WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce has released a statement announcing its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equality.
In an email to chamber membership last week, Executive Director Dave Eckman said the statement was crafted over six weeks beginning in April. The Chamber’s board approved the statement on June 3rd.
The final version of the statement reads as follows:
The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce represents a diverse membership of over 800 unique businesses from a variety of industry sectors all with varying points of view. Collectively, member organizations represent tens of thousands of employees who call the greater Wausau region home. In consideration for the human spirit and moral responsibility, we must honor and respect the experiences of all people from various ethnic cultures, gender and sexuality preferences, religious beliefs, veteran status, ages, differently-abled populations, and socio-economic standing. For our community to compete effectively to attract and retain talent of the next generation workforce of the 21st-century knowledge economy, the Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce and our entire community must deliberately create a welcoming and supportive place that embraces diversity, acts to be inclusive, and provides equal access to resources and opportunities that provide greater economic mobility for each person.
The statement was released as another New York Times article was published about the region’s continued divide over the Marathon County “A Community for All” resolution, which has been in the works for more than a year and has now gone through seven revisions.
RELATED: Another Revised “Community for All” Resolution Heading for Marathon County Executive Committee
The latest revision is set to go before the County’s Executive Committee in the next few weeks.
Additionally, the Wausau City Council is set to take up its own “Community for All” resolution pushed forward by Mayor Katie Rosenberg in mid-May just hours after the initial New York Times story on the county’s efforts was published. The city resolution passed the Economic Development Committee on a 5-0 vote and is part of the consent agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.
RELATED: Wausau Mayor Declares City “A Community For All,” County Supervisors Respond to NYT Article
The consent agenda is a package of measures that are passed on a single vote and can often time include things like meeting minutes or batches of licenses that don’t lend themselves to a lengthy discussion. The resolution could be pulled out of the consent agenda for discussion at the request of one of the Alders.
