Associate Members charge the directors with running sham elections, illegally changing bylaws, abusing their powers, and forsaking their duties.
For immediate release
January 30, 2025. St. Louis, MO. This week, Stacy Bernard, veteran local DJ and former host of the popular Saturday morning program “Backroads” on 88.1 FM KDHX, along with fourteen other anonymous Associate Members / volunteers of KDHX Community Media, filed a lawsuit in the circuit court of the City of St. Louis demanding the removal of 7 of the 8 current directors of Double Helix, the parent corporation of the troubled nonprofit radio station.
Stacy Bernard, named as the representative plaintiff in the suit, said, “As an Associate Member of KDHX and a longtime volunteer, I feel it’s my duty to stand up and do something to save this radio station. We are at an inflection point. I’ve been a volunteer at KDHX since 1993, long before this current management took over and led the station down a disastrous path. KDHX has been such an important part of the musical and cultural scene in St. Louis. It is truly a gem of independent media. The St. Louis community (myself included) has been grieving the loss of so much over this past year. This is my attempt to hold the Board of KDHX accountable for its many failures and terrible decisions that have harmed so many and brought the station to the brink of financial ruin.”
The other fourteen Associate Members joined the legal action anonymously in light of KDHX’s recent history of retaliation against the station’s volunteers. All Associate Members have rights as members of the organization including legal rights conferred by Missouri statute and voting rights.
The named defendants are as follows: KDHX, Gary Pierson (President), Paul Dever (Vice President), Joan Bray (Secretary), Ray Finney (Treasurer), Jeffrey Fernhoff, Franc Flotron, and Caryn Haddix.
Courtney Dowdall, the now-suspended director elected in a special meeting of the Associates and who was only seated after the settlement of another lawsuit, was not named as a defendant.
The plaintiffs allege that these seven directors have engaged in “fraudulent or dishonest conduct, or gross abuse of authority or discretion.” This behavior is specifically blocked under the Missouri Nonprofit Corporation statutes. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege the following actions:
- The Illegal Termination of Annual Members and Other Improper Bylaws Changes;
- Rigged, Unfair Elections;
- Dishonest, False Statements and Selective Enforcement of Policies and Bylaws Contrary to the Best Interests of the Corporation; and
- Improper Retaliation Against Associate Members.
In addition to the judicial removal of the named directors, the petition asks the court to declare that the termination of the class of Annual Members (those who donated to the station and thus held voting rights) violated Missouri law as well as to declare that the amendments to the 2018 bylaws and 2021 bylaws are invalid. It also asks the court to reinstate all Annual Members and award costs and any other proper relief. As a former Annual Member, Christopher Schwarz has joined as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
These allegations against the seven directors arrive while the press continues to reveal financial mismanagement and abuses of power at the community radio station. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently reported that in 2023, KDHX “lost more than $325,000 on revenues of $940,000….The station only raised around $590,000 in contributions and non-government grants over the entire year of 2023….That compares with around $820,000 in 2022 and $1.1 million in 2021.” St. Louis Magazine reported that two dissenting board members were suspended without clear cause, leading one of them to resign in protest. Moreover, rumors of the station’s imminent sale and/or collapse have been circulating on social media. When asked about plans to sell the FM license, station representatives have issued no clear denial.
The League of Volunteer Enthusiast (AKA LOVE) of KDHX fully supports the plaintiffs in their lawsuit. The LOVE of KDHX was founded on the principles of maintaining a democratically-run, community-based radio station. It has sought a change in the radio station’s leadership for almost two years in light of its financial and organizational missteps.
Ital K., host of the now defunct KDHX reggae program Ital Rhythms and now a co-chairperson of the LOVE of KDHX commented on the recently filed petition: “The stewards of KDHX have willfully steered KDHX on a path to dissolution. They have established a track record of manipulation, malfeasance, and real disdain for St. Louis. Their incompetent leadership has put KDHX on life support.”