New Sequim chamber president, protester hash it out
Karon Nichols of Karon’s Frame Center in Sequim hosts a mixer for members of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce. -- Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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It was the morning after Schubert was appointed the chamber's top officer.
The Sequim City Council member and former mayor was tapped by Hattie Dixon and Ron Gilles, the only chamber board members left after 11 others resigned Feb. 12 during a members' forum at the Sequim Elks Lodge.
Those members stepped down after Simon and his group, the Concerned Chamber Committee, demanded specifics about the board's Jan. 18 firing of chamber executive director Lee Lawrence.
Then-board president Joe Borden said Lawrence had behaved inappropriately in meetings with Port Angeles business people and with women — but that explanation wasn't enough for Simon's coalition.
Last week Simon urged all chamber members to nominate and vote for a new set of leaders.
But on Tuesday morning, Dixon and Gilles, acting according to chamber bylaws, chose their own board: Schubert, real estate broker Mike McAleer, Irrigation Festival marketing coordinator Jean Wyatt, Olympic Music School director Deborah Rambo Sinn and Sequim School District communications officer Annette Hanson.
Hanson was one of the chamber board members who'd resigned a week earlier.
Simon was shocked when he heard about the selections.
But by Wednesday morning, he was calm, and curious about Schubert's motivation.
'Why put head in noose?'
"I asked him, 'Why would you put your head in this noose?'" Simon said.
Schubert said he hoped to help chamber members — including those with Simon's coalition — resolve their dispute.
The Concerned Chamber Committee can request a general meeting of chamber members, Schubert said, but "they need to tell us what they want on the agenda."
Simon plans to consult with the committee about the format of the meeting and about whether to invite members to elect a board of their own.
"I don't know exactly what we'll petition for," he said.
"We could propose that five [new board members] be elected," since the board can include up to 12 members.
"Or we could put it all on the table," and nominate 15 or 20 people "for a full board slate . . . the top 12 vote-getters would be the directors."
Simon predicted that he and the committee will make their decision by this weekend.
Then Schubert can set the date for the meeting.
Both men don't want another forum like the one on Feb. 12.
"That was ugly," Simon said.
No plan to rehire Lawrence
Simon, who owns Sequim Village Glass, said he may consider serving on the chamber board.
But he has no desire to be president.
He also has no plan to rehire Lawrence.
Schubert said he and the board are seeking a volunteer trustee to help conduct chamber business.
The chamber's struggles were a topic of conversation during the after hours mixer at Karon's Frame Center, 755 W. Washington St., in Sequim Tuesday evening.
Owner Karon Nichols said she agreed to host the mixer "before the French Revolution," aka the Feb. 12 forum during which most of the board members resigned.
Nichols, 61, turned Tuesday's event into a pizza party and welcomed about 20 guests.
"I am thrilled" with the turnout, she said.
"And if there's any negativity, I'm going to break it up immediately."
Too often people complain about an organization's leadership but aren't willing to help find solutions, Nichols added.
"Be for something, not against anything," she said.
Sandy Placek of the Account Ability bookkeeping firm is a member of Simon's committee and a "chamber ambassador."
At the mixer, she said she's for a brand-new board.
"I want a real election. I want 10 names for five positions," Placek said.
Linda Harvey, owner of the Allstate insurance agency on Washington Street in Sequim, added: "I just would like to see harmony between the membership and the board."
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Sequim Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: February 20. 2008 9:00PM