MINUTES – March 9, 2021

The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at the Village Offices with no guest present. 

Trustees Present: Keith Kessen, Amy Spriggs, Jason Wood, Gina Hess, Morgan Bechtol, Stacy Schwieterman, Jon Dingledine, Kylie Thwaits, Bryce Schlater, and Eric Thomas

President Keith Kessen called the meeting to order at 7:32 A.M. and read the Chamber Mission which states: “To enhance the growth and prosperity of the community through the support and promotion of our members.” “We are committed to helping our members grow and maintain the quality of their business by providing annual community events, membership benefit resources, and social media assistance while connecting the community with business.”

Officer Reports

  • Treasurer’s Report- was presented by Kylie Thwaits. The reports for January and February were motioned for approval by Amy Spriggs and seconded by Gina Hess. Motion carried. 
    • January Checking Balance – $29,473.73
    • January Gift Certificate Balance – $16,402.54
    • February Checking Balance- $30,431.53
    • February Gift Certificate Balance- $15,340.04
  • Secretary’s Report– The minutes from the January meeting were provided prior to the meeting by President Keith Kessen. The meeting minutes were approved with a motion by Jason Wood and seconded by Amy Spriggs. Motion carried.

Committee Reports

  • Sign-up for Committees – Committees were reviewed with a sign-up sheet being passed around for these. Discussion was held on the duties of each committee. Committees include:
    • Membership-Ongoing
    • Website/ Social Media- Ongoing
    • Taste of the Town- Date is set for Tuesday June 8th and a band is scheduled to perform during the event.
    • Lemonade Stand- Scheduled for during the picnic. 
    • Parade- Scheduled during the Sunday of the picnic.
    • Hometown Christmas- Scheduled for Sunday November 21st.
    • 2022 Banquet- Scheduled for Wednesday February 16th. 
    • Christmas Lights- TBD

Old Business

  • 2021 Virtual Chamber Banquet Wrap up – The Virtual Banquet went well and received hundreds of views via Facebook and Youtube.

New Business

  • Elect Secretary – Jon Dingledine volunteered and was elected as Secretary for the 2021 Chamber. The Chamber needed to appoint and approve the Secretary this meeting so that the signature cards for the bank can get signed.
  • Elect Vice President- Amy Spriggs volunteered to step into the Vice President position. We will need a motion to approve this for next meeting.
  • Since a motion couldn’t be done at this years banquet a motion to approve 2021 officers was needed which include President Keith Kessen, Vice President Amy Spriggs (pending), Treasurer Kylie Thwaits, Secretary Jon Dingledine, and Website/ Social Media Amy Spriggs. Motion Approved by Jason Wood and Seconded by Stacy Schwieterman. Motion carried.
  • New Business Directory- This will be sent by Treasurer or past Treasurer once latest list is updated.  
  • Shirts – It was agreed to purchase Chamber shirts for all of Chamber Trustees. Keith Kessen will work on purchasing shirts for this year. 
  • 2021 Budget – The 2021 budget was reviewed by Treasurer Kylie Thwaits and the budget began with $25,824.83 at the beginning of 2021 and is currently budgeted to have a cash balance of $15,404 at the end of the year. However, it was noted this may fluctuate quite a bit based on if the Chamber does indeed purchase the $8000 budgeted for Christmas Decorations and Capital Improvements. This decision will need to be discussed along with other expenditures at later meetings. Motion to approve the budget by Amy Spriggs and seconded by Gina Hess. Motion carried. 
  • SOCA Benefits- A brief discussion was brought up by Keith Kessen about who to contact if questions arise about benefits provided by SOCA. It was noted to refer any potential questions directly to their website at https://www.joinsoca.com/

Gina Hess motioned to adjourn the meeting and this was seconded by Jason Wood.  President Keith Kessen adjourned the meeting at 8:12 AM.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Save the Dates:

Taste of the Town – June 8th, 2021

THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON APRIL 13th, 2021 AT 7:30 AM. AT THE COLDWATER VILLAGE OFFICES.