COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
According to Charlie Wilson, a founding director of the new Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce, his new organization fell one-third short of its goal of recruiting 100 new members by the end of March.
Taking Wilson at his word, and who wouldn’t, his new chamber has approximately 60-70 members, though some continue wonder how many of those businesses mailed Wilson a check for dues thinking they were paying their annual dues to the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce.
For many years, the local chamber of commerce was known as the Vero Beach/Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. Adding to the confusion, Wilson’s new “chamber of commerce” — using an out-of-town mailing company while claiming to “Think Vero First” — sent out what appears to have been hundreds of unsolicited “invoices” for membership dues.
To have been more on the up-and-up, Wilson’s new chamber, which boasts Mark Mucher and Dan Stump as founding board members, could have indicated the unsolicited “invoices” were not bills. The booker of at least one local business mistakenly sent Wilson’s new chamber a check. Can this business be considered to have “joined” Wilson’s new chamber?
Recently, I received a solicitation from the a yellow page company. The mailing was clearly labeled, “THIS IS NOT A BILL.” Wilson’s new chamber might consider being at least as forthright as the typically yellow pages company.
Has anyone seen a directory for Wilson’s new chamber, or is this organizations going to be a secret society? If Wilson will make his new chamber’s membership list public, Inside Vero will publish the names of the local businesses that have proudly become a part of Wilson’s new effort to supposedly “Think Vero First.”
Below is a copy of an unsolicited invoices mailed by Wilson’s new chamber to a member business of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce.
Indian River Guardian 
That is an (unsolicited) invoice (from Charlie’s Chamber of Commerce) if ever I saw one. It’s right up there with what I receive in the mail: subscription invoices for magazines I never requested. I hope the company that signed on with the CCC can get its money back without having to consult an attorney. Deception is not a good tool when trying to build a business/service.
Cathy is right about deception being “not a good tool when trying to build a business/service. This is also true when you are running for political office which apparently Charlie Wilson is now considering. If Charlie Wilson does indeed become a candidate, the voters must insist that he be truthful about his residency.