Minutes are considered to be a draft until they are approved at the next meeting.
January 27, 2016
Greater Franklin
Chamber of Commerce
Franklin Railroad & Community Museum
Present: Marc Burgin, Trish Tyrell, Gary Heimbauer, Don Hebbard, Helen McLean, Bill Gruber
Meeting called to order at 7:07pm by Trish Tyrell (Secretary) in absence of both President and Vice-President.
Meeting minutes from January 6th meeting were reviewed. Don moved to accept as written, Marc seconded, motion carried.
No Treasurer’s Report available for review.
Old Business:
Fall Festival- Trish has check of $100 and thank you card ready to deliver to the Franklin Fire Department, as well as thank you card to Armory Woodwork. Both will be delivered Monday evening. All the donating businesses to the Fall Festival are now up on the website.
Logo & Letterhead- Helen and Bill reported that they had not yet received the illustrator file from Rebecca. A letterhead, or versions of a letterhead, have not yet been created.
Big Buck Contest- Marc stated that he had collected all the money, approximately $100, and has given it to Ellen for deposit. Maria DeSilva was this year’s winner, and will be awarded a $75 gift card. Marc will follow up with Rich about getting the prize to Maria. Marc also reported having looked into the price of a new plaque, as had been discussed and budgeted. A new plaque will cost about $75, and not the originally budgeted $50 estimate.
New Business:
No new business updates were reported. (Note: John Campbell mentioned prior to the beginning of the meeting, that the Chamber might consider the museum as a potential location for a potential electric car charging station, as was recently put in Towns of Margaretville and Hobart.)
New Members- Bobby Sharp glassworks is a member and has expressed interest in networking opportunities.
Committee Reports-
By-Laws- not yet met, as Brian is out of town. Will meet soon.
OFD- Trish explained that a draft letter had been made before the holidays, with the intent to send out to potential vendors in early January. A final version of the letter has yet to be provided. Trish will forward letter text Helen, who offered to format it upon a improvised letterhead. A final draft will be mailed out to potential vendors before next meeting.
Annual Dinner- Gary agreed to join Bill on this committee. Discussed figuring out our current “alcoholic beverage” issue, as related to Franklin’s Dry status and our inability to legally serve alcohol as an organization. Briefly discussed possibility of seeking to change Franklin’s current alcoholic beverage laws.
Membership- a more recently updated business list was provided, including both members and non-members. A few additional revisions will be necessary, as a few questions exist as to current membership, including: Dawn’s Deli and Paul White’s Insurance. Don stated that he could inquire about Dawn’s continued interest in being a member. Discussed that Onontio was not on the list as a result of paperwork not being completed, but membership fees having been paid. Also, remove Ironwoods (Sarah Braen) from the list. Membership Drive slotted for March. Trish will assist in membership mailing for renewals of current members as current Secretary.
Holiday Committee– no one has had the opportunity to speak yet with Jan about participation.
Discussed need for committees to meet between regular business meetings so that progress can be made and updates provided at the regular meetings. Committee members present agreed to present updates and information at the next meeting.
Spring Fundraiser- Trish explained that spring fundraiser has been postponed, due to priorities of by-laws and organizational structure. Rebecca had good idea of raffling off a “lover’s package” (hotel, dinner, etc) for Valentine’s day. Discussed whether we should looking into a gaming license, and decided not necessary until raising $10k or so.
Website- In addition to the Fall Festival donating businesses being on the website, the draft minutes continue to be posted. Discussed adding a resources section, containing links to funding opportunities and information. Trish will forward information about recently released, or upcoming, grant programs (aimed towards NPO’s and micro-enterprises in agriculture). Bill reported some difficulty in setting up a Google phone account. He will be looking into other avenue’s for a similar phone account. Archival minutes will be forthcoming from Trish.
Next Meeting- February 24, 2016, 7pm, Train Museum
Meeting adjourned, 8:02pm