Wasilla chamber’s goal now is to stay afloat

WASILLA — At this point, the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce is only concerned with one thing — keeping its doors open.

Friday was the last day for the chamber’s executive director, Cheryl Metiva. She tendered her resignation July 10 after members began questioning her use of the chamber’s credit and debit cards and violations of the employee health insurance policies.

“When I heard she was stepping down, that was like the best news I could have got,” board of directors member Rizz Arbelovsky said. “I knew we had to let her go. We saw the charges on the card, but we couldn’t do it without proof.”

Arbelovsky said the chamber is still going ahead with an audit by volunteer licensed financial professionals. An external third-party audit of the organization’s books is still on the table, but that will all depend on funding. The board has not determined how it will seek reimbursement for the health insurance or what actions it will take if the audits find evidence of wrongdoing.

“We have to look at how much money we would get back and how much we would have to spend to get the money back,” Arbelovsky said.

And money is something the chamber does not have, she said. The chamber is desperately trying to raise cash, and this can only happen by returning to a sense of normal chamber operations, she said.

“Right now, we’re trying to move forward, and with (Metiva) gone, that allows us to do that. We need to regain the trust of the membership. We are going to work a budget out, then get the bylaws committee in place,” Arbelovsky said. “This will never happen again, but now we are focused on keeping the doors open.”

The board is not going to hire a new executive director for the time being, so membership coordinator Lyn Carden will be filling the role. The chamber is asking for volunteers from the membership to donate an hour or two to answer phones.

To raise money, the chamber has two immediate plans. The first is a membership drive. The individual who brings in the most new members between now and the end of the year will be awarded a prize at the chamber’s annual dinner. Second, the chamber is going ahead with the first year of its silver salmon derby. It begins Aug. 1 and runs through Aug. 16. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children.

“We need a boost,” Arbelovsky said. “I love the chamber and would hate to see it collapse.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.