Rebecca Hopkins — The Roys Report
In exclusive interviews with The Roys Report (TRR), 10 former VOM staff accused VOM President Cole Richards of retaliating against employees for failing to give him unquestioning support. They also claimed Richards pushed out his predecessor to gain control of the organization. And they say Richards has a pattern of lying to protect himself and VOM, including deceiving people about his background and credentials.
I wasn’t entirely certain if I wanted to comment on the latest news about a former employer. It’s been years since I worked for VOM, and I have had enough conflicted feelings about my time there that I’ve largely tried to avoid speaking about them any longer. What prompted me to make this post was seeing the response that has come from the existing employee base, who have not decided to unanimously defend and believe the victims of the executive team’s cruel and vindictive behavior. This bothers me greatly, because I was one of those victims.
I worked for VOM for over eight years. I started as a volunteer and eventually became a full-time salaried employee, supporting the content creation and distribution across VOM’s internet presence. My work is still visible on the VOM website or social media accounts, and the memory of my contributions have continued in some of the practices that the company still employs on their web presence, not solely because of my involvement but I believe because I helped make those processes a success.
Simultaneously I feel as if my time there left very little impact, primarily due to how regularly the executive team constrained and attacked those within the company for attempting to make change within their roles. Retributive behavior was common, with punishments for original thought being a loss of opportunity or diminishment of roles. The executive suite was quick to punish but slow to communicate, leaving people uncertain if anything was actually planned before discovering they had overstepped bounds and were to be reprimanded for the error.
Part of what disturbs me about the response is that this corruption is not new nor was it unknown within the company while I was employed. I even experienced my first taste of disdain for the actions of the company within my first year. When I was new to the company I was able to overcome the cognitive dissonance through the strength of my idealism and hope in the goals of the company, but these weakened until I finally broke. By the latter half of my time with the company I had allowed the propaganda and abuse to disrupt my sense of agency, fooling me into believing that I was blessed to have a job anywhere, especially a place as self-important as VOM. It was only when I escaped, thanks to the encouragement of my wife, Lisa, that I was able to look back and see how much of a victim of abuse I was.
I grieve for the people still trapped in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and in a destructive system like VOM. I worry for those who are supported by such a vindictive company who will pull support for the pettiest of grievances. They are perpetuating a system of abuse that stretches across the globe and they must be stopped.
The employees who are denying the reality of the pain VOM is continuing to cause may very well be active victims themselves, and with that under consideration, I can understand their response. But as someone who denied to himself for so many years the problems at VOM, along with the years of regret and healing that occurred afterward, I encourage everyone involved to reconsider the evidence and perhaps consider trusting colleagues and former employees. The unacceptable behavior being attested to has and continues to occur. The corruption is real. If you’ve managed to avoid being hurt by VOM, then count your blessings, but don’t deny it to be true for others. And get out as soon as you can.
