Jul 15, 2014 4 min read

Fireworks have been part of The Great American Food Drive, and truck and tractor pulls and concerts at the Washington County Fairgrounds, for the past few years. Although that food drive won’t be taking place this summer, fireworks are occurring, but not in the way one might think.

Greater Washington County Food Bank is squabbling with a rival organization using a Great American Food Drive logo, and some of the comments being made do not reflect perfect harmony.

Firing the first salvo late last week was the board of the food bank, which emailed several pages’ worth of information and correspondence on the topic of the Great American Food Drive power-pulling production, which had been scheduled to take place this weekend at the fairgrounds.

The food bank claims the solicitation for the event created confusion in the mind of the donating public because the title of the event – Great American Food Drive – is the same as the one that the food bank used for three years.

An organization formed last year, which goes by both “The Great American Food Drive” and “America’s Food Drive,” in May requested donations, including requests for a pallet of food (representing a $500 contribution), to “participating Washington County Food Pantries.” A coupon on the mailer asks that checks be mailed to an address on East Maiden Street in Washington. The Greater Washington County Food Bank is in Eighty Four.

Washington County Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan, whose name appeared on the solicitation along with that of Nellie Chester, chairman of the drive for pallets of food and a member of the America’s Food Drive Advisory Board, provided a copy of minutes from May 2013 in which all food bank board members present agreed to move forward with the incorporation of the Great American Food Drive. Ironically, two board members asked their colleagues to consider incorporating the Great American Food Drive for the food bank’s own protection so that no one would be able to apply the concept for another use.

“We proceeded to incorporate it and picked a board of directors,” said Alan Gordon, who is a member of both the food bank and Great American Food Drive boards. Connie Burd, who was named executive director of the Greater Washington County Food Bank in April, said Tuesday, “There was never an understanding that the Great American Food Drive would take on a life of its own outside of the food bank.”

Chester was associated with the food bank for many years but has left the organization.

Although both organizations use at least one star in their logos, Irey Vaughan said the organization of which she is chairman is permitted to use the words “Great American Food Drive” in its title and that the logo depicting a series of falling stars accompanying it is substantially different from the star-with-a-heart logo the food bank used from 2011 through 2013.

“We got a legal opinion,” Irey Vaughan said. “We don’t use the same design. There’s no infringement at all.”

Four officials of Greater Washington County Food Bank, including Burd; Peg Wilson, board of directors president; Paul Vahaly, board treasurer; and Karen DeMarino, board secretary, wrote to Irey Vaughan in June, saying, “We have no vested interest in conveying either our patented logo or the names at this time. Our greatest concerns include confusion between the Greater Washington County Food Bank and Great American Food Drive and the immense expenses versus returns on the past three Great American Food Drives that Greater Washington County Food Bank conducted during 2011, 2012 and 2013 under the direction of your CEO.”

The CEO of the Great American Food Drive incorporated in 2013 was Christopher Plumtree, who until April 22 of was director of charitable giving for the food bank.

He said the tractor pull at the fairgrounds was canceled “because of a funding shortage. I wish we could’ve done it. We were unable to get funding to cover the main costs of the event.” Despite the cancellation, the organization hopes to feed the hungry.

Burd said she inquired about trademark issues in a phone call with the state attorney general’s office early last week and was referred to the agency’s nonprofit division. She said Tuesday afternoon that she had not heard back from the AG’s office.

“There are many persons in Washington County who need this food bank to survive, and we don’t want in any way to tarnish that name,” said Burd, who noted the food bank served 5,200 families last year.

“They asked me if I’d serve on the board of the Great American Food Drive,” Irey Vaughan said Friday of the new organization. “We co-exist.”

But not, apparently, on the best of terms.