Starting over
Association rebuilds after embezzlement
By Lynn Warren CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The embezzlement conviction of former Chalkley Athletic Association (CAA) President Brenda Osby last month is only a small consolation for its new president, board of directors, parents and the 300 young athletes served by the association. Osby, who will remain in jail pending her sentencing in June, pled guilty to all charges but did not account for over $45,000 that was missing from CAA coffers, said Douglas Dunlap, CAA's vice president. At the end of her trial, Osby turned over only $2,000 to her lawyer, which will be held in escrow for the CAA until her sentencing.

With Osby's conviction, the association is now struggling to regroup and rebuild.

The monetary hardships imposed on the CAA by the disappearance of thousands of dollars are monumental. Equipment, uniforms, trophies and awards, insurance, supplies and league fees for football, basketball, cheering, softball and baseball teams amount to more than $57,000 in this year's CAA budget. In addition, the CAA must find approximately $13,000, a portion of the lost funds, to cover league fees that were not paid for 2006.

"We had hoped Chesterfield Parks and Recreation would make some concession on last year's fees, but they have not," Dunlap continued.

"Our biggest need is money to get back on our feet and to pay last year's costs. We are able to make enough to get us through a season and then move onto the next, but we are also trying to make up for last year's fees that were not paid and we have no reserves" continued Dunlap.

Nickie Thornton, in charge of fundraising for the CAA, is equally frustrated. After last year's events, "it's like pulling teeth to get kids to join and getting the parents to help out financially," said Thornton.

Thornton is typical of the new CAA. She is almost a new member herself and has taken over a large responsibility in only her second year in the association.

"We were so surprised about what we found out, it was amazing," she said.

Her fundraising strategy is to make it as easy as possible for the kids and the parents with simple raffles, discount coupons, McDonald's McFun books and anything that does not involve extensive selling.

But it is difficult for her to forget the Osby tragedy.

"As parents we try to do whatever we can to keep our kids off the streets by getting them involved in activities and then someone comes along and takes the money away from them."

But it is the general stigma of the missing funds and some doubt as to who was responsible that has really hindered the rebuilding of the association, Dunlap feels. After she was arrested and charged, Osby, whose grandchildren played in the association, continued to attend games and functions "acting as if nothing had happened and she had done nothing wrong," said Dunlap. Osby, who ran a daycare center, had also developed strong bonds as a caregiver for many of the local children. Many of the parents took a wait and see attitude and "we lost support because the parents were not sure who the guilty party was," stated Dunlap.

Osby, who had been handling the association's funds since 2002, gradually took total control of the funds and "was not challenged for three or four years," said Dunlap. When discrepancies began to surface, board members went to her with a simple request to "show us where the money was being spent. She would not give us the information," said Dunlap. Under pressure she produced money orders which were later proven to be for her personal expenses such as utility bills, furniture, trips to Atlanta and New York, and gasoline. She also tried to convince the board that some of the money had gone to pay the Internal Revenue Service (CAA is a tax exempt organization). "She basically used the association's funds as her own personal account," recounted Dunlap.

She eventually set up her own account for association funds, said Dunlap. "It was a real slap in the face to those who trusted her with their money," he said.

Legal action remained the board's only alternative and led to her prosecution. The account that Osby had set up to receive association funds had a balance of 25 cents.

Faced with no hope of ever recovering a substantial amount of their funds, the CAA has dug in to reform itself. A new board has been formed, charged with seeking different ways to raise funds and incorporate better management practices.