Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors caves

In a press release this morning, the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce (GPCC) Board of Directors announced they voted unanimously to reverse the rebranding of the Colony Days event.

GPCC executive director Ailis Vann said the board had made an initial decision to rebrand the event based on assumptions that the feedback from a small segment of its membership was enough to make a decision internally.

"That was a mistake, and we heard it loud and clear. Our attempt to present a full package to everyone at once came across as not being transparent and honest, and that was never the intent. We regret the hurt this controversy has caused our community, and our members," said Vann.

On Friday, the Frontiersman chronicled the uproar of reaction that followed the Palmer Chambers' announcement that Colony Days had been rebranded, noting that "as of Friday evening there were more than 700 comments on the Frontiersman Facebook page about the initial article about the change. Chamber officials posted about the response on their Facebook page earlier Friday, which generated more than 600 comments as of Friday evening."

An online petition created in opposition to the rebranding of the event gathered 6,205 signatures before claiming victory. However, it's unclear how many of those signatures were submitted by Palmer residents.

In the coming weeks, the GPCC plans to engage with its membership in greater depth on the rebranding issue. Anyone interested in learning more about the chamber, its committees, board, and events are encouraged to visit www.palmerchamber.org.