JEFFERSONVILLE —
The president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, recently appointed to take over as One Southern Indiana’s CEO at the end of the month, is accused of misconduct by a former employee.
One Southern Indiana — which serves as the chamber organization for Floyd and Clark counties — announced Oct. 4 that Jody L. Wassmer would replace Michael Dalby, who left the position nearly six months ago for a similar job in Columbus, Ohio. A day before the announcement, Ashley Bradshaw filed a lawsuit against the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce alleging wrongful termination.
In the complaint filed Oct. 3 in Daviess County Circuit Court in Kentucky, Bradshaw claims Wassmer, who was her direct supervisor, used the chamber’s credit card to pay for a personal trip to Chicago.
Wassmer announced to his staff sometime in the fall of 2010 that he was taking a “lobbying” trip to Chicago, according to the lawsuit. However, staff members were unaware of any lobbying events taking place in Chicago the weekend of his trip.
Bradshaw claims she and other staff members saw two airplane boarding passes that had been printed and were on the office copy machine in plain view. One boarding pass had Wassmer’s name and the other had the name of a female colleague. Bradshaw alleges Wassmer used the chamber’s credit card to pay for the costs of the trip for his colleague and himself. Those costs included the plane tickets, room and meals.
According to the lawsuit, she confronted Wassmer about the trip and later learned the trip was not related to lobbying or any Chamber business.
Shortly after the confrontation, Bradshaw received a “Confidential Employee Questionnaire” about misuse of funds on Dec. 6, 2010. A copy, which is included with the lawsuit, states that the questionnaire is “extremely confidential.”
Bradshaw answered “yes” when asked if she was aware of any personal use of chamber funds and “yes” when asked if there was anything she would like to communicate but had not due to fear of losing her job or being reprimanded.
In an attached letter, she wrote that Wassmer had used the Chamber credit card for personal things, including a car repair and a trip to Chicago. Both of those items were later reimbursed, she said.
“I will say that it is now an awkward working environment. I do not like that I was put in this position,” she wrote.
Bradshaw was fired in August for “insubordination.” She claims she had no prior reprimand or warning of her termination and had positive evaluations through her nine years of employment with the chamber.
She claims she was fired because she confronted Wassmer and truthfully answered the questionnaire, while Wassmer was not fired because of gender discrimination.
Matt Hall, interim CEO for One Southern Indiana, said the organization is aware of the lawsuit, but would have no comment. He declined to say whether they knew about the lawsuit at the time Wassmer was appointed.
“We’re not going to make a comment about a lawsuit we’re not a party to,” Hall said.
The Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce also declined to comment, and Wassmer was out of the office Friday and did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
Wassmer previously told WFIE-TV in Owensboro that his leaving the chamber was not related to the lawsuit.
"I would consider this lawsuit to be completely frivolous being filed by a disgruntled former employee,” he told the television station.
Wassmer is scheduled to start at One Southern Indiana on Oct. 31 after serving as the Owensboro Chamber’s president since 2005. The Indiana University graduate is a two-time recipient of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s Executive of the Year award.
One Southern Indiana used a selection committee consisting of six board members and community leaders to help choose a new leader from dozens of applicants. Dalby had served in the role since 2006.
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