“IS IT TRUE” JUNE 25, 2025 MASTER COPY

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IS IT TRUE there is much curiosity in the Tri-State about the benefits of merging these entities and why the need to do such a thing culminated so rapidly?…it may not have been as fast as it was revealed as an examination of the 990 forms for E-REP showing that it was formed three years [3) ago in 2021 inside the Chamber by Tara Barney during her reign as CEO?…it seems as though the merger was in the minds of a several political and business insiders for some time?…in reality E-REP assumed the roles of the Chamber and gobbled up the other two organizations as their leadership moved or went into retirement?…the transparency about this from a public disclosure perspective is being questioned by several members of our local business community? …that the non-profit organization aggregation site GuideStar gives ratings for transparency and gives Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum rankings to all non-profits based on how much of their financial, management, board of directors, and performance data is published on their site?…at this time E-REP has no ranking whatsoever on GuideStar which is below the lowest rating for transparency that GuideStar has?…this means they have shared no information of substance period?

IS IT TRUE that the revelation in 2023 that the three entities that have partnered for more than a decade to do the economic development work for the City of Evansville, Vanderburgh County, and parts of the surrounding counties have been merged into a single organization convinced some people as a way to save money and concerned others about the concentration of efforts?…the merged entities consist of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana that did traditional chamber activities like mixers, lobbying, and the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) to mentor micro businesses, the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville (GAGE) that was formed to foster entrepreneurship in industries that pay a thriving wage.  …that the Southwest Indiana Coalition for Economic Development which focused on the attraction of outside businesses was merged into a new entity called E-REP which stands for Evansville Regional Economic Partnership?… historically local government supported the two economic development entities and private businesses supported the Chamber of Commerce

 

IS IT TRUE that Regional groups covering all 92 counties have shared $500 million in state development grants?— although none will get close to the planned maximum $75 million. Gov. Eric Holcomb also responded sharply to criticism from some Republican gubernatorial candidates charge that his administration is imposing a “top-down approach” on development efforts around the state. (Davies, State Affairs

IS IT TRUE there is much curiosity in the Tri-State about the benefits of merging these entities and why the need to do such a thing culminated so rapidly?…it may not have been as fast as it was revealed as an examination of the 990 forms for E-REP showing that it was formed three years [3) ago in 2021 inside the Chamber by Tara Barney during her reign as CEO?…it seems as though the merger was in the minds of a several political and business insiders for some time?

IS IT TRUE one of the City-County Observers “Moles” who is adept at cyber-sleuthing techniques was able to learn that E-REP is a 501c6 that is typical for organizations that employ lobbyists like Chambers of Commerce do?… Economic Development entities like GAGE and the Coalition are typically either 501c3 or 501c4 organizations that can accept deductible donations from anywhere?…this begs the question “Can E-REP accept money from governments (we know they do from a recent article printed in the Courier and Press) and  0plausibly advocate for business when they are beholding to government”?

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