Letter says Chamber had ‘disrespectful environment’
Before board members resigned and an employee was fired, some leaders of the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce worried their president needed to address a hostile work environment. On Jan. 26, the board of directors wrote a letter to Chamber President Martha Eaker. They gave her a list of performance objectives for her job and told her to check in with them every week about how she was doing. Among the problems, as the board saw it: The Chamber was not an easy place to work. “The ineffective, unproductive, disrespectful environment must be turned around,” the letter to Eaker read. “Failure
to reasonably accomplish those goals will be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including possible termination.”
Five days later, on Feb. 1, Eaker issued a 30- day notice of her resignation. But four days after that, five board members resigned, including four top officers. Then, on Feb. 12, Eaker fired one of her three full- time employees, Kim Carlock, the Chamber’s director of membership services and special events.
On Friday, Harriette Stokes, of the North Georgia Electric Membership Corp., also resigned from the board. She declined to say specifically why she was leaving, saying board meetings are confidential.
But Stokes’ departure marks the sixth resignation from the board in the past five weeks. According to the Chamber’s website, there are normally 16 voting members of the board, plus Eaker.
How the direction of the Chamber changed so quickly is still not publicly known. Stephanie Dickert, the board’s former chairwoman, declined to comment beyond confirming the authenticity of the Jan. 26 letter to Eaker and supplying the Times Free Press with her own letter of resignation.
Mary Carpenter, another former executive board member who resigned, also declined to provide details about what led to her departure. The others who left have declined comment.
In her resignation letter, Dickert expresses frustration with how the board handled the Chamber’s work environment.
“We were asked by the board on 1-21-16 to contact legal counsel about the employee issues that were present at the chamber,” she wrote. “We have done so. We have sought legal counsel and were given direction. This direction is not going to be followed and for that I am not going to continue to serve on the board.”
In an article published Tuesday, Eaker told the Catoosa County News her decision to resign at the beginning of February was not specifically the result of her problems with the board. Same goes for her change of heart.
“I had been thinking about retiring for some time, so it wasn’t just because of the ‘issues,’” she told the paper. “But when the time was up, the board came to me and asked me to reconsider. I told them I would talk to my family and think about it, and I decided to stay.”
But she previously told the board of directors in her resignation letter that she was leaving because they were implementing extra restrictions for the president that she didn’t think fit with the Chamber’s bylaws. She also said the board was making her run all human resources decisions by it, and she didn’t like that a member of the board told Carlock to work from home, away from Eaker.
Asked Tuesday about the difference between her statement to the Catoosa County News and the details from her letter of resignation, Eaker said, “I haven’t seen the Catoosa County News. I don’t have any comment on what they say.”
Told the statement in question was attributed to her, Eaker said, “A lot of this is personnel issues. I’m not at liberty to comment on personnel issues. That’s a confidential matter.”
Asked whether the Jan. 26 letter from the board influenced her initial decision to resign, Eaker said, “Whoever gave you all these copies: I would suggest you ask them about it.”
She added: “I have talked about this enough. We all have great things to do. This is a great community. I suggest the news moves on from this story.”
Eaker ended the interview and did not respond to an email with additional questions. Lee Tubbs, owner of Enviroguard Pest Solutions and chairman of the Chamber’s board, also did not respond to an email or return a call seeking comment.
In its Jan. 26 letter, the board gave Eaker a list of performance objectives, including:
Give employees written expectations for their jobs. Maintain a cohesive staff that works as a team. Also, make sure employees’ conduct remains above reproach.
Make sure financials are accurate and expenses are paid.
Keep records of all receipts, disbursements and deposits. Pay bills in a “timely manner.”
In recent months, some companies have had to wait several months for checks from the Chamber. Chris Barrett, the owner of red/ boot IT services, said he routinely needed to wait 45- 60 days for payments. The Chamber didn’t pay one bill for about six months — though, he added, he was never worried the bill wouldn’t get paid.
John Thatcher, of Thatcher’s Barbeque & Grille, said the Chamber owed him about $ 1,000 for catering a luncheon in July. The bill did not get paid until November. Like Barrett, he said he never feared the bill would not get paid. And he wasn’t sure specifically who was at fault for the delay.
But, Thatcher said, he was still leaving the Chamber because of the shake-up last month. He has restaurants in Catoosa, Dade and Gordon counties, and he is a member of all three local Chambers. He believed Catoosa was the strongest, and he credited Carlock.
Soon after he opened his Ringgold restaurant in fall 2014, he said, Carlock walked inside and asked him to join the Chamber. She became the face of the organization, in his mind.
“Catoosa County seemed to work the hardest to help us out and get us involved,” he said of the three Chambers. “I hate to see whatever happened, happened.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@times freepress. com or at 423-757-6476.