By Chris Berleth

“Well, it’s a-one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go, but don’t you step on my blue suede shoes!”

-Elvis Presley

Excitement is in the Air

Last month, the Chamber team excitedly announced our October Legislative Breakfast featuring the full complement of our state legislative delegation – Senator Culver, and Representatives Leadbeter and Stender as our guest speakers.  In our announcement, we were doubly thrilled to share our unique venue for the event.  SEKISUI KYDEX has graciously agreed to host us on their South Campus.  Given the proximity to “Manufacturing Day”, we are delighted to be on the campus of this amazing company.

In our urgency and excitement at the venue and our speakers, we overlooked an important coincidence and failed to explain an unusual and important dress code requirement, which states “Guests to the event must not wear blue.  Please indulge me while I explain it now:

It’s Not Political…

We live in an increasingly polarized political climate, no doubt.  While conducting Chamber business last Thursday at a local member, I mentioned the event to the CEO and asked if he and his team would be attending.

He leaned in close to me, and almost whispering, said, “Chris, I’ve got to tell you, we were a little surprised at how political the invitation was.”

“Political,” I said.  “What do you mean, political?”

He said, “Well I know the speakers are all Republicans, but I was surprised that we were instructed not to wear blue at all.  That’s a bit too far.”

I was incredulous...and mortified.  He read the instruction, and thought it meant, “Democrats wear blue, the speakers aren’t Democrats, so don’t wear blue.”  That is NOT the case.

The Real Reason…it’s Manufacturing

Due to a chemical reaction between blue dye (found in clothing like denim and other accents) and thermoplastic sheeting found on campus, SEKISUI KYDEX has a “No Blue” policy on all their campuses and have had that policy for a long time.

There’s nothing political about it – to honor our host and safeguard their equipment, we’re going to honor their dress code.

Sadness and Humor Intermixed

A hundred thoughts raced through my mind.  Initially, I was kicking myself for how obvious it should have been for us to connect the dots to this thought.  Then I thought, “Our members will generally understand the reality.  This was an honest “Oops,” and it’s easily explained.”

Then the humor wore off a little.  “We’ve had this out there for a month.  How did we miss it this long, and worse yet, why haven’t we heard this from any of you, our members, yet?”

I’ve landed on a few possibilities:

1. Maybe you’ve been to SEKISUI KYDEX before and knew the “No Blue” Policy and its origin. Perhaps you suspected that the instruction was purely logistical even though you haven’t been there.

2. Then again, maybe not.
   • Maybe you missed it. Perhaps in the busyness of the summer, you didn’t see anything about the event or this key detail.  Or maybe our communications are just now hitting your inbox, and we’re out in front of you with an explanation.
   • Maybe you caught it but trusted us so inherently that even though the instruction seemed out of place, you dismissed the hyper-political explanation as unlikely.
   • Maybe you thought it was political and were willing to overlook it or give us the benefit of the doubt that such a thing would be out of character.
   • Lastly, and worst of these, maybe you saw the instruction and assumed the worst - that this was “par for the course” for the world we live in. That the Chamber was part of a political machine where minds are already made up, a part of the problem, and that associating with this sort of thing is the unfortunate cost of doing business.
   • Worse still, maybe you felt the Chamber staff or board were not approachable enough to address the issue. To this end, I applaud the CEO from my encounter for calling me on the carpet for what he perceived was wrong and a breach of character.

As I said, these thoughts are purely speculative on my part, but they all beg the question - what were/are you willing to believe, and why?

In a time when the Chamber is redoubling its efforts to communicate well and with transparency, we wish to be the Chamber you deserve, not an institution of smoky backrooms and hateful distrust.  May we continue to work hard to prove that this is not the way of the Chamber, and that it would be unacceptable if it were.

You Deserve Better

You deserve better than to expect us to be anything but approachable, caring, and listening.

You deserve a Chamber who abides by the same Code of Conduct that we have fought for years now to advocate.

Your Chamber is and should be the ‘sane center’, a gathering place and connecting point where great ideas come together to build, grow, and sustain our community - a place where you have access to officials without fearing that when you enter the room, it’s entirely one-sided.

Your Chamber is not “R” or “D”.  We’re here to represent you, and your business’ needs.  May we be the Chamber that meets with you face-to-face, hears your concerns, and advocates for you.  May you be courageous in approaching us when we fail you, and may we be quick to address our failings.  May you also be courageous in helping us with our blind spots.

At the heart of our advocacy efforts is a trust that we must continue to build every day, between the board who represents you, the staff who serve at your pleasure, and the community in which we live.

Don’t Wear Blue…But Do Appreciate Why

My wife teased me relentlessly when I told her what had happened and what I’d written.  She said, “Christopher, you have a much bigger problem.  Everything you own is blue.”  She’s right, of course.  The Chamber logo is blue, our staff polo, even my favorite pants, tie and jacket – all blue.  Which led me to a final thought.

Imagine being so detail-oriented, so attentive to the details about the product you make that you’ve pinpointed that blue clothing could alter that product.  That’s attention-to-detail, and in turn, a willingness to sacrifice an everyday convenience that is foreign to most of us.  SEKISUI KYDEX produces the best and has a culture wherein their team is committed to this mentality.

How fitting that we should have a governmental affairs breakfast at such a place – where we demand the very best from our officials and showcase a company and an industry already committed to the same.

May we be as mindful of excellence and purity as our friends at SEKISUI KYDEX, may your Chamber’s motivations honor the same, and may we see you in some other, manufacturing-friendly colors in October.