Chamber board nominations closing

When the Colusa County Chamber of Commerce closes nominations for a new governing board Thursday, the slate will have been wiped clean.

More than 200 members of the Chamber of Commerce will then have the opportunity to elect an entirely new board for the entirely new organization, according to Chamber officials.

The Chamber of Commerce is the in process of merging with the Colusa County Economic Development Corporation and the Colusa Business and Visitors Center.

“When the ballots are cast in December, we will have a fresh set of eyes to move forward,” said Chamber of Commerce spokesman Tom Indrieri.

As of Monday, about 20 people had volunteered or were nominated for the 15-member board, which will be seated in January.

“Most of the members of the current Chamber board have decided to step down,” Indrieri said.

Former Chamber president Lloyd Green resigned as president of the board in September. He said it was to spend more time with is business.

The timing of the resignation came a day after questions arose over how the chamber chose to spend its dollars, and which vendors were getting the contracts.

The surprise announcement came about 10 days before organization insiders announced the merger of the three entities, which operated as separate nonprofits at the Davison Court business center on Highway 20, south of Colusa.

As of Monday, members of the economic development organization, which will fall under the umbrella of the chamber as a committee, has shown the most interest in sitting on the new governing board.

“All of my board has volunteered to sit on the Chamber board,” said Lynda Reynolds, EDC chairwoman.
Members include Ed Hulbert, Dan O'Connell, Jim Reading, Ben Felt, Pete Bradford, Cynthia White and Mike Murray.

While the mission of the three entities has been to assist, enhance and retain businesses that help stabilize the local economy, Reynolds said the merger will only strengthen the organization and allow it to remain solvent during tough economic times.

“Consolidation is the secret to being successful,” she said.

The nomination period closes at 5 p.m. Thursday. Nominees will be confirmed as willing participants before official ballots are mailed to Chamber members later this month.

The Chamber of Commerce board will meet Thursday to finalize the election process. Dec. 17 has been set as the date for official ballots to be returned.

Indrieri said only officials ballots will be accepted and no faxed copies will be counted.

The Chamber plans to use an outside, unbiased source to tabulate the results.