Chamber Contretemps

Who's at fault for the dual massacres that have occurred within the Chatham Chamber of Commerce and the Chatham Merchants Association? It's impossible to pin responsibility on any one party; there's enough blame to go around, and most of it lies square on the shoulders of the leadership of both organizations.

Short background: In January, the chamber board, in a split vote, basically demoted the merchants from an association to a committee. This was widely seen as a punitive move to punish the merchants officers for failing to toe the chamber line. Earlier this month, the chamber leadership agreed to reinstate the merchants but with conditions, including the election of new officers. At the same Feb. 20 meeting that the merchants agreed to name new interim officers, members of the chamber, led by former merchants members, handed in a petition seeking the resignation of Chamber President Ray Braz and Vice President John Taylor. At the next chamber board meeting, last Wednesday, Braz, Taylor, Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz and three other board members resigned.

Merchants officers had for a long time angered Braz and Taylor by ignoring some chamber bylaws, which as a subgroup of the chamber, the merchants association was obligated to adhere to. It all appears to have begun with the merchants push for the Chatham Gift Card, which the chamber first sought to assume control of and later required that the merchants sign an agreement exempting the chamber from any liability due to the program. The merchants' efforts to deliver prescription drugs to local residents after Stop and Shop closed the town's last pharmacy also left the chamber open to liability, chamber officials said in a letter explaining their actions in dissolving the merchants association.

Clearly, there was more than just technicalities like bylaw infractions and liability concerns. Braz and merchants president Gus Johnson reportedly screamed at each other on a regular basis. Several members of both boards said being in the room with both men was often excruciatingly uncomfortable. Johnson, and at least one or two other merchants board members, had also not paid their chamber due by January, yet continued to hold their positions. Sure, that's a technicality, since they could have paid any time, but if I don't pay my car insurance, I'm legally not supposed to drive. Insisting on participating while not being a member in good standing was like sticking a middle finger into the face of chamber officers and saying, "Dare ya!"

Fire and water personalities and that old rubric, a failure to communicate, are, bottom line, responsible for this mess. A clean sweep of both boards was probably necessary before reunification could be realized. Even so, the bad taste left by the abrupt departure of Braz, Taylor and others, will linger. Those behind the petition will claim victory and may feel their oats a bit, something that risks a backlash.

The entire contretemps has had a negative impact on the reputations of both the chamber and merchants organizations. Largely because of the situation, the board of selectmen balked at the chamber's proposal to take on more of an economic development role in the town, with attendant town funding. While the professionalism of the chamber under Jeanloz and Braz was criticized by many merchants, it helped the organization be more effective, via a better web presence, more targeted events, and just a more business-like way of doing things. With the right replacements, that can continue. It will be up to the remaining chamber board members to handle that, as well as continue mending things with the merchants. Neither, alone, is an easy task. Together, they will be a challenge, to say the least.