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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>D-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am continuing this thread to let you know the
history of distrust that I, for one, have with the Chamber. And yes, I
understand that you just got here and are hoping to change it. That is why
I am bothering to respond.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Chamber chose to not admit that the former
director resigned under duress and then chose to not respond to the former
director's charges. Those decisions were cloaked in that well-worn "can't
ever comment on personnel decisions." That despite the fact the former
director had resigned, had left town, and had made some serious charges about
the bias and incompetence of the Chamber board. I thought then, and
believe now, that the Chamber needed to explain its position and
decisions. At that point, it was no longer just a issue of personnel, the
question had become the open-ness of the Chamber's decision-making.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As I noted before, that is just the latest
example. And hopefully, the last. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Good luck</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>BL</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=keim153@gmail.com href="mailto:keim153@gmail.com">Darrell Keim</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, October 15, 2007 3:10
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Faith and fireworks
and the Moscow Chamber</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV id=mb_5>
<DIV>Bill and Vision 2020:</DIV>
<DIV><BR>A couple of comments added to Bill's well reasoned
note.<BR> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=q><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 10/15/07, <B
class=gmail_sendername>Bill London</B> <<A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:london@moscow.com" target=_blank> london@moscow.com</A>>
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Like Bruce, I welcome a stronger Chamber of
Commerce. And one of the best ways to do that is for the Chamber to
become something more than a businessman's
club.</FONT></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> </DIV></SPAN>
<DIV>Anyone that wants to help the Chamber in its mission is invited to join
us, and will be considered for one of our sub-committees. And, as I've
already noted, our Board of Directors is selected via nominations from our
membership. </DIV><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=q><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> After all, the Chamber does get a
significant percentage of its operating money from the taxpayer through
support from city of Moscow, etc. My main complaint is the lack of
transparency and open-ness in its decision-making.
</FONT></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> </DIV></SPAN>
<DIV>I'm not sure that I can concur with this. The city's support (both
financial and otherwise) is crucial to our success. But, numerically
speaking, I believe they fund less than 10% of our operating budget.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Please don't misinterpret that to mean that we can be closed in our
decision-making process. It doesn't. My prior post explained what
our procedures are, and how we operate. It seems a fairly democratic and
fair structure to me. If we appear opaque, I suspect people aren't
asking our board or staff questions. <BR> </DIV><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
class=q>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The sacking of the previous director (after
just a few weeks on the job) and the refusal by the Chamber to admit
or explain what was going on is the most recent example.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I hope the new director will break open the
culture of secrecy at the Chamber.</FONT></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> </DIV></SPAN>
<DIV>I'm surprised you'd bring this up as your example. Surely you
understand that the Chambers hands were tied on this. Personel matters
can not, and should not be addressed publicly. You know better,
Bill! </DIV><SPAN class=q><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Keim speaking directly through V2020 is a good
start</FONT></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> </DIV></SPAN><SPAN></SPAN>
<DIV>Happy to do so. I believe knowledge about how our Chamber functions
and what it does are the best way to address questions people may
have. I'm happy to speak to people that drop by the office,
too.</DIV><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff"><SPAN>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>BL</FONT></DIV></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN></SPAN></DIV><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN>Darrell
Keim</SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></DIV>
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