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<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Joan, Dan, Tom, et al,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Since all V 2020ers know I am a little shy
and hesitant to express my opinions, the following may come as a shock to
many.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>The spectacle we are watching of the
chamber tripping all over each other, saying one thing in private, another
in public, and some saying still a third in chamber board meetings has all the
makings of the theatre of the absurd.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>The Moscow Chamber of Commerce is composed
mainly of local businesses and local business-like organizations. Many of
these entities are very successful; a few are successful not only locally but
nationally and internationally. There are many that we can as a community
be justifiably very proud of. There is a very high level of management
skill and entrepreneurship to be found in many of these organizations.
None would even dream of running their own organizations like the chamber is
being currently operated. None would even hesitate a moment to make the
necessary personnel changes in their own organizations.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Given the skills present in the chamber
members, one then would expect that the chamber would be managed [as a business]
in such a manner that reflects the highest management standards of its most able
members. Instead the chamber appears to be managed to standards far below
that of the least common denominator of all of its members.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>A list of many of the large operational and
management blunders occurring at the chamber since Paul Kimmell became executive
director has yet to appear on V 2020 or in the local media (e.g., almost being
closed down by the state tax commission for failure to remit withholding taxes
collected over a long period of time [What an embarrassment! What a
sad, demeaning reflection on Moscow's business community!]). Perhaps it is
time for that list to appear. Perhaps it is time for all chamber members
to be informed about what has been going on in their organization since Paul
Kimmell became executive director. Perhaps it is time for all Latah County
taxpayers to be informed about what that portion of their tax dollars funneled
to the chamber by various taxing agencies has wrought.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>In my opinion the problems leading to the
current calamity can be classified as two-fold:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>1. The failure of the
executive director to manage, monitor, correct the everyday problems of the
chamber, and to make necessary financial and operational reports to the chamber
board on a timely basis. In other words, the executive director, good old
lovable Paul, inept, but oh so affable, failed miserably to perform a
substantial part of his duties. (E.g, it is alleged that one disastrous
hire by Kimmell had been dismissed for incompetence in the two previous
positions that person held, yet Kimmell hired and placed that
person in exactly the same kind of position at the chamber.) Not only
that, but Kimmell acted illegally and insensitively while
non-performing some of his tasks. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT><FONT face="Verdana Ref"
size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>2. The failure of the
chamber board to widely solicit for, check the bona fides of, and hire a
competent executive director in the first place. Even the least competent
businessman should know that the most important, time and resource requiring
tasks are those involving the initial hiring of competent personnel.
After hiring Kimmell, the board <STRONG>failed miserably</STRONG> to monitor its
finances, operation, and employment practices and results. With any new
employee, initial careful vigilance is mandatory for success. Why did
that not happen? Why has it taken so long for the board to discover the
financial and other messes? Why has it taken so long for the board to
discover that although the chamber's overhead has increased substantially, the
results have not (compare staffing and allied costs today with that of the
pre-Kimmell era)?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Now instead of acting like the professional
business people they are, the present chamber board is acting like a bunch of
cheap politicians caught with soiled pants and drool all over their faces at a
shaved beaver contest. In other words, they are in deep public
denial. </FONT><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Given the high quality of
management skill present in the chamber members and/or available from the UI and
WSU this reaction is highly disappointing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Given the high quality of management skill
present among the chamber members it is highly likely that 2. above can be
corrected and the ship righted provided that the members have the balls and
adrenal cortexes to make the needed excision, and this time,
carefully, hire a competent executive director who will be a complete,
competent, and diligent manager and who will put in the necessary
time to do the job, and one who will not deeply cripple and embarrass the
chamber and appall and embarrass the community.</FONT></DIV><FONT
face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<DIV><BR>Wayne</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Art Deco (Wayne Fox)<BR><A
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=auntiestablishment@hotmail.com
href="mailto:auntiestablishment@hotmail.com">Joan Opyr</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020 Moscow</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, August 26, 2004 10:43
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Chamber
President and FirstBank</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Dear Dan and Tom:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I have exactly $153.75 in my checking account. A quick look online
at my bank record shows that they believe I have much, much
more. That's because some checks have yet to clear, some checks
have yet to be mailed, and some balance transfers have yet to post.
Nevertheless, I know that my figure is accurate, right down to the
penny. How? Because I practice a little something
called double ledger accounting. It isn't hard to do, and I'm not a
CPA. Double ledger accounting can be done electronically using
any number of commercial software programs. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But listen -- all of this is beside the point. The Chamber of
Commerce's finances should not be run like Jane Jetson's checkbook.
(George! George! Where's your wallet? Astro has
spaceworms!) There is absolutely no excuse for the Chamber's books to be
in disorder. They have a bookkeeper. They have an executive
director. They have a board responsible for financial
oversight. They should be able to accurately track money in
and money out. If they can't, then they need a new bookkeeper
and/or a new director. If the board isn't interested in arranging for
those changes, then they clearly need a new board. Let's make a few
phone calls to Texas, see if we can get Sherron Watkins up here.
Remember her? She's the accountant who figured out that Enron
was money in, air out.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PS: Just in case my checking account balance strikes some of you as
sadly low, let me assure you that there's no need to stage an Auntie
Establishment telethon. I hate Jerry Lewis. Also,
I have a couple of savings accounts which I use to "hide" money from
myself. How's that for tricky-dicky accounting?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><BR clear=all>
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