SEQUIM — It seems a new, sunnier day is dawning on the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber president Walt Schubert and Gil Simon, a passionate critic and the voice of the Concerned Chamber Committee’s efforts to overhaul chamber leadership, released a joint statement Tuesday afternoon.
In short: They’re not enemies and they want to get everyone together.
“Discussions are under way between the chamber board and representatives of the Concerned Chamber Committee,” Simon and Schubert wrote in their e-mailed statement.
“Information regarding a forthcoming special meeting of the membership will be mailed via U.S. mail to all members along with an agenda with ample advance notice.”
Talks between the two factions “have been frank and positive regarding resolution of the issues raised at the Feb. 12 forum and the future composition of the board of directors.”
That forum, which drew some 120 chamber and community members to the Sequim Elks Lodge, ended with the resignation of 11 chamber board members, including president Joe Borden.
Members of the Concerned Chamber Committee had called on the officials to step down, expressing disgust at not hearing specific reasons for their firing of chamber director Lee Lawrence.
After the board abruptly dismissed Lawrence Jan. 18, Borden said the chamber chief had behaved unprofessionally — but later, many in Sequim defended Lawrence, touting his energy and innovative spirit.
That outcry was just the start.
The Concerned Chamber Committee, a group of 15 business people led by Simon and Ron Ferre, called the board irresponsible and unresponsive to the chamber’s membership.
And the chamber was without a director — until this week.
