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Professional Growing PainsHispanic chamber weathers controversy
Controversy over those cigars would follow the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce through a tumultuous six months. From December through June, one-third of its board would resign and several new policies on ethics, board roles, event budgets, and overall governance would be implemented. Chamber chairman Al Montoya says he thinks of the past six months as a time of professional growing pains for the organization. Those involved with the chamber say it is more member-friendly and headed in the right direction. "We've run on an informal basis for a long time," said Montoya, senior vice president and emerging markets manager for Wells Fargo Bank Arizona. "We need to be official. . . . We need to run as a business." The chamber, which advocates for economic opportunities for Arizona's Hispanic-owned businesses, changed its bylaws in June after debate raged all spring. The changes limit board members' powers and give its members more say on who serves on the board. The chamber also created two operating committees dealing with governance and finance. "We basically listened to the criticism, just or unjust," Montoya said. The cigars were presented in November by then-board member David Cavazos to Phoenix City Councilman Claude Maddox at a VIP golf reception. The gesture, which Maddox said was his compensation for singing at the event, triggered questions about chamber activities, spending on events and board conflicts. Cavazos said Maddox didn't want a cash payment, so cigars were given instead. "Everybody I talked to said we got off cheap" for the entertainment, Cavazos said. "I'm at a loss at why it's an issue." But the chamber members worried that the transaction would be viewed as a donation to a public official. The chamber originally paid for the cigars as part of the event expenses. "We wanted to make sure the (non-profit) status of the chamber wasn't affected," President Harry Garewal said. So the chamber's board accepted Cavazos' personal check for the cigars. Perception is a huge issue for boards of directors, said Marianne Jennings, a professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University. "Perception is everything. It doesn't matter if you are for profit or non-profit," Jennings said. The issue is common, but is often overlooked, because "people get focused on the good cause and they make assumptions," she said. Often non-profits' governance is "sloppy," Jennings said. "Like it or not, you are subject to rules, . . . and for goodness' sake you should hold yourself to the highest standard possible," she said. The cigars led to further conversations and conflicts on the chamber board about lack of governance, resulting in questions about the budget, board responsibilities, and purchasing procedures. A review of meeting minutes over the past two years show the chamber's board grappled with deals that could potentially benefit board members, conduct between board members and the December 2004 board of directors election. In late May and early June, five board members -Cavazos, Ray Arvizu, Lydia Aranda, Israel Torres, and Deanna Salazar- resigned. Cavazos cited time commitments to his job as Phoenix's acting aviation director. Arvizu, president of Arvizu Advertising and Promotions, cited family and business reasons. Aranda pointed to new responsibilities as executive director of the Governor's Council on Small Business. Torres said he felt he could better serve small business in his role as director of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, which recently launched a small-business program. Salazar mentioned work and family matters. And in mid-June, Bank One's Dino Camunez resigned because of additional job responsibilities resulting from the J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. merger. Twelve board members remain. Board divisions are noted in the board's minutes for its December 2004 meeting. Then-board members Torres and APS Executive Vice President Armando Flores, whose term ended in December, voiced concerns about the board voting in a slate of existing directors for upcoming board vacancies. The original ballot had 12 nominees, including five people recommended by a board nominating committee and seven existing directors. Cavazos offered an all-directors slate that included himself, Arvizu, Wells Fargo's Montoya, Marty Alvarez of Sun Eagle Corp., Phillip Becerra of Aztec Printing, Teresa Ornelas of ‘Great Impact! Inc., and Frank Rivera of ATL Inc., who served as chairman in 2004. Cavazos' motion passed 9-6. Flores voiced concern about the perception of the slate despite the capabilities of the members on it. In the minutes, Cavazos said "he wanted to make sure that the new board members were ones he could serve with and could move the chamber forward." He also called the slate "critical to his future involvement with the board." Cavazos said last week that the action was supported by the majority and was not ill intended. Torres said, "What message does that send to the community that we were only considering board members?" Several members of that slate later voted in April against a motion to accept a proposal for more governance. The motion passed the board, 8-5, at the time and was approved by the chamber membership in June. The members of the slate who were contacted said that they supported better governance, but the proposed changes needed some work. "A lot of good work went into the changes. Again, (we had) good dialogue and ended up with very positive changes in the bylaws," Cavazos said. Members surveyed at recent chamber events were hopeful about the bylaws changes. "Basically, with the changes, it's really made for a much more member-friendly organization," said Steve Saiz, a business development specialist with Nesco Resource who's been a chamber member for 1½ years. Many pointed to the chamber landing a federal grant in April to run the Arizona Minority Business Development Center, which provides business planning and procurement help for Valley minority businesses. Efforts are under way to grow membership and revenues. For example, board member Ornelas is focused on identifying Hispanic businesses and members around the Valley so the chamber can better market its services. The chamber also recently began posting job openings on its Web site. Still, Flores sees a lot of room for growth despite "significant progress." Leadership will be key, he said. "I give tremendous credit to Al Montoya. To as far back as I can remember, he has done a tremendous job of working and resolving these issues rather than turning his back," he said. Montoya said the chamber is working to fill its board vacancies. He also wants to focus on redefining the chamber's mission and setting three "high-impact goals" for the board by September. |
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