Pike, DMA Send New Proxy Requests

Both the Direct Marketing Association and Gerry Pike, the DMA board member who is leading a proxy fight in opposition management, sent out new proxy ballot requests on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning saw an e-mail effort from Pike, the fourth since he launched his proxy fight on Sept. 25. Tuesday afternoon, the DMA followed suit.

The efforts were the first made since Direct Newsline reported Pike had received a cease-and-desist letter from the DMA’s lawyers last week (http://directmag.com/news/dma-pike-legal-action-1005/).

Pike’s latest e-mail message references the DMA’s letter, starting with the subject line “Now DMA threatens legal action. What next?” In the letter’s body, Pike mentions the DMA’s threat of a suit to stop his activities.

“As a DMA member said to me, they’re using our membership money to silence us.And it does cost a lot of money.” The note then offers a link to an article about the fees charged by Venable LLP, the DMA’s law firm.

Pike’s letter also contains links to articles about the proxy fight from several sources, including Direct Newsline. Additionally, for the first time it notes that members who have already sent in their proxy may change it.

Pike, a current board member who was not renominated to the DMA’s board, is seeking to place two resolutions on the agenda of the DMA’s upcoming business meeting. One would open the nominating process for the DMA’s board of directors to its voting members. The other calls for the board chair and other officers to be elected by voting members.

Tuesday afternoon, the DMA responded with its third e-mail since the proxy fight started. The DMA’s message made tangential reference to the proxy fight, something the organization had not done in its second reminder note, although it did present its side of the conflict in its first letter.

In its most recent message, which bore the subject line “Your DMA Ballot and Proxy are Due – Urgent Do Not Delete!”, the DMA asserts “This year, the nominating committee did an outstanding job of proposing an impressive slate of multichannel marketers to join the 2010 DMA Board. The nominees are top leaders from the most diverse array of channels and markets ever to be represented on the Board, continuing the progress DMA has made addressing the opportunities of the digital, multichannel direct marketing process that’s changing all marketing today.”

While voting members are permitted to attend the DMA’s business meeting in San Diego during its annual conference, the organization’s most recent letter suggests “Perhaps the most convenient way to vote is by proxy, which is your formal way of allowing someone else to vote for you. Assigning your vote to the DMA Chairman or Secretary assures a vote for this fine slate since they are obligated to vote that way.”

It goes on to caution “Assigning your proxy to anyone else relinquishes all your control and allows the proxy holder to vote any way he or she wants.”

The letter is signed by DMA SVP of member and segment services Ken Ebeling.