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Chamber of Horrors

The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce finds itself in turbulent waters.

One staffer was fired, and the two other staffers left suddenly, as if they had just heard an Ike-like hurricane was on the way.

Suddenly, with no notice, and cleaning out desks in a matter of minutes.

Chamber members found out about the impromptu evacuation via e-mail. Each received an e-mail from the trio on the Chamber’s official e-mail letterhead.

“!Hasta la proxima!” was the sign-off after a fairly long good-bye from Ruben Romero, programs/events director; Norma Parra, VP of business development/programs; and Nick Vara, membership director.

The membership then received an e-mail from Harry Garewal, Chamber executive director, and Robert Espiritu, board chair. The duo let members know that the three former employees  “wrongly and without authorization accessed the AZHCC e-mail database.”

Then a letter Romero sent to the Chamber board of directors went out into cyberspace.

What the players in this battle of the e-mails don’t realize is that once an e-mail is sent, it’s fair game for anybody to intercept.

That letter candidly detailed the reasons for the sudden departures. Romero cited Garewal’s  “dysfunctional, unethical, and self-serving leadership.”

Another was “You making references to my sexual orientation.”

Reached on his cell phone, Romero says, “I just felt that things weren’t being done right or correctly. I just got to the point where I wanted to leave the organization.”

Garewal says he couldn’t comment on the staffers who left or allegations in the board letter because they were “personnel issues.”

He admitted he was surprised that the resignation letter had gone beyond the board.

However, he adds, the Chamber is re-building and “You’d be surprised how many resumes we have received in response to the e-mails.”