In an article published after her letter to members calling downtown Evansville a “ghost town” and citing the need for a plan, a timeline, and a leader, Chamber of Commerce president Christy Gillenwater has now published an article where she refers to Mayor Winnecke as a “visionary”. She furthermore calls for the people of Evansville to support their elected officials vision by encouraging the hotel that she calls a “multi-use” project.
It is interesting to note the differences in the two columns whose publication dates only differ by a small amount of time and several alleged meetings with local power brokers.
Link to “ghost town” article
Link to “Mayor is a visionary” article
I’m dropping my membership in the Chamber as of next week. I shall be asking other friends that are members to the same.
Ms. Gillenwater has just destroyed her reputation as an effective leader. she has lost the support of the common folk of this community because of her flip flop.
Unreal. Gillenwater should be ashamed of herself. Looks like we have another puppet on the Mayors string.
She did what she had to so she could keep her 6 figure job. If that means going against your own beliefs then so what. She had two choices. Let some articulate goon write a column for her that negated her other one, or get her arse fired. I bet she didn’t even write the column about Winnecke the visionary herself. Pity, another good minded honest person smashed by the machine.
I always told my children….”never put in writing, what you won’t be proud for the world to read. You can never take it back!”..especially in this media day and age!! What a shame, I assume the same as most folks here, she was coerced to “brighten” her view to keep her job. In my opinion, it would have been better to stand strong with your views and lose a job over your beliefs than be viewed as someone who flip-flops or sells out!! This will follow her to other cities and all other positions in the future with a simple click on Google! Again, what a shame!
The most amazing flip flop letter I have ever seen in my life. That Gillenwater lady should be ashamed to let herself being seen in public after this.
After reading both of her letters I can honestly say that she didn’t write the second one.
It is extremely obvious that she was forced to sign her name to a letter written by the Mayors PR person.
I’m asking my brother-in-law who is a member of the Chamber to drop his membership also. What a bunch of self serving people.
Thanks CCO for printing the real truth. Shame on you Courier and Press!
I find this issue with Downtown Evansville and its political bent somewhat confused in the overall methods attraction of progressive movement forward of any given community.
Evansville is not the only community on this rail and its perceived destination into the rapidly approaching mid century demise. The whole country faces the same challenges.
What is done now will either set an positive force into action,or implode unto itself.
Politics seem to have become an issue with the commerce based progress in Evansville and its surrounding metro area.
Once upon an time “not in an fairy tale world” the location was desired as an destination as well as an place to thrive and have family and roots.
You know I have an insight into this because I am from an family in which that those features of location found in Evansville at one time. Evansville once had location,talent and the commerce to apply vision.
Evansville has this today. Evansville an other communities are challenged moving forward by some issues I see.
Viable sustained employment.
Basic utilities costing.
The 2012 clean water act as outline by the white house.
Revitalization of urban needs.
Urban attractiveness in presentation.
Incremental staging of regulatory and civil needs projects
Commerce and business accepting and implementing the enhancement in the needs specified.
Plans that reflect progress in the said needs of the community set the trending in which visitors and business ventures strive to partake in,that is what makes an area thrive.
Once this was Evansville,it is Evansville.
Study Evansville’s history what made it an successful town once is right here in the present.
Find this elusive image and you have the plan.
Some other communities are doing just that. Those that do this now will reap the benefits. What are the civil and regulatory needs of the future verses the commerce it will take to arrive at an point that meets that goal?
That is my vision,and also maybe an plan ?
Here I was getting ready to say she was spot on about downtown with the the 01 master plan collecting dust on my desk being the main reason.
Then she turns around and calls Winnecke a visionary? Even Ray Charles wouldn’t say that.
Winnecke is a visionary if that vision is a bankrupt Evansville he is right on target. If anyone thinks that this man has a clue about anything just ask him a question off script and you will see a man with about as much vision as Stevie Wonder except that Stevie wonder actually has talent. If not for Weinzapfel’s vision of financially destroying this city and stealing campaign ideas from Davis, Winnecke would be sitting in his office making paper dollies. Good job Evansville voters keep up the good work of voting in self serving incompetents such as Winnecke, Mosby and Weaver. So sad.
BINGO! We have a BINGO!
As I tried to point out in the comments section under a previous CCO article, Ms. Gillenwater never referred to Downtown Evansville as an absolute ghost town. She simply said our downtown “has slowly become somewhat of a ghost town” … and I emphasize her qualification “somewhat.”
Downtown Evansville certainly is not “any sort of” of a ghost town from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. weekdays. And it is not “nearly” a ghost during nighttime events on the Walkway, or following events at the Ford, the Victory, or the Centre.
So, I think Ms. Gillenwater’s intent was to use a bit of author’s license, and even a little hyperbole, in order to grab the reader’s attention in the opening sentence with her use of “somewhat” to describe the not quite literal definition of ghost town.
But don’t let that stop any of you from completely twisting the intent of Ms. Gillenwater’s follow-up article that CCO now has posted for your eloquently negative comments. Carry on.
Well stated. I know Christy, and I am confident your interpretation is spot-on
I might also point out that in order to have a piece published in the September 8th Sunday Courier and Press, it would’ve had to have met the Thursday, Sept. 5th deadline. Explain that, in relation to the allegations of this Sunday’s piece being a flip flop with regard to a piece that just became a subject of a faux controversy this past Friday.
So, what you’re saying is we were wrong to cheer for Ms. Gillenwater in the first place. Glad that’s clarified.
Hear that everyone…false alarm. Thought we had an honest one flip flop, turns out all we ever had was another obsequious toady. Back to your regularly scheduled taxpayer subsidy.
Sounds like Jealous Again over your inability to be published in the same league as Gillenwater. Suffering from Hotel Sickness?
Did you know Brad is a published contributor to Huffington News that has a readership in the millions? Anyone can write a letter to the editor of any publication and have a good shot at getting published. You can Crow about this one when Christy gets something in a national publication and she may well someday if she keeps ownership of her own mind. She has what it takes. It is doubtful that the vultures of Evansville will ever let her use it though.
This might be the first time another CCO user has gone out of his/her way to stick up for me. I feel genuinely touched.
But while we’re on the subject of my other published efforts which eclipse the journalistic stratospheres of Courier & Press, don’t forget my high school literary magazine… I had several poems in there of which I was most pleased at the time.
Just because we posted it on Friday does not mean it was first sent out on Friday. It was out earlier.
What? Were you waiting for the Courier and Press to scoop you?
Actually we were waiting until the machine had a chance to infect her second article and hoped they would not be successful. Pity that they were. She had it right in the first article.
Well I’m thinking as my comment before states. “Blend your commerce with your civil project needs”.
The mandates whipped on the areas around the country by The EPA and other regulatory water quality agencies will not evaporate.
Build and renovate to comply,do the with vision and an plan see your town then become an destination for commerce and education forward of the communities that are in need of that compliance.
Ms. Gillenwater’s organization needs an viable plan to work with, I think that’s what she said in her first statement. One that steps this into reality with leadership inspired and community planned and implemented incremental stages moving forward. This to address ongoing areas of concern most residents of the metro area experience.
(First on base usually is the first one home so too speak.)
Home runs happen but as you know…”not so much”.
“No good Deed goes unpunished”. That whipping she received from Evansville’s “Mafia”, must have been painful. Time for her to move on now she has lost all creditability. — Stand up, or stand down. A sad story, and I pity you, but you learned a Life Lesson.
Winnecke is a visionary.
‘Visionary’ = one who wears glasses
I get it that the Mayor is a “Visionary” because he pushed to fund the Earthcare deal. The Mayor is a “Visionary” because he cut a back-room political deal to take over our Homestead Tax Credits. He is a “Visionary” because he didn’t balance the city books during his first 18 months in office. He a “Visionary” because he fought hard to dump Consolidated County Government on the City/county tax payers alike.
On and on and on———etc.–etc. Ms. Gillenwater, if the Mayor is a “Visionary” than I’m a rocket scientist
Hey! he did get us 96gal recycle containers which has been a huge success, trash removal seems to be his strong suit.
JMHO
Council watch: I’m not saying anything about your opinion.
We all have’em and are entitled to that I suppose.
However having worked on stuff that is indeed in Earth orbit as part of the job I retired from. I noticed the reference to rocket scientists.
In my experience the rocket just delivers the important point”the payload”. As with rockets compared to humans, the most effective business end usually on the top.
Hopefully that’s the standard we go by with our tax dollars as well,what ever the vision happens to be or become.
That said, something the ole gentleman told me long ago. “A dog that hunts tends to earn his rewards.”
That compares nicely with visions, verses return on investments.”
Lets face it, what got Winnecke elected was his talent for taking direction. A talent he is still honing.
___
You are correct.
Might I add that everyone should remember this the next time they vote. Try to remember your council members that wore his name on their shirts, stuffed envelopes and publicly showed their support.
Comments are closed.