Originally posted on February 1, 2010:
When I became a member of the AIDS Network Board of Directors it quickly became apparent that the leadership of AIDS Network had great disdain for the leaders of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW). Early into my time on the board of directors I heard references to “the men in suits”; the “secret service” and the “evil empire”.
Obviously an inside joke, I asked what they were referring to. The former Executive Director, Bob Power, told me that it was ARCW. Specifically, ARCW President Doug Nelson and Mike Gifford, ARCW’s Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer. (aka “the men in suits”).
The venom directed at ARCW by the leadership of AIDS Network is appalling, and to this day continues to stymie any efforts to expand collaborate efforts between the two state designated AIDS Service Organization.
Yes, the Urban Legend of the “Evil Empire” persists until this day.
Dig a little deeper and you find that ARCW isn’t “evil” in the least. In fact, the “men in suits” run the best AIDS service organization in the country.
Masking institutional jealousy by bashing ARCW at every turn has lead to the perpetuation of the Urban Legend of the “Evil Empire”. It is a facade that has been created to divert attention away from the failures of AIDS Network; failures that fall on the opposite end of the spectrum of ARCW’s success.
The “men in suits”—the leaders of the “evil empire” have created an organization that provides service that make AIDS Network the laughing stock of AIDS services in the midwest. The leaders of AIDS Network have allowed Madison and the southern region to sink into the abyss of sub-mediocrity.
Madison and southern Wisconsin remains the worst place to live in Wisconsin when it comes to ASO provided services. AIDS Network needs to invest some of their angst regarding ARCW into striving to reach the same levels of service as provided to those living with HIV/AIDS in Green Bay (and other ares of the state).
