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<DIV>Visionaries and Pat:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You know, I don't give a bucket of applesauce what is or is not the common
practice of other cities in supporting their Chambers of Commerce. Most
other cities don't have Chambers that have selected employees from the
membership roster of a single local church; most other Chambers don't
ignore repeated requests for a non-discrimination employment policy; most other
Chambers spread the catering opportunities further than to businesses owned by
(you guessed it) the same specific local church; most other
Chambers don't tout traitors and slave-owners as leadership models
-- again because of the celebrated status of confederate leaders in that
blasted local church; and, last but not least, most other Chambers
understand that their role is to act as models of good business
practice while boosting the businesses of <STRONG><U>ALL</U></STRONG> of their
members/constituents. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And one more thing -- most Chambers of Commerce recognize the
necessity of maintaining transparent, accurate, and openly
accessible financial records. Our Chamber is about as open in its
dealings as the Borgias' Vatican. The budget's a mess; complete and
accurate accounting records are mysteriously unavailable to members and the
public alike; and requests for valid information regarding the Chamber's
dealings and money-spending habits are met with a line of
hail-fellow-well-met bullshit that seems to play well with
the Old Boys and Aging Businesswomen Network but doesn't sit so well
with the rank and file. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So research your little heart out, but to what end, Pat? You might
compare our Chamber to Missoula's or Olympia's or Timbuktu's, but the
comparisons will lack any relevance to what's going on right here under our
noses. Who cares what they do? We live here.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Rose Huskey</DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Verdana size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">"One cannot
level one's moral lance at every evil in the universe. There are just too many
of them. But you can do something, and the difference between doing something
and doing nothing is everything." Daniel Berrigan<BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
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