Ohio's Unprofessional Defamatory Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce

I am writing this commentary in order to make a public record of the unprofessional and defamatory treatment of me by the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce, which is located in Sylvania, Ohio, that was initiated by them on January 24, 2025 and continues to this very day of June 3, 2026.

The following is an electronic message that I had sent to the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce:

"On January 24, 2025, the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce made a public posting on Facebook about my son, Marcus Hansen, entitled 'Meet Marcus Hansen, City Councilman, City of Sylvania, Ohio!' That same posting was placed on LinkedIn. In the aforementioned posting is a statement putting forth that my son Marcus' mother was a single parent for most of his childhood.

For the record, I wish to point out that the statement as published by the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce is factually incorrect.

A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. In order to be legally considered a single parent, the person has to be divorced, legally separated, or unmarried.

The fact is that I was married to Marcus' mother, living in the family home, and supporting our family of five (Marcus, his older brother, his younger sister, their mother who was my wife, and myself) for the most of Marcus' childhood. Due to a brief marriage separation period of several months for the first part of 1991 during Marcus' second semester of his Junior year of high school when he was 17 years-old, I was temporarily absent from our family home. It was during Marcus' second semester of his Senior year of high school in 1993 when Marcus was 18 years-old that his mother and I obtained a marriage dissolution and I moved permanently out of the family home.

I believe that the Sylvania Chamber of Commerce should set the record straight by making a posting on both Facebook and LinkedIn that corrects the misinformation that Marcus was in a single parent home for most of his childhood. As it is now, this article gives the impression that I abandoned my children. That is just plain wrong! I consider the published statement to be libelous."

After having sent several electronic messages to the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce regarding the incorrect information contained within their posting and not receiving a response from them, I finally sent the following message to them:

"You still have not responded to my previous message. Do I need to make public postings of screenshots of the concerned subject matter of the misinformation you posted on public internet sites to get this matter the attention of that which you have failed to correct?"

To that message, the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce provided the following response:

"We appreciate you reaching out regarding our post. The information shared was provided directly by the interviewee, and while we stand by its accuracy, we have made the decision to remove the post to avoid further confusion. Our goal is always to provide clear and reliable information for our community, and we take that responsibility seriously. We will not be providing further comment."

True to their word, the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce deleted the post and has refused to respond to my numerous requests to make a public statement to correct the erroneous information. In fact, the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce has blocked me on Facebook. Now, that is professionalism - NOT! Incidentally, I had made screenshots of the entire post of that which was made by the Sylvania Chamber of Commerce prior to its removal.

I have made several postings on Facebook about this incident and have received several comments concerning this issue from other persons. However, I find the comments made by Michael John Young to be the most interesting. The following are copies of his comments made at different points in time.

First one:

"A terribly important clarification. Obviously you were (and remain) an integral component of his upbringing and maturation and character. I’m glad you spoke up."

 Another:

"Completely unnecessary phrase: “ …we stand by its accuracy… “

They just called Roland Louis Hansen a liar.

That’s defamation. So go get’m Roland!

👍

Here’s the thing. A Chamber of Commerce is supposed to help promote and support local businesses by means of direct assistance and data.

Their product is supposed to be FACTS that they provide to enhance clarity and help create a more attractive investment environment by being a trustworthy source of facts.

So to “stand by” the “accuracy” of a patently inaccurate biography of one of their community leaders should cause investors considering Sylvania to pause and reconsider.

If the Sylvania Chamber of Commerce just can’t be honest about this, how can they be trusted about anything else they publish and promote?

The test of a person is, once they have been found to be in error, are they so insecure and innately dishonest they can’t bring themselves to admit it and correct it? Or are they mature adults who demonstrate the character needed as a decision maker for others from their leadership position?

Can they be trusted?

The same goes for a Chamber of Commerce.

Clear eyed, honest, objective, and dependable data, fact finding, and advice is supposed to be what they provide.

Otherwise, what good are they?

Roland should sue them.

And the Chamber would be wise to fire whomever wrote that phrase and those who approved that response.

And as to the man who lies about his childhood with such ease?

Whoa… that’s seriously concerning."

And another:

"They “ …stand by its accuracy”??

I’m sorry. But it’s not only FACTUAL INACCURATE it is EASY to confirm its inaccuracy because the item in dispute is PUBLIC RECORD!

It’s not like your son said something about his personal feelings. He said he was raised alone by just his mother for “most of his childhood.” which is both FACTUALLY A LIE, and speaks to a character flaw, as he FABRICATES his origin story for POLITICAL ADVANTAGE and… worse… LIBELS his supportive and loving father who was there well into his teens and a constant presence in his life, regardless!

“Removing it” is only a half step. It leaves unaddressed the damage done, the public impression, the fairy tale, and the unearned sympathy by anyone moved by his “childhood tragedy” to vote for him or grant him emotional support.

Roland Louis Hansen I think you have a right to question a chamber of COMMERCE that takes those they encounter at their word. I mean, is that how members of a BUSINESS organization conducts BUSINESS? Do they just skip written contracts or due diligence or not require security for loans or conduct business in any way based only on the word of someone?

This betrays their charter. This impunes their honesty. This betrays their thirst for political access at any cost. This reveals support for unethical behavior that rewards exaggerators in a way they’d NEVER DO in ANY business transaction.

Their “standing by” a documented lie is an indictment of the Sylvania Chamber of Commerce that should trouble every dues paying member."