With little fanfare, Huntsman transition team members called Department of Community and Economic Development employees together Wednesday and instructed them to sign form letters resigning their positions.

Some of those in the room had for years served the state's minority communities.

"The spirit of today was sign [the resignation papers] and go," said Bill Afeaki, who, until Wednesday, was the director of the Office of Pacific Islander Affairs.

Forrest Cuch, of the Division of Indian Affairs; Tony Yapias, of Hispanic Affairs; Edith Mitko, of Asian Affairs; and Bonnie Dew, of Black Affairs, also resigned.

None of them knows who will keep their jobs, acting as a link between government and the state's American Indian, Pacific Islander, Latino, Asian and black populations. Directors will be announced today.

Staffers in those offices serve as minority advocates, Afeaki said. Collectively, they have helped hundreds of minority students find scholarships, helped families find affordable housing and fought for state programs that improve lives. But there wasn't even a simple "thank you" for their work, Afeaki said.

"We've touched the lives of ethnic minorities, from the confines of their homes to state programs. But I didn't sense a feeling of gratitude [on Wednesday]," Afeaki said. "We were herded in like livestock."

Many say that even though the new governor has pledged to build bridges among various communities, his first effort in dealing with minorities fell short.

Huntsman spokeswoman Tammy Kikuchi said the governor listened to input from members of various minority communities.

But many members of the various ethnic and racial minority groups in Salt Lake City and Utah said they hadn't heard of any meetings the governor held to garner community-wide support.

"I'd like to hear if there was but I haven't heard of it yet and I'm a little worried about it," said Theresa Martinez, a Utah Latino community member.

Martinez has argued that state government needs to seek collective community input to choose the heads of ethnic posts.

In a Wednesday news conference, Huntsman said he has been meeting with all the minority communities.

"I can't imagine we've left anyone out," he said.

Donna Land, an American Indian from Utah, said while ethnic communities offer opinions on the performance of the director and the staff of an ethnic posts, prior approval by communities is not necessary.

"It doesn't bother me because those appointments don't seem to be political," she said.

In some cases, many communities are happy with the people already in place, she said, and that type of input should also be taken into account.

"It's a shame that the community isn't invited to give their feedback," she said.

Chris Roybal, of Huntsman's transition team, said the way the new staff was chosen and the way the former staff was asked to resign was standard procedure.

But those like Afeaki, who spent long hours tending to ethnic groups in Utah, say that procedure was cold.

"There needs to be feeling and care when you deal with people," Afeaki said. "They need to remember they are dealing with people."

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Rebecca Walsh contributed to this story.