Monett Chamber reorganizes, honors leaders, Executive Director Burks suspended by new Monett Chamber board in mystery action

The Monett Area Chamber of Commerce honored its past leaders at its annual banquet and elected new officers last week. At the same time, the board suspended its executive director in an unusual move following the annual meeting of both the incoming and outgoing boards. 
 
New board members 
New board members were elected at the banquet from a slate of six candidates. Master of ceremonies Ken Gaspar introduced the group. Serving will be Kristi Chapman from Drury Go, Bryan Taylor from B&N Concession, Michael Roberts from Roberts Family Eyecare, and Jake Saffer from Jack Henry. Also presented were the two alternates, Jared Barchak from EFCO and Treanna Daughtery from Arc of the Ozarks. 
Those who completed their three-year terms on the board received plaques for their service. Recognized were Kevin Jones, Matt Batson, Andrea McKay, and Brad Hill for serving his term plus an extra year as past president. 
The chamber banquet, following the meal and the awards presentations, concluded with entertainment. Jason and Brittni Bates, a professional auctioneering team, presented the Railroad Boys 7-on-7 touch football team for ages 12 to 14, for a fish race. This was a fundraising effort used at the Mt. Vernon Area Chamber of Commerce banquet. 
The Bateses auctioned off 16 goldfish and the winners selected a team member to serve as a jockey. The fish, placed in eight-foot-long plastic rectangular plastic tanks, two lanes per tank, “raced” from one end to the other, running against the clock. The jockeys could use straws to blow air at the fish or squirt guns to encourage them forward. 
Winning bidders were Dustin Stellwagen in first place, with jockey Noah; Julie Vaughn in second with jockey Eddie, and Sara Barchak in third with jockey Josie. 
According to Jasmine Burks, Chamber executive director, “We auctioned off 16 fish for a grand total of $2,910. The 7v7 team made $750 on just being purchased to jockey fish. Fifteen fish owners paid $50 each to have the boys as jockeys, which goes to their program.” 
Many of the fish bidders took the fish home. One boy took home eight. The remaining fish went home with Burks.
 
Chamber changes
For the second year, the Chamber banquet only celebrated efforts during the past 12 months. The change of hands between presidents did not take place due to no clear successor having been named. 
The year started out with Brad Hill stepping in as past president due to a lack of officers. Cory Hartman was named president. Cassie Branch, named president-elect/vice president, resigned from the board in December. At that point, Kelley McMillan, who started the year as the treasurer, was promoted after 10 months to vice president. Heather Van Note stepped forward to serve as treasurer. 
The leadership chain calls for training in the Chamber’s finances, which significantly changed once the license office contract moved. The treasurer moves to president-elect, and then to president in the third year. The Chamber’s bylaws also changed once previous executive director Brett Heman departed, resulting in revisions, and, according to Burks, some omissions, which board members are still trying to rectify. 
What happened next is still unclear. 
According to Burks, when the incoming and outgoing boards met on March 11, past president Brad Hill acted as moderator. Cory Hartman, the immediate past president, presented all the nominations. McMillan was named president. Trevor Convirs, who joined the board last year, was named president-elect without the prerequisite training as treasurer. Ada Noreiga, a board alternate who joined the board when Branch left in December, was named treasurer. 
 
New board, new meeting
A meeting of the new officers was scheduled for March 18. Former board member Kevin Jones was named as the governance person to provide instruction on procedure. 
At the end of business on March 12, three board members entered the Chamber office and told Burks she was placed on administrative leave. Burks, who said she has never been written up or received a verbal reprimand, said she was stunned. 
Efforts to contact several board members have been unsuccessful. 
Burks said the board went into closed session at the end of regular business on March 11, asking her to be absent. She was told all the board members were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements about that meeting. 
McMillan, as Chamber president, is also in an unusual position, serving as the city clerk in addition to running the Chamber. Because the annual meeting did not have the normal speeches by the outgoing and incoming presidents, McMillan has had no opportunity to articulate her vision for the Chamber or to speak publicly at all. 
No one who has ever served as Chamber president, its executive director, or its secretary, the administrator prior to the creation of the executive director position, has been employed by the city at the same time as leading the Chamber, even back into the days of the Monett Commercial Club, which predated the Chamber. 
Asked how she would address the question of a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, McMillan told The Record, “I will handle it in my own way.”