Did you know the FSCC is now under the control of a company in California? The citizens of Fort Smith expressed concerns of their tax dollars going towards the Fort Smith Convention Center (FSCC) from the beginning.  How would this help our community? It seemed The Board of Directors had a personal agenda, and it appears so now more than ever. The Board of Directors assured the community that building the FSCC would mean more opportunities for small businesses in the Fort Smith area.  During the coronavirus, when small businesses were hurting the most, the city decided to turn their back on their community and hire a business from California, with your tax dollars.  When the city began discussing the issue of selling, FSCC employees were told that the company would be bringing in some new management (which there was absolutely no reason for whatsoever, they were doing a fantastic job) for the offices, the “red shirt” set up crews (some had been there for 15 years or more) would be keeping their jobs, and that the local vendors would be continuing to do business there as well.  In 2018 and 2019 the FSCC drastically surpassed previous records in sales and overall customer service.  The FSCC was doing very well, all planned and carried out by FSCC management, and all of the events were hosted by local vendors. Still the BOD insisted there was an urgent need to hire this out of state company. When the new company took over, almost everyone at the FSCC lost their jobs and the local vendors have been fired so they can bring in their own people and replace the vendors with cheap labor.  This has hurt so many in our community in devastating ways.  I attempted reaching out to the mayor’s office.  I asked them who made this decision and why? And why weren’t any of the promises kept? It is obvious that we were misled so we would not protest at the time they were making this decision.  The response from the mayor’s office stated “the decision was made by the Board of Directors a year ago and they are happy with their decision.” The decision was made without the community knowing what they were doing because the majority of the deliberations on the matter took place during the pandemic.  Does someone on the Board have something to gain from this decision? How is this what is best for Fort Smith?  With this petition we hope to reach someone who will give us answers and who will protect our local businesses.  We also hope to reach as many as possible in our community to ask that you please take this into consideration when you decide to plan your next event.  For many of our local restaurants missing the opportunity to serve even one of these events can make or break their entire year.  Events are finally coming back, but the vendors who usually serve them are now finding out they will no longer be allowed. We know that the local Event Committees choose to use these vendors because they ARE our community.  Choose a venue that allows you to choose the vendor that YOU want. The vendors who know you, who know your culture, who care about your event, and whose service is not based on cheap labor. Consider the venues who were also affected by coronavirus and who are supporting local businesses. Now more than ever our small businesses need these opportunities. We deserve answers. Bring local vendors back to FSCC. Please join our petition and contact Mayor George McGill’s office today to show your support for local businesses. Thank you!