Sunday, December 13, 2009
Editorial: Rebuild public trust in the chamber
A new president must convince Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce leaders to come clean.
From the RoundTable blog
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The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce finally has a new leader -- Catherine Sutton. She has her work cut out for her as she tries to rebuild the reputation of the organization. We suggest she start by opening up to the public about her predecessor.
The chamber has had public relations problems since Shane Adams, the former president, departed amidst accusations of embezzlement. No charges have been filed against him yet, but the investigation continues.
Meanwhile, the county, Blacksburg and Christiansburg have withdrawn public dollars that the chamber had used to promote tourism. Adams' success at that had always been suspect, anyway, but no coherent, collaborative tourism initiative has emerged to replace the chamber's.
Before returning support to the chamber, however, the organization must regain the public's trust.
The new president acknowledges the challenge. "One relationship at a time -- that's what it's going to take," Sutton said.
Perhaps, but she and the chamber could soothe many relationships at once by opening up about the Adams incident. Chamber leadership is notoriously secretive, and it has been doubly so when it comes to Adams.
The chamber needs to open its books and explain whether tax dollars were mishandled under Adams. It also needs to describe what procedures it has adopted to ensure another scandal does not occur. Such a public accounting would go far.
Only then would it make sense to discuss putting public resources and trust back in the chamber of commerce.
