July 17, 2007

To the Editor of the Whitefish Pilot,

As a physician and BOD member of the non-profit mentioned in your disparaging article about Devra West, I feel I owe a tremendous apology to Dr. Devra Patton West "Surya Ma." Having gifted the non-profit with millions of dollars, Devra resigned over five years ago due to the ineptitude with which the organization was run during that time. Unfortunately, there were those such as Mr. Watson who saw her as a cash-cow and perversely sought to take advantage of her enormous generosity. When she resigned, he launched a vendetta  campaign as a means of illegally extorting financial gain. To her credit and admirable wisdom, Dr. West, has never once replied to over five years of Watson's  stalker-like, obsessive hate e-mails, (sometimes several a day) or his  obviously psychotic web-site.

Dr. Pat Cole whom I have known for six years, served as president of the non-profit board and is someone who has broken every moral, ethical, financial, and legal rule of protocol that can be counted. Her financial misappropriations and out-right fraud perpetrated on Dr. West is extensive to say the least. She sang Dr. West's praises for over six years until her past misdeeds as a medical professional came to light and Dr. West deemed her ineligible for one of her training programs. This is combined with Cole's failure to pay for the hefty bills she racked up. In view of the financial debauchery she has created, her claim of a gun wielding assault is preposterous and grossly out of character for Dr. West, who is a tiny woman barely over five feet tall.

It is no fault of Dr. West's that imbalanced people managed to attend her seminars (a rarity rather than the norm) however the vast majority are decent, respectable people and reputable professionals. I will also say that never have I witnessed so noble and intelligent a human being as Dr. West, whose philanthropic character is applauded by international circles for her renowned work of interfaith dialog in global regions of conflict. In my opinion, serious and responsible journalism would include coverage of her international work and service projects and her legacy as a pioneer in the healing arts. She truly is a remarkable soul who will bring much light, as well as economic benefit to the Flathead Valley community, as a business owner of health related enterprises and launches a promotional  campaign that highlights the area as a Mecca for health and healing. I hope that the Whitefish Pilot comes to realize that it has played party to what  boils down to a modern day witch-hunt.

In addition to funding the non-profit's ability to repay its debts to Dr. West, I will also be instrumental in funding and sponsoring her projects in the health arena on Flathead Lake, as will a number of my medical colleagues and I can not think of a better use of my capital investments. On this note, I am very eager to move forward with our projects, which will in time provide over two to three hundred jobs over the next several years for community residents.

Sincerely,  

Julio Williams, MD 
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon

© 2008 Master Teacher Devra Patton West, "Surya Ma" ...All rights reserved.