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I was interviewed for an
article written by Louis-Philippe Messier published in
Derniere Heure, a Québec magazine, on December 4,
2008, and Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, Directrice générale of
Fondation Rivières, also contributed. From the time I
received my first email message from the journalist, I
had a strong impression that he was laboring under
misconceptions about funds being donated to Fondation
Rivières by Roy’s fans. When I spoke to him on the
phone, I told him very directly that a statement he was
making was incorrect, but continued to have the
impression that he was trying to fit the information I
was giving him into a story he had already made up his
mind to write.
Upon reading the article, Anne-Marie and I found
inaccuracies and that both of us had been misquoted.
When I spoke to M. Messier a couple of months before the
article was published, I went to great lengths to tell
him that Roy’s fandom encompasses multiple separate
groups and that many of us are members of several, or
none at all, and the Foundation makes no distinction and
greatly values the support of all of Roy’s fans
regardless of which group, if any, they are members. I
also talked to him about Amis par Roy, an email list of
which I am administrator, and their group contributions
to Fondation Rivières over the years because Roy’s “fan
clubs” were a part of his inquiry. Anne-Marie confirmed
to M. Messier what I had told him, but her statement was
not reported correctly. In the article, the significant
contributions of fans who belong to boards, lists or
groups which were not named or who do not belong to any
group were not suitably recognized. I tried, and am
sorry this happened.
Among the numerous misquotes is that Amis par Roy
contributed $80,000 to Fondation Rivières in one
year–although the list’s donations are included in that
amount, the vast majority of this sum was donated by
individual fans, who may or may not be members of Amis
par Roy, to support Roy’s Foundation.
Regarding the pictures published, I was asked to provide
some “great pictures illustrating... the Amis Par Roy
doing volunteer work or traveling together in Québec.” I
sent a large number of photos of Fondation Rivières
events--of the auctions, Roy talking to attendees at the
tables and our supporters at the various scenic river
sites we have visited around Québec--as well as a couple
of pictures of members of Amis par Roy traveling in
Québec (which were misidentified in the body of the
article). For the first group, which included a lot of
different individuals, I specified that the persons in
the photos were not identified with any particular fan
group, but were supporters of the Foundation from all
around the world. The publisher had complete discretion
over which pictures to publish and did not choose any of
this group, much to my disappointment.
Other than the misstatements, I am not criticizing the
article, and BTW, the ladies pictured look fabulous.
So much for my encounter with the press....
I guess the points I want to make now are that, first of
all, although the article may have inaccuracies, Roy is
hands-on in the operation of Fondation Rivières and is
personally very aware of who gives donations and support
and from where our funding comes.
Secondly, as was stated in the article, it is true that
Roy and Fondation Rivières are very grateful for the
outpouring of support that Roy’s fans have given to the
Foundation over its life and recognize that without
this, the Foundation would not have survived. We thank
each and every individual who has contributed, and I
wish the article could have better acknowledged how
broad this support is.
And, I’ll go on to say that this has been a very
difficult year for the Foundation. Our cause is not
popular with the government or with big business, so
grants and public or corporate funding are difficult, if
not impossible, to come by and the need continues to
grow with the Romaine and other large rivers under siege
and the recent re-introduction of the small dam program.
Keeping the doors open has been a struggle. This is the
cause that is near to Roy’s heart, and we welcome and
have a great need for the assistance of every
group and each individual.
Sincerely,
Maxine
FOR THE FOUNDATION
www.rivers-foundation.org
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