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Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce to The Free Press

The Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce would like to take this opportunity to clarify the statements that were made in March 2011 as they relate to the employment of Michael Decker and as reported by The Free Press.

The Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce would like to take this opportunity to clarify the statements that were made in March 2011 as they relate to the employment of Michael Decker and as reported by The Free Press.

The Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce would like to clarify that at no point during Michael Decker’s brief tenure as Manager did he lie or intentionally mislead the Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce. Michael Decker provided information to the general membership concerning the number of Chamber members which was incorrect as a result of an error in determining active memberships.

During Mr. Decker’s three month employment, Mr. Decker and his assistant applied for a monetary grant which provided funds to the Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce which will allow them to hire a professional website developer, in order to create a modem and professional website for the Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce and for the benefit of the entire community.

Mr. Decker secured advertising revenue for the Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce by selling advertising space on a brochure for the Calgary Trade Fair. When, due to a scheduling conflict, Mr. Decker became unable to attend the Trade Fair, another member of the Chamber attended in his stead, resulting in member businesses of the Chamber of Commerce being represented at the Trade Fair.

It is common knowledge that Mr. Decker was and is involved in Federal politics but in no way did that involvement impact negatively on his performance at the Chamber.

Both parties regret the miscommunication that occurred, and wish to take this opportunity to correct the negative publicity this miscommunication has caused.

The Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce wishes Mr. Decker all the success in his future endeavors.

John Baher

Sparwood and District Chamber of Commerce President