There is no doubt that Wednesday's decision by the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry to cancel the annual balloon rally is disappointing, and a blow to the community.
That hurt was registered on the faces of MCCI board members, who reluctantly voted 8-1 to ground the event. Many of those faces had tears on them. It took board members two full, silent minutes to answer President Jane Monahan's request for a motion to take the vote. This is not a decision board members took lightly, or wanted to make.
However, it appears the only option they had left. Unfortunately, the deflated balloon may be a symbol of the national economic recession's local impact. Quite simply, there weren't enough businesses and individuals able or willing to donate the funds necessary to make feasible what would have been the 24th annual balloon rally.
MCCI has operated the rally at a financial loss in recent years. Last year, MCCI lost $8,000 on the event. This year, even after appealing to the public, seeking additional sponsors and considering cost-cutting measures, the Chamber determined it would lose about $5,000 on the event.
"We cannot take a loss on any event," board Treasurer Tom Purdy said. "We cannot, cannot take a loss." The Chamber's budget situation, like many of the businesses it relies upon to support the balloon rally, is so thin this year that losses that would have been acceptable in "better" times simply aren't any longer.
Certainly, the absence of a balloon rally this summer is a cultural slice of entertainment Monroe and surrounding communities will miss. And, absolutely, not having the rally will have an impact on businesses that benefited from the tourism the event generated.
That, however, is not MCCI's burden to bear. If the financial support isn't there to host the event, it's not there.
Perhaps 2009 only will be a respite in Monroe's balloon tradition. Wednesday's decision was for this year's event only. With a year to conjure up different fund-raising approaches - and, hopefully, a year for the national and local economies to begin mending - MCCI can find a way to revive the balloon rally in 2010.
At the very least, it seems to have public sentiment behind the idea of bringing the balloon rally back to Monroe in the future. That's something to build on.
That hurt was registered on the faces of MCCI board members, who reluctantly voted 8-1 to ground the event. Many of those faces had tears on them. It took board members two full, silent minutes to answer President Jane Monahan's request for a motion to take the vote. This is not a decision board members took lightly, or wanted to make.
However, it appears the only option they had left. Unfortunately, the deflated balloon may be a symbol of the national economic recession's local impact. Quite simply, there weren't enough businesses and individuals able or willing to donate the funds necessary to make feasible what would have been the 24th annual balloon rally.
MCCI has operated the rally at a financial loss in recent years. Last year, MCCI lost $8,000 on the event. This year, even after appealing to the public, seeking additional sponsors and considering cost-cutting measures, the Chamber determined it would lose about $5,000 on the event.
"We cannot take a loss on any event," board Treasurer Tom Purdy said. "We cannot, cannot take a loss." The Chamber's budget situation, like many of the businesses it relies upon to support the balloon rally, is so thin this year that losses that would have been acceptable in "better" times simply aren't any longer.
Certainly, the absence of a balloon rally this summer is a cultural slice of entertainment Monroe and surrounding communities will miss. And, absolutely, not having the rally will have an impact on businesses that benefited from the tourism the event generated.
That, however, is not MCCI's burden to bear. If the financial support isn't there to host the event, it's not there.
Perhaps 2009 only will be a respite in Monroe's balloon tradition. Wednesday's decision was for this year's event only. With a year to conjure up different fund-raising approaches - and, hopefully, a year for the national and local economies to begin mending - MCCI can find a way to revive the balloon rally in 2010.
At the very least, it seems to have public sentiment behind the idea of bringing the balloon rally back to Monroe in the future. That's something to build on.
