Full disclosure, I’ve known Joe Showker for well in excess of a decade. I’ve never believed he was particularly bright, nor have I believed that many people thought too much of him. In fact, Showker seems to be a legend in his own mind and in the mind of very few others. In fact, I believe that had Showker not inherited money from his father, few would know who Showker is and fewer would even care.
In leading up to the 2021 District Three School Board race, Showker supported Matt Cross, and I had expressed my concern to Cross about Showker and his apparent desire to control and influence the candidates he supported. Obviously, Matt took that to heart and Showker soon learned that he couldn’t control Matt and that his support for Matt was not equal to Matt allowing Showker to control him. Showke soon soured on Matt.
I. SHOWKER ENTERPRISES
In the 2023 District Five School Board race, Cross favored my friend, Hollie Cave, and Showker supported swamper Paula Lam, who like Hilary Irons, seemed to be known as a volunteer at Spotswood High School and another candidate you just couldn’t get a definitive answer if her life depended on it. Hollie ended up destroying Lam in the election by a 2-to-1 margin. Showker’s “wife” gave Lam $1500 but it wasn’t enough. Showker then began spewing crap about Matt from several Facebook pages, both directly and through pseudonyms.
In 2025, Matt decided to run for a second term. We’ve now hearing that former Third District Chairman, Matt Dale, himself a candidate for the Third District seat on the Board of Supervisors had apparently tried to solicit Lauren Mullen, obviously from the far left, to run against Matt as a Republican. I learned that Mullen approached one of Matt’s campaign folks who was manning the “early voting” location in an effort to convey civility (and integrity I might add). Mullen was apparently determined to run as an independent and declined Dale’s solicitation.
In July of this year, we all learned that the State Board of Elections levied a $9200 fine against Matt for him having failed to filed campaign finance reports which I believed commenced in November of 2021 and continued until sometime in 2025, and one of the loudest mouths postings about Matt’s failure to file those reports has been Joe Showker.
We’ve all hearing the saying that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” right? Well Showker, largely because he’s both undereducated and stifled with the arrogance that undereducation makes apparent lives in such a glass house as I’m about to make very apparent.
II. SHOWKER CONSULTING
For those who don’t know Joe Showker, he’s been involved in a multi-level marketing company (MLM), originally called Amway, then Quixtar (which failed), and has since returned to Amway. Showker is also an Auxilary member of the Harrisonburg Police Department (but also not a sworn officer or able to carry a firearm in that capacity according to the City) and has been since October 2011. I think that, primarily, the only reason why you know of Showker is that he father was a helluva business man and left a lot of money to him, which Joe loves to flaunt. It’s with this money, and “young” Mr. Showker’s arrogance than MAY have Showker in CRIMINAL hot water. What for? Oddly enough it’s for an alleged failure to register a number of business entities associated with Showker and in one case, his wife, with either our local Clerk of the Circuit Court or more recently with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. In fact, I registered Republitarian so this website could operate under that assumed name, as Virginia law minimally requires of folks who are doing business as something else than their actual name.
III. THE SHOWKER FOUNDATION
Showker has been a “member” of the Harrisonburg Police Department’s “Auxiliary” since October of 2011 according to data received from the City’s Public Information Officer, Mike Parks. He is not, however, a “sworn” officer meaning he has no police powers, but can likely offer you cookies at City gatherings.
Relevant Virginia law:
§59.1-69(B). Certificate required of person transacting business under assumed name.
B. No person shall conduct or transact business in the Commonwealth under any assumed or fictitious name unless such person files in the office of the clerk of the Commission a certificate of assumed or fictitious name.
Relevant Virginia law:
§59.1-75. Penalty for Violation.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,500 or by confinement in jail for not more than one year, or both.
IV. THE JOE AND DEBBIE SHOWKER FOUNDATION
THE INVESTIGATION
Recently, I went down to the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Rockingham County and sought out if Showker had registered any of the four entities, “Showker Enterprises”, “Showker Consulting” (both of which appear to be businesses), and the “Showker Foundation” and the “Joe and Debbie Showker Foundations” appear to be charitable giving entities, like the Warren Denton family foundation, which is registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Showker appears to have registered none of these entities at the Clerk’s Office. I then came home and searched the database of the Virginia State Corporation Commission for any of these entities and, low and behold, Showker hasn’t registered them with the SCC either.
THE HYPOCRISY
Showker has been squealing like a stuck pig about the $9,200 in CIVIL fines related to Matt Cross’s failure to file campaign finance reports due even though he was neither raising nor spending funds. He’s admitted he was wrong and those fines are on appeal to the Board of Elections and may be the subject of a separate post. He has frequently written that this failure by a new office-holder disqualifies Matt Cross to be a school board member.
Showker is a career “educator”, a “digital ethicist”, and a member in the Harrisonburg Police Department Auxiliary. By his own admission, Showker has used the name “Showker Enterprises” for more than a decade. Another business entity, “Showker Consulting” was mentioned in the Harrisonburg Daily News Record back in 2016. Showker and others have mentioned both the “Showker Foundation” and the “Joe and Debbie Showker Foundation”. Like his two business entities, which appear to not be registered, neither are the foundations.
Do I think Showker is trying to commit fraud by failing to comply with Virginia CRIMINAL law by failing to register what I believe is at least two, but more likely four “entities” which I believe are requested to be registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission so that he might be able to LEGALLY conduct business via these “entities”? ABSOLUTELY NOT. In fact, had I believed that he had a fraudulent intent, I’d have drawn two, but as many as four warrants for his arrest for these alleged criminal offenses, which from the caselaw I’ve reviewed appear to show that the law requiring you to register your “assumed” name is so that a property party might be named in the event a lawsuit is filed against the entity, and also so that the entity can sue. Prevention of fraud is mentioned throughout the caselaw.
POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT, IF CHARGED.
A failure to registered your “assumed name” is a CLASS ONE MISDEMEANOR under Virginia law, with an offense bringing a possible punishment to up to $2500 AND up to ONE YEAR IN JAIL. If a District Court were to sentence someone the maximum sentence, consecutively, one could have $10,000 and spend 48 months in jail, but again I think Showker is undereducated and arrogant — as opposed to criminal — and where I believe Showker just made a mistake, like all of us do.
EPILOGUE
Just like the old (like 50 years old) FBI TV series from Quinn Martin Productions, this story has an Epilogue, because I just to prove a point.
Because Showker has failed to registered the assumed name of his four “entities” (although I believe that there is perhaps a fifth one, which is called “ShenHollow Circle” and has three occurances on WHSV, with two of them mentioning that Showker is a member, without mentioning anyone else and here’s one such occurrence) I decided that I would register all four of those entities in my name, and the registrations appear below.
And, Joe. While I CHOSE not to seek warrants against from your one of our esteemed Magistrates, I do believe it for be appropriate for you to resign your Auxiliary position with the Harrisonburg Police Department…I mean, if you aren’t responsible enough to file four pieces of paper and pay a total of $40 in fees, for as much as a decade or more, you have absolutely no business having anything to do with law enforcement. I also call on the campaign of Hilary Irons to dump you like a hot rock, but that would take integrity — something sorely missing from that campaign this election cycle. And, Joe. If you want these assumed names send me $40 and I’ll give turn them over to you so you and your entities can legally operate. Additionally, Joe. Know that I’ve shown you a shitload more grace than you’ve shown Matt Cross. So much for your digital ethics.
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