Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Chamber rewrites history

In the September 2012 newsletter of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce (and Industry!) there was published an announcement of an all-member meeting to be held on October 10.

Read it for yourself. Would you agree that this meeting was "scheduled"? Sure looks like it to me. Since the meeting date and time were published in a newsletter posted online for the then-222 members of the Chamber, isn't it logical to understand that the meeting for all members was "scheduled"?

On the morning of October 10 I inquired at the Chamber whether the meeting was still on for 5:00PM because, as a member, I had not received any other notice of the meeting. I understood the cost to a Chamber member to host a gathering - several hundred dollars, at a minimum.

The answer was, "What meeting?" I had a copy of the newsletter with me and showed where it was published.

Later in the day a notice was prominently displayed on the Chamber's website homepage. How did the notice read?

THERE IS NO ALL MEMBER MEETING SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY 10/10

AT 5:00 PM

AT HARRIS BANK


And that notice remained on the Chamber's homepage until October 15, when it should have been removed on Thursday morning, October 11.

The $166.00 renewal for my Chamber dues was billed October 1. I had been considering whether to renew, and I was questioning the value received in exchange for my money. Compared to the Chambers in Crystal Lake, McHenry and Huntley, this chamber offers very little. Yet I had believed in supporting the hometown chamber first, before joining other chambers.

Yesterday I received a call, telling me that I was too critical of the Chamber and that, in fact, I was no longer a member because I hadn't paid my October 1st dues (Invoice Date 10/1/2012). As I put the phone down, I knew I had decided.

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