February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
And that means buying a computer.
“We are very pleased that the attorney general’s office found no wrongdoing on the part of the parade or anyone to do with the parade,” Dr. John Lahey, the parade committee’s media spokesman, said last week.
“The AG’s office looked at the books in response to a complaint though we never felt there was anything improper. Nonetheless, they did recommend we make some standard practice improvements in our bookkeeping.
“It’s important that people realize that we’re a small organization made up of volunteers and a half-time secretary. But we’re moving toward computerization and I think that will clean up any sloppiness in the bookkeeping.”
Lahey said that the parade now had its tax-exempt status confirmed and this status had been made retroactive to 1992.
“That protects every single donor,” he said.
Lahey expressed his relief that the Ancient Order of Hibernians had recently apologized in a letter for accusations made against the committee over how it awarded its annual scholarships.
A recent letter to Lahey, signed by AOH leaders, including the national president, Ned McGinley, said that the rules for the scholarship had not been immediately evident to the AOH leadership when the complaint was made last year.
“Once you explained the rules and the method in your letter we knew the awards were chosen on a competitive basis using a blind selection process,” the Hibernian letter to Lahey stated.
“This has been a good day for the parade and the Irish American community,’ Lahey said in reference to the AG’s findings and the apology letter.
“It’s important that such legal and financial matters have been resolved. This is an opportunity to move the parade forward.”