Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Dear Chamber of Commerce

Dear Mr. Hauke and Chamber Board of Directors,

At the end of August I wrote you an email to let you know how uncomfortable I was (and still am) about the Chamber's position on the current county commissioner recall. I told you that many members, including myself, do not share this view, and wondered why the membership was not polled or surveyed to find out whether this was in fact a position that the Chamber should take. Most of your members would prefer that you do not take political positions, as we are a diverse group. I never received any acknowledgement from you, if only to say you had received the note.

Now, adding further insult to many of your members, you have decided, in spite of our opposition to your taking any political position at all, to install a large "no recall" sign on Chamber property. As a long-time Chamber member, I respectfully ask that you remove this sign.

Or, perhaps you would consider posting a large anti-corporate-chainstore sign on your property, and taking an equally passionate position on the encroachment of these chains, including Wal-Mart, into our area, which will surely have a huge and direct negative impact on your members throughout the region. I have not heard a peep from the Chamber regarding this issue of import to your members. I would like to know what exactly your position is on the possible presence of Wal-Mart in our area. Wal-Mart is well documented as a predatory pricer whose stated business practice is to put all retailers and service providers selling anything that they also sell out of business. It is also well documented that when those pesky independent businesses do fail, Wal-Mart prices inevitably revert to the normal. So, I would hope that my Chamber would have something to say in support of their independent business members on this vital issue.

Laura Snyder

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you Laura for providing a another business perspective. The chamber should see a marked decrease in membership this next year.The board broke a fundemental taboo against becoming involved in politics and on the wrong side of the issue compounds their collective mistake. Great letter, so well written, but hey it's from a book store what else could it have been!
Best fishes,
Doug Ray

Unknown said...

Laura - I agree totally. The chamber should never post political signage on their property or take sides. I think Hauke has lost sight or interest in his position as captain of the chamber. Two years ago he reneged on a business transaction with myself (a brochure printing) and to add insult to injury he subsequently and relentlessly ignored every form of communication (email, phone call, letter, personal appearance) that was sent his way. Thus, I quit the chamber and will never join again until he is relieved of his post. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if he is pro-Walmart. Best Regards, Michelle Roth

tapirgal said...

You really put that in black and white. I knew WalMart did a lot of bad things, but didn't realize they tweaked their pricing specifically to stomp out local business. After hearing that, I don't know why it wasn't self-evident. You go, girl!