Q1: “Why should we not think that this is just a hostile takeover?”

Answer: First and foremost, because the elected Board of MMHCA is the Board, the membership, i.e., you, chose when they voted in November 2023. After submitting our candidacies, we had no power to decide who would be elected. We took on these responsibilities because the membership told us that is what they wanted. It was an election that one side that participated in the election refused to recognize, even though they were involved throughout the process.

Let’s also look at what members have received from each group since November 2023.

Since this trouble started, the volunteer-elected board of MMHCA has:
• Held monthly public board meetings that are recorded and made available to members
• Updated MMHCA’s Bylaws with member input and our attorney’s guidance and made the Bylaws public on mmhcaNow.org 4.19.24 Bylaws - MMHCA
• Provided multiple free workshops for members (including 3 in the last two months)
• Conducted training, free to members, on the practical matters of Medicare for LPCs - ongoing training regarding Medicare will be offered by an expert in the field.
• Created an online library of free educational video resources (YouTube @mmhcalibrary)
• Created a new, up-to-date website: mmhcaNow.org
• Surveyed members several times to get input on organization direction
• Provided monthly free clinical peer consultation group sessions
• Contracted with and meet regularly with MMHCA’s essential lobbyist, Acuitas ($1,670/month)
• Gotten the organization on track with the just completed, first in a decade, public election (June 2024)
2024 Election Results MMHCA 6.15.24
• Continued to work on studying the Counseling Compact
• Started work with our lobbyist on limiting the number of years Insurance Clawbacks can occur
• Provided members free access to a national functional medicine psychiatry conference (value $299)
• Created a cooperative relationship with another Michigan mental health organization
• Begun revitalizing MMHCA’s LinkedIn group and Twitter (X) accounts: linkedin.com/company/mmhca and x.com/officialMMHCA
• And much more to come.

In that same time, as far as we know, Mr. Blundo, Dr. Schaeffer, Dr. Ametrano, and Dr. Emde’s group, DBA Michigan LPCs, has:
• Had no public board meetings,
• Has changed their officer positions numerous times (i.e., S. Schaeffer has gone from being appointed president by Mr. Blundo to mysteriously becoming past president in May 2024. The secretary became a University Liaison Chair and, most recently, is a member at large. Dr. Schaeffer’s husband, Don Amidon, recently appeared in signatures on their emails as the new Secretary, and Mr. Blundo is recently signing their emails as president and executive director simultaneously.)
• They have not funded a lobbyist (they falsely claim to have a lobbyist on their website)
• They have not offered workshops or ongoing services to members.

Mr. Blundo’s group has sent out numerous emails accusing officially elected volunteer MMHCA board members of doing things they have not done, made malicious and defamatory public statements about other LPCs, and he has done lots of unprofessional name-calling.

Mr. Blundo and others in DBA Michigan LPCs have gone so far as to file a license complaint against the consultant, a longtime friend, whom they asked to assist with the board. This consultant dedicated hundreds of pro bono hours to help, but when they apparently didn’t like their consultant’s conclusions or recommendations, they accused him of violating professional ethics, a complete fabrication.