MINUTES – April 12th, 2016

The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, 2016 at the Village Offices with two guests present.

Trustees Present: Bob Hibner, Andy Kremer, Angie Lefeld, Becca Wenning, Kerri Lauber, Elizabeth Wenning, Kylie Lefeld, Sher Stahl, Keith Selhorst, Shanna Barns, Jason Wood, and Eric Thomas.

The meeting was called to order by Vice President Angie Lefeld at 7:30am.

Introduction of Guests
John Yoder- Edward Jones Insurance
Jared Ebbing- Hometown Opportunities

Officer Reports
Treasurer’s Report was presented by Keith Selhorst and was motioned for approval by Kylie Lefeld and seconded by Jason Wood. Motion carried.
Checking Balance- $28,470.75
Gift Certificate Balance- $12,347.54
Keith presented to the group in regards to 2016 membership due payments and that 59 members are past due. Out of those 59 that are past due- 5 are local organizations and 54 are from out of town. Keith will be making contact with those local businesses about renewal.
Information on the outstanding McSports bill for new trustee polo shirts was presented and a motion for payment was made by Bob Hibner and seconded from Andy Kremer. Motion carried.

Secretary’s Report- The minutes from the March trustee meeting were sent out prior to the meeting date and were provided by Secretary, Shanna Barns. The meeting minutes were approved, with a motion by Bob Hibner and seconded by Kerri Lauber. Motion carried

Committee Reports
Membership – At this time there were no reported new members. In looking at past due members, as listed prior in the Treasurer’s Report, which will be canceled for 2016. Information was also shared by Andy Kremer that the Little Machine IMS Shop will be coming into the Sycamore Group facility and should be contacted about becoming a member.
Website/Social Media- Becca Wenning reported that the website has been switched over to a new host company and underwent a smooth transition. The weekly Charlie at the Chamber emails has been well received and is starting to pick up with information from the membership. Becca also reported that we are currently using Mail Chimp to further track the data from the membership with their participation with emails, etc.
Taste of the Town- Date of Event 6/7/2016 from 5p-10p- Held their first meeting and currently have 6 vendors lined up with a few others to reach out to. There will also be the craving dedication during the Mariner’s Game, as shared by Eric Thomas. Confirmed vendors at this time are:
Ray’s
Chief’s
McDonalds
Romer’s
McSober’s
What’s in Store
Circus- Date of Event 5/16/2016 from 7a-? – Information was shared that milk and juice will need to be ordered from Chief’s and coffee from ICS. The Circus committee will also be looking for roughly 4 volunteers to assist- confirmed volunteers are Angie, Sher, Kerri, and Kylie.
Other Ideas- Potential Hiring Fair- Will be looking at the fall time for this type of event and will be reaching out to businesses to see what the needs currently are. Guest, Jared Ebbing gave suggestions as to what type of event to host and gave insight as the way the Talent Connection went with WSU as an option.
Guest- Jared Ebbing- gave a presentation on Hometown Opportunity. Currently there are 10-12 job postings a day that are added to the website. There have been 7,500 jobs posted to the site over the last 3 years. Current new updates to the site include posting of resumes, to which 5-6 are posted daily, and the Talent Connection Forum for Junior and Senior students.

Old Business
Banner- Discussion was had that the listing of members would need to be to Mercer Color by mid-May to be ready for the Taste of the Town.
Entrepreneurial Camp- Guest John Yoder presented to the group in regards to the upcoming Entrepreneurial Camp hosted during Ohio Business Week at Ohio Dominican University, June 19-25. Two junior student form Coldwater have been selected to attend and is looking for business sponsorships to cover the cost for the students to attend. Cost of the camp is $850 with $350 coming from the student and $500 coming from sponsorships. Deadline for payments to attend is the end of April and anyone interested in donating is asked to speak with John Yoder. A motion for payment of $350 to cover a student’s cost was made by Keith Selhorst and seconded from Sher Stahl. Motion carried.

New Business
Buzzard’s Glory Golf Outing- the Chamber received information about sponsoring the golf outing on May 7th. After further discussion it was agreed to decline to contribute to the event and use the funds to go to another item that would benefit the membership. If anyone is interested in contributing to the event, Buzzard’s Glory is looking for contributions and door prizes.
SOCA Benefit Plan Seminar- Beth Butler passed along in her report that she will be attending this event on April 22nd.
Coldwater Community Picnic Sponsorship- the Chamber received information about sponsoring the event. After further discussion it was agreed to decline to contribute to the event and continue to hold the lemonade stand during the event.

Other Business
Community Member Listing- Has been completed and passed out to the trustees during the meeting.
Checking Balance- Some members have recently questioned why the organization is holding such a large balance in the checking account. Discussion was had on potential items that could be large expenses that are in the near future. Also, discussed looking at utilizing the funds to further promote growth and investments for the local businesses.
50th Anniversary- Discussion was had on promoting the 50th anniversary of the Chamber to the local businesses. The Chamber is looking for potential ideas from the membership that they would like to see the Chamber do. One possible idea was a business spotlight on WCSM to promote local chamber members or a 50% off dues adjustment for this year.

Meeting was adjourned with a motion from Kerri Lauber, seconded by Sher Stahl.

Announcements:

Save the Dates:
Coldwater Circus- May 16th, 2016
Taste of the Town- June 7th, 2016
Sidewalk Sales- August 5-6th, 2016
Coldwater Community Picnic- August 6-7th, 2016
Community Parade- August 7th, 2016

The Coldwater Chamber of Commerce is on Facebook! Like our page to keep up-to-date on community events and new happenings. We can be found on the Chamber’s website or go to: www.facebook.com/coldwaterchamber

THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON May 10th, 2016 AT THE VILLAGE OFFICE AT 7:30AM

ALSO-REMEMBER TO VISIT THE CHAMBER’S WEBSITE AT WWW.COLDWATERCHAMBEROFCOMMERCE.COM
TO CHECK OUT UPCOMING EVENTS AT AREA BUSINESSES

Our mission: “To enhance the growth and prosperity of the community through the support and promotion of our members.”