[Vision2020] Chamber President and FirstBank

[Dan Carscallen]

This is exactly the kind of stuff McMillan is railing against.  People
on Vision2020 going off half-cocked without getting all the facts.  I'm
guilty of it as well, but I, like Ms. Opyr (I still like Opry, sounds
Nashville-a-rific), am an admitted smartass (okay, maybe she didn't use
those words exactly).

Does anyone here know exactly what is in their checking account?  If
David Johnson of the Tribune called you RIGHT NOW for a phone interview,
could you tell him, down to the penny, how much you have?  No, because
while you know what your register says, you don't know which checks have
cleared and whether your direct deposits have been posted yet.  But,
that's neither here nor there.

Maybe Mr. Arnold has had trouble in the past with FirstBank, but has he
approached bank personnel on those issues?  I don’t know.  But, to fly
off the handle and cancel all your accounts with a bank because you
don't like what someone said about a piddly Internet ListServ?  Well, to
each his own, I guess.  Heck, if I pulled the pin on every business that
may have said something in passing about any of my hobbies, I'd have
lots of pins to pull.  Maybe if the people of Vision 2020 got to know
some of the people they are railing against, Moscow could be a better
place.

Nah, we couldn’t do something as silly as that.

Besides, maybe she was talking about me!

DC

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
[mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 3:52 AM
To: deco at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Chamber President and FirstBank 


Mr. Fox writes,

"If Ms. McMillan, chamber president and FirstBank executive, really
believes 
in
>her heart of hearts that this 25% margin of error is no big deal, then
>anyone
>with money in FirstBank should get it out as fast as they can (if the
bank
>really still has it)!"

You are absolutely right Mr. Fox!! And that is exactly what I plan to do
on 
Monday, close my account with FirstBank after four years as a customer.

The quality of FirstBank has seriously declined over the last two years.
It 
once took me 30 days to get my checks delivered. I have had on several 
occasions my card declined when I had money in my account. I have been 
unable to get cash from an ATM when I was far away from home when I had 
money in the bank, left stranded. I once nearly had a heart attack when
my 
bank statement said I $0 in my account because of a computer glitch. All

this I can tolerate. I tolerated it because there are some really good 
people working at FirstBank. People that are friendly, warm, and know my

name. To me, that makes a difference.

However, I will close my account this time around because of Ms.
McMillan. I 
just get a really woozy feeling in my stomach thinking about the fact
that 
Ms. McMillian is calling people names on the Vision2020 and standing up
for 
a man that used General Lee and a Confederate Flag for a Leadership 
conference. If Ms. McMillian wants to make offensive and controversial 
remarks to the media she is going to lose my business.

I prefer to do my business with people I agree with, or at least do
business 
with people that don't defend the confederacy and attack people on 
Vision2020. I also prefer to do business with banks or credit unions
that 
have a +/- margin to the penny, not within 25%.

Ms. McMillian may call Vision2020 "garbage", but, aside from some really

good people in there, it is her bank that has become "trash" with
declined 
service, declined interest paid on savings, and poor access to your
account.

Sincerely,

Donovan J Arnold
Soon to be ex-FirstBank Customer







>From: "Art Deco aka W. Fox" <deco at moscow.com>
>To: "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] LMT 8/25/04 Moscow Chamber Rumors Denied
>Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:28:52 -0700
>
>Don, Melynda, et al,
>
>Like Melynda, I was disappointed in the lack of depth in the LMT  news
>story on
>Paul Kimmell and the current mess at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce.
Thank 
>you
>Dan for posting the story.
>
>However unintended, some of the quotes from the article should cause 
>not
>only
>chamber members grave concerns, but all Latah County citizens:
>
>For the record, said Kimmell and McMillan, the chamber remains solvent.

>"I
>can
>tell you today, we're in the black," said Kimmell. "Yes, we're in the 
>black,"
>confirmed McMillan. The two conceded that some confusion continues to 
>surround
>the chamber's finances, but as of Tuesday the nonprofit promotional 
>organization
>had between $12,000 and $15,000 in its checking account and the bills
were 
>being
>paid.
>
>"The chamber is not bankrupt," Swanson agreed. "It's just that the
>financials
>don't balance." She said an audit would help matters. Kimmell and
McMillan
>agreed
>
>Moscow business people:  Hello!  Do any of you see a problem between 
>the
>two
>above paragraphs?
>
>How do you know your in the black if the books do not balance?
>
>Just because there is cash in the bank does not mean you have 
>sufficient
>cash to
>cover all your short term and long term liabilities.  Many a business
has 
>had
>severe financial problems because of inept bookkeeping not noticed
because 
>there
>was always "cash in the checking account."  Some of these firms
discovered 
>one
>day that when withholding and other tax payments were due, that they
simply
>didn't not have the resources to cover them.
>
>Further notice:
>
>...the nonprofit promotional organization had between $12,000 and 
>$15,000
>in its
>checking account...
>
>Between $12,000 and $15,000?  Holy Jesus!  They only know their 
>checking
>account
>balance within a range of 25%?  And this is good fiscal management?
Would 
>you
>dare run your personal checking account with and accuracy range of 25%?
>
>If Ms. McMillan, chamber president and FirstBank executive, really 
>believes
>in
>her heart of hearts that this 25% margin of error is no big deal, then 
>anyone
>with money in FirstBank should get it out as fast as they can (if the
bank
>really still has it)!
>
>Also incredible:
>
>"It's just that the financials don't balance."
>
>And whose incompetence has brought about this sad state of affairs?  
>The accounting knowledge to perform and to monitor the books of a 
>business organization with a $180,000 per year budget is not rocket 
>science.  Anyone on this list could probably do it after a few hours 
>with Bookkeeping for Dummies.
>That Kimmell could not and/or did not read the Earnings Report, Cash
Flow
>Report, and the Balance Sheet on a regular [weekly/monthly] basis and
see 
>the
>glaring problems does not speak well of the his talents or business
sense 
>or
>that of someone of someone who an executive director.  Given the size
and
>profundity of the errors in the chamber bookkeeping, it is unclear why
such 
>a
>state went undetected for so long except possibly by intention and 
>ignorance.
>
>Why did the chamber board not see the main accounting reports?  Did the

>executive director not make it part of his routine to share these 
>reports with the board and membership monthly/annually?  Again, why did

>the board not ask to
>see the reports?  Is it because Kimmell is so likeable that the board 
>members
>suspended their good business judgment?  That's how confidence persons
>operate -- gain trust, keep the foils happily in the dark, etc.
>
>
>Another item:
>
>Kimmell defended his use of Lee in his recent presentation, saying it 
>had nothing to do with the promotion of slavery. "It was not intended 
>to be about anything but the leadership skills of a leader," said 
>Kimmell. Let's see.  The civil war was fought long ago.  Debate still 
>continues about the
>quality of General Robert E. Lee's leadership and character.  Once in a

>seminar
>a lady friend of mine persuaded me to attend with her, the speaker,
whose 
>name I
>don't remember, gave an account of Lee's personal dealings (this
account 
>was
>consistent with several others I had heard/read).  One paragraph has
always
>stayed with me, it went something like this:
>
>"Robert E. Lee was the consummate southern gentleman.  He had fine 
>manners,
>a
>truly likeable and commanding way, dressed nicely but manly, and had a 
>moral
>code that defined southern gentlemen at that time:  Never get caught
lying 
>to,
>stealing from, cheating at cards, or diddling the wife or daughter of 
>another
>southern gentleman; everyone else is fair game."
>
>Regardless of Lee's character, racial views, slavery views, and lack of
>success
>on the battlefield, he is certainly an extremely poor practical choice
to 
>use as
>a model of leadership for Moscow business people.
>
>As mentioned by others on this list, Moscow businesses people are not
>engaged in
>a military war being fought in the 19th century.  They are engaged in 
>businesses
>trying to survive and to prosper in a rapidly changing business,
economic,
>political, and social environment.  The rate of change in today's world
is
>several quantum levels faster than that of civil war times.  Nor will
the 
>same
>leadership tactics work.
>
>Business people are not likely to succeed today if they treat their
>employees
>like slaves, chattel, mere tools, etc. or if they are not honest with
and 
>caring
>about them.  Most motivational techniques that may have worked for Lee
are
>unlikely to be successful in a Moscow, Idaho business today.  Moreover,

>despite
>what Kimmell's mentor, Christ Church Cult Master Douglas Wilson,
believes, 
>much
>progress through trial and error, careful research, and/or serendipity
has 
>been
>made in leadership, motivational, and management techniques in the 
>intervening
>years.
>
>If the chamber wishes to learn about up-to-date, practical leadership 
>and management skills, it is very likely that professionals in the UI 
>or WSU business colleges would point them in the right direction, pro 
>bono.  It is doubtful that any of the sources that these professionals 
>would recommend are pro-slavery, racist traitors as Lee was.
>
>
>
> >From the article:
>
>He [Kimmell] said he refuses to enter the Internet fray on Vision 2020 
>but
>would
>be happy to talk face to face with anyone about his work, his
affiliation 
>with
>the church and the chamber's financial status.
>
>What a wonderful thing for an elected official to say!
>
>Besides being truly anti-democratic by forcing his constituents to
>communicate
>with him only face to face, such an arrangement allows Kimmell to
change 
>his
>story to suit the person he is interacting with.  In fact, it has been 
>alleged
>that this exactly what he has been doing with chamber board members and
the 
>rank
>and file chamber members!
>
>
>
>When the following appears in the minutes of the cult in which Kimmell 
>is a member, all citizens have a right to ask about it and are entitled

>to a straight forward answer.  Each person should not have to 
>personally run Kimmell down to
>find out his current version of what's going on:
>
>"The Christ Church minutes state, “Doug Wilson reported that Paul 
>Kimmell,
>in
>his role as County Commissioner, is open to oversight from the elders
on 
>certain
>issues...”
>
>The above quote raises an important question about the separation of 
>church
>and
>state and raises the question of a gross breach of public trust.  That 
>answer
>deserves an open, public answer.
>
>
>
>Unfortunately, the LMT  article did not address two germane points:
>
>1.    Gross violation of fair employment practices laws by giving 
>preference in
>employment by the chamber to Kimmell's cultie associates.  Kimmell has
>hired at
>least five Christ Church Cult members as chamber employees.  Under the
most
>generous assumptions the chances of this happening fairly is about
>1/312,500,000.  The chance of fairly using only cultie children (8) on
one
>chamber project alone is 1 in several hundred billion!
>
>2.    The use of our tax dollars, paid as dues and other donations by
tax
>supported organizations (UI, City of Moscow, Moscow School District, 
>etc.),
>to
>support Kimmell's illegally discriminatory hiring practices and to
support 
>the
>promulgation of Robert E. Lee's ideas, an offensively fulsome, inept,
>impractical, racist, proslavery, and insulting example for Moscow
business
>people to model.  I am sure that in time these tax supported
institutions 
>are
>going to be asked to explain their actions in this regard, especially
if 
>such
>support continues.
>
>
>
>Although, the LMT article was intended to reassure us that everything 
>is
>fine at
>the chamber and Kimmel is right on top of things, a careful reading of
the
>article reveals, quite clearly, the opposite.
>
>
>Wayne
>
>Art Deco  (Wayne Fox)
>deco at moscow.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Melynda Huskey" <mghuskey at msn.com>
>To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 12:21 PM
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] LMT 8/25/04 Moscow Chamber Rumors Denied
>
>
>|
>| I think the Tribune did a slightly better job assembling all the 
>| facts
>than
>| the Daily News did, but I think there's still some confusion--and 
>| some unfair generalizations or allegations about us, the members of 
>| Vision
>2020.
>|
>| For example, "McMillan blasted Vision 2020 as something that's gone 
>| from
>a
>| potentially helpful local forum of ideas to "garbage" spouted by 
>| about a dozen contributors who give a totally wrong impression of 
>| what Moscow is
>all
>| about.  'Vision 2020 was a great idea when it came out,' said 
>| McMillan,
>'but
>| it has just been taken over by a group of, I don't know how to say 
>| this
>...
>| I would call them almost destructive.' "
>|
>| Is Ms. McMillan a member of Vision 2020? Her name doesn't appear in 
>| any recognizable form on the list of 516 subscribers maintained by 
>| First
>Step.
>| And while she may not like what people have to say on the list 
>| (sometimes
>I
>| don't either!), I'd hesitate to qualify it as "garbage."
>|
>| I'm also disturbed by this statement:
>|
>| >Kimmell defended his use of Lee in his recent presentation, saying 
>| >it had nothing to do with the promotion of slavery.  "It was not 
>| >intended to be about anything but the leadership skills of a 
>| >leader," said Kimmell.
>|
>| There was no response from anyone on the Board to the presentation, 
>| nor
>any
>| comment from Chamber members not on the Board, which I think was a
>weakness
>| in the article.  And I still think the use of a Confederate general 
>| as a role model given recent controversies was a peculiar one:  I 
>| have yet to hear or read an explanation for the choice, which would 
>| have been a
>helpful
>| addition to any of the articles.
>|
>| I was also particularly troubled by this paragraph in Alexis 
>| Bachrach's article in the Daily News last night:
>|
>| "Many who have long disagreed with the pastor's views, took their 
>| protest against Wilson and applied it to the entire church.  Those 
>| same community members have attacked Kimmell's membership in the 
>| church on local
>Internet
>| listservs and other public forums."
>|
>| This is editorializing unsupported by evidence.  What protest?  How, 
>| and
>by
>| whom, was a protest applied to the entire church?  And who are these
>"many"
>| community members?  As someone who *has* commented here on what I see

>| as conflict of interest, poor judgement, and preferential treatment 
>| of
>church
>| members in Paul Kimmell's work as a commissioner and as the Director 
>| of
>the
>| Chamber, I strongly object to the notion that I am protesting an 
>| entire church, or attacking someone's church membership.  That's just

>| not
>accurate
>| at all.  My concerns are very focused on a particular person's 
>| actions in his role as a public figure.  His church membership is a 
>| part of that concern *only* insofar as it appears to be implicated in

>| his public role.
>|
>| Melynda Huskey
>|
>|
>| _____________________________________________________
>|  List services made available by First Step Internet,  serving the 
>| communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>|                http://www.fsr.net
>|           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com 
>| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
>|
>|
>_____________________________________________________
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com 
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