The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce says is cancelling its annual conference in Walton County—next year.
This year’s event is still on as planned despite concerns about the location.
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor and the Tallahassee NAACP had demanded the Chamber move its annual conference after the Walton County Commission voted to replace one confederate flag with another.
The chamber says this year’s conference, slated for next week, can’t be moved due to legal and contractual obligations. It’s expecting 550 people to attend the retreat at the Sandestin Hilton Hotel.
But in a statement, Chamber chairman Rick Moore says, “our Chamber will not hold its planned 2016 community conference in Walton County because of the divisive decision by the county commission there to continue to embrace a symbol of hatred at its public courthouse".