By Ron Brenna
by Ron Brenna
Havre
I have never written a letter to the editor before, but your editorial in the Aug. 31 paper deserves a response. So here goes
Once again, the Havre Daily News has printed an editorial that has absolutely no factual data to support their opinion! In the editorial, the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce is blasted for its lack of energy in such areas as economic development and community enhancement. The editorial goes on to state that Havre has an outstanding group of citizens, but that the Chamber Board hopes to focus attention away from the negative events with their new public image campaign. So, let us put some facts into the Havre Daily News life. After all, they are a newspaper and they should report the facts.
Fact: The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is made up of those very people that the Daily News is commending. Funny, they commend the people of this community, but criticize the Chamber like it is some alien faction of the world just collecting dues from its members and doing nothing.
Fact: The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce has several committees dedicated to economic development, tourism, legislative issues, and business development just to name a few. In addition, more of these highly praised people commit hundreds of hours each year striving to accomplish the issues that the editorial so eloquently discusses.
Fact: The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and its committees are made up of volunteer members of the community and do more for this community than many paid members of the local establishment.
Fact: The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce is working on a possible downtown park, but has not worked out all the details. Doesnt the Havre Daily News get sick of all the hype that comes with a new development only to see that project fade away or, worse yet, get started and fail after sticking the local businesses with more bad debt? Wouldnt it be nice to see a project succeed before the details are released? Be patient, and good things will come to those who wait.
Fact: The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce does tons to keep dollars in the community, which multiplies over and over again. Has the Daily News forgotten Festival Days and Christmas cash already? I am sure the advertising that they sell in conjunction with some of these Chamber sponsored events has not been forgotten.
So, having said all that, I expect the author of this most uninformed editorial would like to offer an apology to the Chamber of Commerce and its hard working, dedicated committees. However, I will not hold my breath. If the Daily News really wants to know what is going on in the community, I suggest they get up in the morning and get involved, instead of printing information that just isnt so.
