Comments on: An Empty Chair: Jason Dominy Out At BGA

By: jasondominy

jasondominy — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Thanks Will the Thrill. Appreciate the comments man. Genuinely miss ya.

By: Frith

Frith — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:10:00 +0000

Can’t wait to see where Jason takes it next! Big hug to you, big guy. Hope things are better than ever.

You’re already good at this, but I feel I need to say it anyway: ignore the Negative Nancys of the Internet. It’s easy to type negative thoughts on blogs and forums – there’s no risk involved. A first name, no link and a bunch of hatin’. Before the internet, I think these people were called “Armchair Intellectuals” or something like that.

I enjoyed the time we spent working together at B&B – and of course we had disagreements, got on each others’ nerves, etc., but the net result is a stronger understanding of one another, coffee, and the greater community we’re trying to better serve. Anyone who has met him in person can attest to the genuine warmth this guy exudes. How can you hate on the King of Stoke?

By: Andrew Tucker-MacLeod

Andrew Tucker-MacLeod — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:39:00 +0000

Here’s a man who stands by his beliefs on his blog; takes a hard look at the work he is paid for, and the work he VOLUNTEERS to do and says: I can’t do it all, if I am to be true to my beliefs. This is the mark of a passionate and honorable man. He uses his full name, publishes posts about his work and his play and never lets the stress of his life color his posts in a way that negatively impacts how he (or the company that employs him) is viewed by the larger community. I’ve never met the man in person either, but I’ll stand by any honorable man who takes pride in his work, his life and his faith without sacrificing his integrity or quality of work. For a person who’s not willing to be as up-front as Jason about their work, diligence or name, shame on you. Here’s mine:
Andrew Tucker-MacLeod
Manager, One World Cafe
Moscow ID 83843

By: jasondominy

jasondominy — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:23:00 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts. Let me clarify one thing: The reason why I quit, is because an increase workload at my paying job this past year has had me busier than I could be to be as effective in my volunteer role as I needed to be for the membership as a whole. So, my passing it on to Dan Streetman, himself highly skilled and qualified to take over and with more time to be more effective at the volunteer position of Chair, is for the betterment of the BGA as a whole. It did me no service to remain in the position and do a half-ass job, or continue to make my paying job and family suffer. Do you get that?? Sorry, but I gotta be honest with you.

By: david buehrer

david buehrer — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:15:00 +0000

don’t think twice about “jay”‘s comment, that is just one voice. There are hundreds of BGA members who support Jason Dominy and the decision he made to not affect the leadership’s goals. Dan will do a great job and fill in accordingly, all will be well, and Jason is just as amazing as the day he decided to help develop the Barista community as a whole.

By: Preston

Preston — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:34:00 +0000

jason and april have worked tirelessly for the bga for five fucking years, dude. it’s simply a sound decision made for very important reasons.

don’t be such a little shit.

By: jay

jay — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:19:00 +0000

Don’t care if he does a great or a shit job at his company. That’s not the point. He didn’t have to quit. I don’t know the dude that well, but mostly from his blog and what I see the dude post on the webs, homeboy is a whiner. A lot of self-pity. I’m sure he’s a totally nice guy. But dude.

@Jason: I did read your blog post. You quit, and wrote that you’re not a quitter. Sorry, but you’re a quitter dude. The BGA elected you, and after a half year you quit. IIRC, nobody has ever quit like that before. Whatever your reasoning was, you made the choice to quit instead of honoring your commitment to the BGA membership. Your choices have consequences, and I’ve had a lot of conversations this week with people who are annoyed at you and the BGA leadership. Sorry, but gotta be honest with you.

By: jasondominy

jasondominy — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:17:00 +0000

Wow. That’s all I’ll say. It’s obvious we view priorities differently, and it’s also obvious you did not read my blogpost about the subject. You are welcome to ask Batdorf & Bronson about my work, skills, and ethic. Although I think it’s visible enough.

By: Sprudge

Sprudge — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:48:00 +0000

hear hear mr. marrocco, could not have said it better ourselves.

-j&z

By: Joe Marrocco

Joe Marrocco — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:39:00 +0000

Unnecessary, and untrue. Jason may have the same job at the same company, but the company is dynamic; growing, changing, re-inventing and moving forward. Jason’s work load has increased drastically. There is no shame in throwing in the towel when you feel as though important areas of your life are being squeezed.

Family -> Career -> Volunteer Projects. This is the order of importance. if the two most important areas of your life are being negatively affected by a volunteer position, and the organization is being neglected due to your career and life, you have to make some tough decisions.

But my main point, besides defending Jason, (who is a good man, a gentleman and has more heart for this industry than just about anyone I know,) is that it takes a lot more character to quit something that has prestige, pride and clout tide to it than it does to put someone down on a public forum frequented by professional peers while pushing for someone’s career to end.

I think if you were to ask Batdorf and Bronson if Jason is a quitter, or his wife, I think their interpretations would be different from yours. Did he quit? Yes. Was it a good thing for both he and the organization? Yes. Will he be missed? Yes. But only as the Chair, because he is still very much involved in the community.

I don’t think it is Jason’s hire-ability that is in question, Jay.