Portales chamber retains executive director
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Karl Terry
Staff writer
The Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce has decided to retain Executive Director Karl Terry after a Wednesday morning board meeting, according to a press release from the chamber.
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Board members deliberated for three hours before coming to a 10-9 decision, with one abstaining, to keep Terry as director, the release said.
The release said the board identified three specific points that needed to be addressed by Terry, but did not provide any detail.
The board also identified issues with its policy and procedure that it plans to address in a “timely manner,” according to the release, but did not elaborate on the specifics.
“The work of any organization or non-profit is never easy. The 20 people (at the meeting) all had the community’s best interest at heart,” Terry said of the board’s decision.
He said he believes the community will be stronger in the end because of Wednesday’s meeting.
“I’m very grateful for the outpouring of support over the past two days,” Terry said.
Chamber board members declined comment beyond the release.
Terry was asked to resign Monday by three members of the chamber’s board of directors, according to Chamber President Keith Thomas.
According to an email obtained by the PNT, Terry refused to resign and demanded a meeting of the chamber’s entire board to hear his grievances and vote on a final decision.
In an email to chamber board members dated Monday, Terry said he was told by Thomas, Megan Hamilton and Ron Jackson they were prepared to offer him a severance package in exchange for his resignation.
“I respectfully refused that offer and told them I would prefer that the full board be given the opportunity to be apprised and give their consent,” Terry wrote.
“It stuns me that my performance was so accepted and praised by the three previous boards and board presidents and now suddenly things have changed,” Terry wrote.
Terry was hired in February 2011.
