A special general meeting was held at the office of the Trail and District Chamber of Commerce last Friday, and in less than 10 minutes, three new directors were welcomed on board.
The agenda was set for the “business at hand” and was to address the nomination process for new directors, which closed on Dec. 10.
Although the meeting dealing with the election was brief, the post-meeting tête-à-tête with some of the 35 attendees lasted over an hour.
There were many lingering questions and comments regarding the swift and controversial termination of executive director Maggie Stayanovich, and members wanted to address the topic.
“I am surprised that so many people are making assumptions only knowing half the story,” said Lisa Gregorini, director of the chamber. “But we have to respect the privacy laws.”
According to Gregorini, the reasons for Stayanovich’s termination will never be made public. She added the chamber has been consulting its lawyers throughout the ordeal, to determine what, if anything, it would reveal.
“More information begs more questions, and we are keeping it quiet to respect privacy,” she said.
Calls to Stayanovich were not returned as of press time.
Pastor Shayne McIntyre, from the Gateway Christian Life Centre, resigned as a chamber director on Nov. 28, and only learned of Stayanovich’s dismissal the following Monday (Dec. 3).
“I got back involved with the chamber because of Maggie, it was through her encouragement as a director, that I returned,” said the pastor.
“My position of resignation is clear,” he explained. “They didn’t follow procedure, and if you are not following a process, you cannot address the issues at hand properly, and they become slanted.
“The following Monday, I found out they went ahead and dismissed her, before she was even given an opportunity to speak.”
McIntyre’s resignation revolves around the fact that not all board members were present at the meeting to vote and those absent were not privy to any information that was discussed during the in-camera sessions.
In-camera is a closed board meeting that covers information not recorded in the minutes or divulged to the public.
McIntyre added neither Stayanovich nor Thea Stayanovich, her daughter and fellow board member, were allowed in the room during the in-camera meeting.
“Last time I looked in the Charter of Rights, you are entitled to know what you did wrong,” he said.
Pastor McIntyre said at the end of the day there is a lot to be said and a lot of questions to be answered.
In a Nov. 30 letter to chamber members, it was revealed that the chamber’s board of directors voted unanimously on Nov. 26 to release its executive director, Maggie Stayanovich.
“This has not been handled well at all, to the detriment of our city,” said McIntyre.
On Friday, Patty Leclerc-Zanet of Coldwell Banker, Brad Rush of Rush Entertainment and Jen Shelest of Axis Massage Therapy let their names stand for nomination to the board, and all were all elected by acclamation. There were six vacancies available.
“At the annual meeting in March, we will look to increase that number to a maximum of 12,” said Gregorini.
And for now, that is all the information the chamber will be divulging.