Men of the North is seeking a new executive director after letting go of Chris Merasty at the end of December. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

community organization

Men of the North investigating unexpected bank charges amid leadership change

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Following a three-month operational pause, Men of the North (MOTN) founder Christopher Merasty is no longer the executive director of the non-profit organization.

The development comes after MOTN Chairperson Dr. Sean Groves explained members of the board hired an independent accounting firm to investigate unexpected bank account charges which occurred last summer.

Merasty, who founded MOTN in January 2020, had been on paid leave since the beginning of October.

“There were a number of factors involved in the board’s decision to end the contract for Chris. Obviously, a really tough decision from the board’s perspective. Chris has been kind of the heart and soul of MOTN since it began. He was the founder and has really driven a lot of the programming,” Groves said.

“We had some issues with governance, particularly with financial governance, and just needed to address that. In the role of director, we just felt that Chris wasn’t fulfilling that role in a way that was helping the organization move forward and create sustainability for us in the future. We fully intend to have Chris involved with Men of the North, just not in the executive director capacity.”

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At an annual general meeting held Jan. 3, there were accusations the term limits for all but one board member had expired. Groves responded that was due to misinformation, noting the board was restructured in April 2024 and all members were appointed to two-year terms at that time.

In an interview with larongeNOW, Merasty stated he was fiscally responsible during his tenure as the executive director and that there are differences of opinion when it comes to him being pushed out of the role.

“I did email the board stating all invoices and receipts were reconciled in accordance to the bank statements and I adhered to all the information, all the folders. We went from top to bottom right from April all the way down to September, reconciling everything with the bookkeeper, as well as staff at that time. I opened it up to the board for their review and answered any questions,” he said.

“The only regret that I have is the work got overshadowed by process and politics, but I do not regret showing up for the people, responding in crisis, and building something that helped a lot of people.”

Although no longer the executive director, Merasty added his commitments haven’t changed, and he would still like to support the work of MOTN.

The MOTN board is currently in the process of finding a new executive director and hope to have programming such as its support group operational as soon as possible.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com