VALLEY CITY, N.D. (Chamber) – The following is a statement issued by the Valley City Area Chamber.

“In this last year, one of our most important values has been transparency. To us that means being open and honest, and also having hard conversations, when you know it’s hard, but you know it is the right thing to do. During our Chamber Celebration and Awards banquet on April 11th, this statement was released from the Board of Directors and the Chamber of Commerce Staff.

To ensure full transparency for the Valley City Chamber of Commerce, and to eliminate rumors and speculation in the community, we needed to let our members and the community know that after the resignation of a long term Chamber employee last year, we initiated an investigation. We found employee dishonesty and financial mismanagement of Chamber resources, reporting of inaccurate information and inaccurate financial information to the Board of Directors, which impacted decisions and voting by the Board, resulting in the transfer of a major property asset.

As of right now, this remains an ongoing investigation and we will keep our members and the community updated as we are informed by law enforcement agencies and our insurance company.

Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce now has strict protocols in place to strengthen all internal controls and all financial procedures to make sure the Board has full transparency. Our members can be secure in knowing that the Chambers funds are appropriately being spent and reported correctly in the future.”

Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce

Board of Directors

Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Staff