[Vision2020] Chamberof Commerce turmoil

[Bill London]

Thanks Saundra....

I hope everyone reads the excellent report from today's Tribune (see below) 
and recognizes that the people who sabotaged the new director were the 
town's short-sighted conservative business owners (Dennis O'Keefe called 
them "the small right" in the Tribune article).

This Chamber is very dysfunctional.
BL






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at roadrunner.com>
To: "'Bruce and Jean Livingston'" <jeanlivingston at turbonet.com>; 
<vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Chamberof Commerce turmoil


> It's disturbing, isn't it?  I had really hoped the internal problems that
> have plagued the Chamber for a few years might have been resolved in the
> time since they were first brought to light, and I'm sorry to see that 
> isn't
> the case  :-(((
>
> It seems to many in the community that the things a community needs to
> support business (a strong public school system, a strong Chamber of
> Commerce, trust, transparency) are being ripped apart by the very people 
> who
> keep saying Moscow is anti-business  :-(
>
> For those who've not seen it, here's an article that appeared in this
> morning's LMT -- unfortunately, it doesn't shed any light on the Chamber
> Board president abandoning the ship last week:
>
> Moscow chamber director calls it quits
> By Joel Mills of the Tribune
> July 27, 2007
>
>
> MOSCOW - When a radio reporter called asking questions about a supposedly
> confidential board meeting, Dennis O'Keefe knew it was time to quit.
>
> O'Keefe, who just started as executive director of the Moscow Chamber of
> Commerce on July 7, resigned Wednesday night. He said the breach of
> confidence was the last straw in a litany of problems he's faced since
> moving from Boise to Moscow last month.
>
> "This is an unacceptable business practice anywhere in the United States," 
> a
> seemingly content O'Keefe said of information he feels was leaked from the
> meeting by a malicious board or staff member.
>
> Pam Hays, board president and owner of Hodgins Drug in Moscow, didn't 
> return
> calls Thursday seeking comment. Instead, she issued a short news release
> announcing O'Keefe's resignation and expressing gratitude for his service.
>
> "The Chamber Board appreciated his efforts in the brief time he was with
> us," Hays wrote in the release. "We wish him well in all his future
> endeavors. The search committee will resume their quest for a new 
> executive
> director."
>
> The news release also mentioned the chamber's first Moscow Motorcycle
> Classic this weekend at the county fairgrounds. O'Keefe said events like 
> the
> motorcycle rally were part of the many problems he saw at the chamber.
>
> "I didn't even know about it until I started the job," he said. When he
> asked to see the event's budget, he said he was told one hadn't been
> created. But the next day someone had anonymously typed a budget and 
> slipped
> it under his office door. "I'm like, 'What is this, high school?' "
>
> And O'Keefe said he had a problem staging an event that would benefit a
> narrow swath of the chamber's membership. Only service operations like
> restaurants and hotels see increased business from such events, he said, 
> and
> his mission was to serve all the chamber's members.
>
> "We were using a vast amount of funds to throw a party that will benefit a
> few," he said. "If this doesn't come off, it will wreck the (chamber's)
> budget."
>
> He said those service businesses deserve attention from the chamber, but 
> so
> does the rest of the membership.
>
> That approach rubbed a few of the more conservative board members the 
> wrong
> way, O'Keefe said. He said there are three in particular, but declined to
> name them. "There's no question that the small right came at me, guns
> blazing."
>
> Those adversarial board members started spreading rumors about him, some
> personal, O'Keefe claimed. "It's the perpetual little roadblocks and
> backstabbing."
>
> O'Keefe also spelled out problems working with chamber staff, whom he 
> called
> "passive-aggressive" and uncooperative. And he said he wasn't informed
> during his hiring process about ongoing and emerging financial problems at
> the chamber.
>
> He said he only found out after he started work that dues-paying 
> membership
> has been in decline and the chamber's $20,000 line of credit was fully
> extended.
>
> Other board members contacted by the Lewiston Tribune referred questions 
> to
> Hays and declined comment, other than Camas Prairie Winery owner Stuart
> Scott. Scott chaired the search committee that hired O'Keefe, and said the
> committee has offered the job to the runner-up.
>
> That person, who Scott didn't name, said he would have to consult with his
> family before accepting the position, Scott said.
>
> O'Keefe said some of the unease he felt in the position was political. The
> first group he addressed as executive director was the left-leaning Moscow
> Civic Association. There he proposed building an environmentally friendly
> business park that could accommodate high-tech companies with more than a
> few employees.
>
> "I'm quite sure some of the more conservative business owners were upset
> that I talked to MCA," he said. "But I was also going to talk to (the
> right-leaning Greater Moscow Alliance)."
>
> O'Keefe said he's moving back to Boise and will look for another nonprofit
> to run. If he can't find one, he said he'll likely return to selling real
> estate.
>
> ---
>
> Mills may be contacted at jmills at lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
> On Behalf Of Bruce and Jean Livingston
> Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 3:34 PM
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Cc: nathan alford; Omie Drawhorn; David Johnson; Kai Eiselein
> Subject: [Vision2020] Chamberof Commerce turmoil
>
> What is up with the Chamber of Commerce?
>
> First the president resigns last week.  Now, the new Executive Director
> resigns.
>
> What in the world is going on?
>
> Bruce Livingston
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <soldmoscow at yahoo.com>
> Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 3:22 PM
> Subject: Yahoo! Auto Response
>
>
>> Effective July 25, 2007, I resigned my position as the Executive Director
>> of the Chamber of Commerce in Moscow, Idaho.  Information about a board
>> meeting was released by an unknown board member to at least one media
>> outlet.  Additionally, key financial information was withheld from me.  I
>> fully expect the certain members of the Board to attack me as they have
>> while I was attempting to work for ALL the business community in Moscow.
>>
>> Moscow is a great town with great potential.  There are some fantastic
>> business people and a board members.  I wish the good people of Moscow 
>> the
>
>> very best and hope they are able to overcome the obstacles in front of
>> them.
>>
>> Dennis O'Keefe
>>
>>
>
>
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