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Antal resigns, new interim president takes title
Antal Resigns
Document
Resignation letter from Brian J. Antal, from his roles within the Northeast Ohio Diocesan Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
It started with a closed dining hall.
It led to upset clients and volunteers of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
It ended a week later with a resignation.
And now, many hope the local charity that provides meals to the needy can better focus on its mission.
“I need to focus my attention on my beautiful family, my health and my career as I have neglected all three for the good of the society during my tenure,” said Brian Antal in his resignation letter Tuesday.
He resigned as a council member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, National Council of the U.S., and as the president of the Northeast Ohio Diocesan Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which includes Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties, effective Tuesday.
He also resigned from his position as president of the society’s Mahoning County District effective Dec. 16.
David Skowron, who oversees the Trumbull County District of St. Vincent de Paul, will take Antal’s place as an interim president until a new president is appointed.
“It is just one of those positions that I fell into – that [I] felt led to do,” Skowron said. “St. Vincent de Paul is a great society.”
The society’s Trumbull County District has a dining hall and a thrift store on Niles Road in Warren. Skowron has been there one year.
Antal has been leading the Mahoning County District for four years. He had 21 months remaining in his second term.
“It is very challenging for someone as young as me to dedicate the proper amount of time to the society as an uncompensated president and fulfill all of the obligations in one’s life,” Antal said in his statement.
On Nov. 30, the St. Vincent de Paul Society dining hall on Front Street downtown closed its doors. The closure came after dining-hall manager Ralph “Skip” Barone resigned from his position Nov. 27 after 13 years, and upset volunteers walked out.
Clients and volunteers complained about Antal’s leadership and the implementation of several policies.
While the kitchen remained closed last week for lunch, the volunteers and Barone – with support from a local donor – gathered to make lunches for those in need and served them Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the parking lot across from the dining hall.
Although the Diocese of Youngstown has no contractual authority over the society, presidents of the area St. Vincent de Paul conferences gathered at diocese direction to find a dining-hall solution by working with the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Though a solution has been decided, the details have not been released by the diocese – which was closed Tuesday for a Catholic holiday.
Skowron was contacted last week by the national council and asked to be the interim president until a new president is elected.
“We appreciate the cooperation and efforts of the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul councils and the Youngstown Diocese,” said Gary Stevens, national director of marketing and communications for the national council. “We are happy to see the dining hall reopen and the dedicated members and volunteers serving people in need in the Youngstown community.”
The dining hall reopened with a new kitchen manager, Wayne Murray, on Monday. The hall was filled with clients eating meatloaf, but across the street, bagged lunches continued to be distributed. The volunteers handed out bagged lunches for the last time Tuesday because they were told that need would be filled by the society.
“We are all very happy to hear that,” said Allen Wasylychyn of Lake Milton, who volunteered for the society for eight years before leaving last week. “We are hopeful that Wayne has a successful mission in there.”
On Monday, Antal told The Vindicator how he saw the need for policies and procedures to be put in place, but that change was not very well accepted.
“I am at peace knowing that, overall, I left the society in a much better place than I took it over in,” Antal said in a statement. “I take great comfort in knowing that all of my decisions were made in the best interest of the society and those we serve.”