The seven-year tenure of Robert L. Nash as leader of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors appears to be hurtling toward a dramatic end. The group’s Executive Committee recently voted to hand him a hefty severance package, and a June 22 Board of Directors meeting, which will determine Nash’s fate, is being billed by some as a “bloodbath.”
On June 1, the MAR Executive Committee in an 11-4 vote approved recommending to the Board of Directors that Nash be terminated without cause from his post as MAR’s executive vice president, several sources reported. Nash reportedly balked at the idea, setting the stage for a confrontation at the meeting later this month.
“This whole issue has taken on a life of its own,” said one source close to the situation who asked to remain anonymous. “June 22 is going to be a bloodbath, based on what everyone else is saying.”
Fred Meyer, 2000 MAR President, confirmed that the wheels have been set in motion for Nash’s dismissal. “There was a vote to recommend to the Board of Directors that [Nash] be terminated without cause,” he said. Meyer added that the Executive Committee may have had the authority to remove Nash itself, but it chose not to do that in favor or letting the larger Board of Directors decide the issue once and for all.
“These things are never pretty,” Meyer said. “It is one of the most important jobs for the Board of Directors to hire, fire or continue to employ the executive officer. This is a very important decision.
“I did not have this as my agenda for this year when I took office,” Meyer continued. “But it became a clear subject that a number of the directors had lost confidence in [Nash] and would like to see a change.”
Reached last week, Nash told Banker & Tradesman, “I do not think it is appropriate to comment on the matter at this time.”
If the termination is approved by the board, it would be a termination without cause, which is allowable per the language in Nash’s employment contract, Meyer said.
“There is a feeling we need a consensus builder, and there’s no question we don’t have a consensus now. There are people who love Bob, and there are people who hate Bob. This is going to be very difficult,” Meyer said.
Meyer said that Nash was offered a severance package at the June 1 meeting where Nash eventually told the committee he would fight to remain in his post. According to sources, the package included $100,000 in addition to a one-time payment of his annual salary, which sources estimated to be between $150,000 and $200,000.
“This could be a win-win for Bob,” one source said. “He was getting a third of a million dollars before even going into negotiations. He could live on what he gets from them for a while.”
Sources familiar with the situation said bad feelings about Nash have been brewing since 1997 when Nash had what was termed as an “adversarial” relationship with then-MAR president Richard C. Dils of Upton-Massamont Realtors in Shelburne Falls. “People have had a thorn in their side to get rid of Bob since then,” one source said.
Dils, who is no longer on the Executive Committee but has been monitoring the situation, maintained that the movement to unseat Nash is nothing personal. “This is not about the person,” he said in an interview last week. “There are different needs for the association and different approaches to handling those needs in this rapidly changing industry. We’re trying to find someone who will lead us down the correct path.”
Others have said Nash has alienated a lot of MAR’s members because he has not focused on the membership. “Bob never left Government Affairs. He spent all his time on Beacon Hill and didn’t focus on the leadership or education,” one industry insider said.
However, the most recent issue that likely sent members of the Executive Committee into action was the scuffle over the sale of real estate forms.
Earlier this year, MAR began selling MassForms, statewide real estate forms. Some local association executives were outraged that under Nash’s leadership, MAR was directly marketing forms to individual Realtors, a role that was traditionally left up to the local associations, which rely on forms sales as a significant source of non-dues revenue.
There were also reports that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board – up until this year the only major supplier of state real estate forms – was also upset at MAR’s attempt to divert revenue away from a local association, GBREB itself, by aggressively marketing its MassForms.
Meyer said that a number of the aforementioned concerns were brought to his attention by Realtors attending the National Association of Realtors mid-year conference in Washington, D.C., last month. “People from around the state brought their concerns to me in Washington,” he said.
“It became a state versus Boston issue,” a source said. “Bob said a number of times ‘I’m not going to yield to Boston.’ He dug his heels in the sand, and Boston dug their heels in the sand.”
According to some, there is already talk about who will replace Nash if he indeed receives a vote of no confidence at the June 22 meeting. Names being thrown around include Marilyn Moran, former executive officer for the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, and Robert Authier, who was MAR executive vice president before Nash took the position.
Meyer, however, said there have been no decisions on a potential replacement for Nash, and that a national search committee would be formed. “There had been some discussion about whether we needed to appoint an interim EVP, but we see no need for one,” Meyer said. “One of Bob’s strengths is his ability to hire good people, and we have very good people in our office that are capable of carrying on until a replacement is found.”
According to sources, the four Executive Committee members who sided with Nash in the June 1 vote were Beverlee Vidoli, David Walsh, Linda O’Connor and James Dougherty. Every other member voted in favor of removing Nash, except for one member who abstained.
The groundwork is being laid for the June 22 Board of Directors meeting, with six regional caucuses being held around the state in the coming days to discuss Nash’s fate as well as other issues being discussed. “The feeling is there’s going to be a grassroots movement to unseat Bob,” a source said.
Those speaking on the record said the movement to unseat Nash is nothing personal, but the result of a desire to take the association in a new direction.
“Bob has great strengths,” Meyer said. “He’s the best extemporaneous speaker we’ve had, he’s got incredible contacts on Beacon Hill, and he’s really hard-working. A lot of people honor what he’s done. They just feel it’s time for a change.”
“We’re trying to preserve the dignity of the situation,” Dils said. “We want to honor the service of a man who has worked for us for a good number of years. We’re hoping to find the easiest path for this transition.”
Aftermath Feared
Sources who did not want to be identified said they feared what kind of effect the Nash situation would have on the association. “Both sides have lost focus. No one’s talking about member issues,” one said.
“This is going to alienate a lot of volunteers when they see the bloodbath,” a source said. “The state association may lose a majority of its volunteers. People have been saying ‘I don’t have time to deal with this.’ It’s literally a real loss. It’s worse than the most heated presidential election.”
Meyer countered, saying the Executive Committee has remained focused and is dealing with other issues at hand. “It’s true the Executive Committee has spent a lot of time on this, but we’ve also spent time on other things. We had two three-and-a-half-hour meetings last week. We spent the first meeting on the [Nash] vote, and we spent the other three-and-a-half-hours on other things. Normal life is going on.”
Meyer also addressed concerns that a lawsuit could ensue if Nash was voted out and he decided to fight the removal. “Our attorney feels we’re doing things by the book,” he said. “You can’t follow the process any more thoroughly than we are right now. The contract gives the right to terminate without cause if he receives a compensation package. This is absolutely according to the contract. But this is not a trial. No one has done anything wrong.”
Meyer said despite the grassroots effort to unseat Nash and the Executive Committee vote, nothing is set in stone until the Board of Directors makes the final call. “I’m a part-time minister, but the Board of Directors is definitely no flock,” Meyer said. “They’re very independent people that will ask lots of questions before making up their minds. My job is to moderate the discussion in a fair way, and I intend to do that.”
