MINUTES – June 14th, 2016
The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 14th, 2016 at the Village Offices.
Trustees Present: Beth Butler, Angie Lefeld, Keith Selhorst, Kylie Lefeld, Bob Hibner, Kerri Lauber, Becca Wenning, Andy Kremer, Shanna Barns, and Eric Thomas.
The meeting was called to order by President Beth Butler at 7:30 am.
Introduction of Guests
Troy Steinbrunner from Accutech Films was in and shared their safety milestone for Novelex Holdings as being in the top five for safety. In celebration, they will be holding a Family Appreciation/Employee Recognition Barbeque on July 9th from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
Officer Reports
Treasurer’s Report- was presented by Keith Selhorst and was motioned by Bob Hibner and seconded by Andy Kremer. Motion carried.
Checking Balance – $28,523.06
Gift Certificate Balance – $11,067.54
Keith presented to the group that there was an uptick in revenue due to a few membership payments that came in and also the Taste of the Town registrations. The largest expense was in regards to website maintenance at this time.
Secretary’s Report- the minutes from the May trustee meeting provided by Vice President, Angie Lefeld at the meeting and handed out by Secretary, Shanna Barns. The meeting minutes were approved, with a motion by Andy Kremer and seconded by Kerri Lauber.
Committee Reports
Membership- Verification is needed at this time on the list of current members that needs sent to SOCCA so that they may verify prior to administering benefits.
Website/Social Media- Becca shared that we are trying to promote Tri-Star 2.0 at this time. Also, four companies have submitted their information to be included in the business highlights with the newsletter. There is also an uptick in people tweeting our Facebook page and over 500 people shared the Taste of the Town information on Facebook. The social media committee will be promoting for July the SOCCA Benefits for the membership and a potential prize being a Chamber Gift Certificate.
Taste of the Town- Event was very well attended with a grand total of $14,900 in sales. This is an increase from 2015 of $880. People also enjoyed the increase in vendors and drink options. Did discuss an increase in police presence next year due to the increase in size of the event. Did receive one complaint in regards to why outside vendors were allowed to come into the event. The date of the next year’s event will be 6/6/2017.
Benefits Dinner- Beth attended the SOCCA benefits information session. It was asked that if we are to hold an annual dinner where a SOCCA rep would attend that we partner with another chamber. Potentially looking at partnering with Celina’s chamber or another local town with a potential date during the month of July or partnering with the Auglaize/Mercer County Safety Council that meets monthly. Beth also reported that SOCCA has joined with the Northern Ohio group to offer better rates for the memberships with their benefits.
Circus- Kylie reported that the event went pretty smoothly and they had good weather.
Parade- Andy mentioned that registration is due 7/15/2016 and about doing something a little larger for the 50th year celebration of the chamber and that we are seeking information on the history at this time. To which Beth provided some information that she had found recently. Discussion was held with an idea being to highlight on the float the different events that the chamber does. Another idea is to have some sort of giveaway to use our social media pages and potentially win a prize. Discussion was also had on a budget; with a motion from Bob Hibner and seconded by Andy Kremer for a budget of $1,000 for the float and supplies. Motion carried.
Lemonade Stand- The next meeting for the Community Picnic is set for 7/14/2016. Currently asking for volunteers to sign up to assist with the stand.
Old Business
Checking Balance Ideas- Discussion was had on using some of the checking balance on the float for this year and also on a membership drive in the future.
Chamber 50th Year Celebration Ideas/Daily Standard- We have reached out to the Daily Standard about highlighting a member in the newspaper as part of the celebration. Will have 30- 30second spots on WCMS to highlight members and the Chamber. These will start the last of June and run the month of July at a cost of $350. Discussion was also had on possibly doing a Spectrum Spot on the Chamber in July. A motion was made by Andy Kremer on the purchase of the 30 radio spots and was seconded by Kylie Lefeld. Motion carried.
New Business
Tri-Star 2.0 Levy Contribution Request- After discussion, it was determined not to contribute to the cause.
Community Picnic Contribution – After discussion, it was determined not to contribute to the cause.
Ohio Business Week Foundation- A thank you letter was received and shared for the recent donation. They also provided that they were offering a Luncheon and Company Tradeshow on 6/24/2016 from 12:00pm-1:30pm. RSVPs were due by 6/15/2016.
Other-
Discussion was brought forward about doing a thank you to the local Police Department for their assistance to the Businesses. Possibly could do a spotlight of the Police, Fire, and EMS or even highlight them next year.
Banquet- Bob mentioned for the Chamber to start looking at 2017 dates for the Annual Banquet.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:35 am with a motion from Kerri Lauber, seconded by Andy Kremer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Save the Dates:
Sidewalk Sales – August 5-6th, 2016
Coldwater Community Picnic – August 6-7th, 2016
Community Parade – August 7th, 2016
THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON July 12th, 2016 AT THE VILLAGE OFFICE AT 7:30 AM