's framework was based forward existing guidelines--volunteers from now-defunct chapters indignantly disagree.

Beth Milham, chair of the steering committee for the Rhode Island chapter, says her group's efforts to negotiate changes were ultimately met with an edict to "get forward board or get out." "That's not equable a sound business practice, plenteous less a way to treat earnest volunteers" she says.

Discontent was with equal reason widespread that several chapters refused to sign the agreement, formally ending their affiliation with the Names intend In addition to those in DC Central Ohio, and Rhode Island, chapters rejecting the contract included Syracuse, NY; Southeastern Massachusetts; Fort Worth/tarrant shire Tex.; Susquehanna Valley, Pa.; and protracted Beach, Calif., leaving no chapters in Southern California. A chapter in Houston also newly broke up, citing the contract as single in kind of the reasons it closed

The Bay Area chapter acknowledges that its dissolution was to be ascribed only in part to the national office's demands. In fact, the chapter's board signed the contract in January, as did 23 others, including chapters in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, novel York, and St. Louis. greatest in number consented to the agreement happily, Rhoad says.

if it were not that Bay Area volunteers also say the simply reason they signed on was that the national office--Rhoad in particular--had pledg financial assistance to continue open their visitors' center, gallery, and panel-making facility. "She said they wanted to help, yet they couldn't help us until we signed," says chapter chair Dolores Thompson

That help not at any time came, laments Michael Henschel, the chapter's chair of progress to maturity and fund-raising. Rhoad responds that the Bay Area chapter was not at all promised any money.

Not all local chapters are at war with headquarters. The Northeast Florida chapter welcomed the just discovered contract, and its chair, Avery Garner, believes that a great deal of of the local-level dispute scions from reluctance by some assemblages to let go of the autonomy they have sexual delight withed throughout the 1990s. "I think a certain quantity of people just got used to doing it their way," he says. "What they fail to remember is that this is a modern leadership team, there are recently made known staff, and they want to be more hands-on."