AWMA
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Board of Inquiry, Shannon Faltak vs. Andy Dietz

Published: June 4th, 2025

Board of Inquiry, Shannon Faltak vs. Andy Dietz

Board of Inquiry Committee: Final Report
 AWMA Membership Chair, Shannon Faltak vs AWMA President Andy Dietz
Charge: Conduct prejudicial to the interest of the AWMA.
 
The AWMA Board of Inquiry (BOI) Committee, consisting of committee members Kim Yeager, Laura Swanson and Jill Lyden convened via conference call on Friday April 4, 2025, to discuss recommended disciplinary actions in the matter of AWMA Membership Chair, Shannon Faltak vs. AWMA Former President, Andy Dietz.

Andy Dietz failed to provide a response to the re-file of the following BOI charge that was submitted with examples and documented evidence. This BOI was re-filed due to the previous BOI committee allowing the time to expire without taking any action in the timeframe required.
 
Example #1: Creating Another Committee for An Already Existing Committee
Andy Dietz created an “ad-hoc” committee in duplicate to the BOI committee after receiving a BOI, knowing that it was not permitted within the bylaws. When creating this committee, he did not follow the procedures outlined in the bylaws. He then had an unknown, appointed member of the committee send an email to certain members of the board at their personal and work emails requesting confidential information to include financial information, logins and usernames/passwords.
 
Example #2: Misrepresenting Information to AWMA Members
Andy Dietz knowingly provided false information to members of AWMA creating a panic amongst the membership. He inappropriately stated to the membership that he has been requesting financial information from the board for months, presenting that the Executive
board is unwilling to work with him. Evidence shows that this information was provided to Andy on November 26, 2024. These continued false statements are indeed not factual and have damaged the reputation of AWMA.
 
Example #3: Not Fulfilling His Duties and Requirements as the AWMA President
Andy Dietz has failed to conduct a meeting, despite requests. He has not been unbiased in his actions. The provided evidence shows that Andy is in favor of members of the Executive Board breaking bylaws in support of certain members and allows members to harass and
demand others to also break the AWMA bylaws. This is inappropriate and goes against The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure.
 
Example #4: Illegally Making Motions and Seconds
As President of the organization, Andy Deitz cannot propose or second a motion, or nominate a candidate. He continued to do so after several people pointed out that it was not allowed per Sturgis. Evidence of numerous documented examples of his continuation to ignore the rule was provided.
 
Example #5: Refusing to Use Executive Board Voted Communication Platforms
Andy Dietz continued to use unofficial forms of communication for sensitive Board of Director’s communication. While Teams may have been utilized as an interim platform until Gaggle was secured, after securing Gaggle and a board vote of over 85% in support to use Gaggle was obtained, Andy continued to use Teams in which he was the only admin. With that, communication cannot be maintained or used for historical information.
 
Example #6: Discussing An Ongoing BOI Investigation with the Executive Board
Andy Dietz engaged the Executive Board to discuss an active BOI case, email evidence provided with details. This action is blatantly against Sturgis and Robert’s Rule. The President of an organizations should be overly familiar with Parliamentary Procedures and should be acting
unbiased, and in the best interest of the organization. Since receiving his BOI Andy appears to allow other members of the board, that were in support of, to be threatened.
 
Conclusion:
The committee has determined that the allegations against Andy Dietz are sustained. His actions violate AWMA professional standards. His actions have detrimental harm to the organization and its membership. Strong and lasting disciplinary measures are deemed
necessary to uphold AWMA’s integrity and to deter future misconduct.
 
Recommendations for Disciplinary Actions:
The Board of Inquiry Committee recommends that the Executive Board impose the following consequence of his actions to be a 7–10 year suspension from the AWMA and a lifetime ban from serving on the Executive Board and all AWMA committees.