Greater Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce

GREATER OGDENSBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING

MINUTES

August 16, 2017

Dobisky Visitor’s Center

Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Sean McNamara at 12:05 p.m. A quorum was present.

Members present: Alex Augsbury, Ray Babowicz, Kathy Bogart, Craig Chevalier, Becky Delles, Kim Demers, Susan Duffy, Lee Jones, Penny Kerfien, Marcia LeMay, C. Kevin McDonough, Sean McNamara, Christopher Pitcher, Betsy Porter, Sarah Purdy, Rhonda Roethel and John Wade.

Members excused: Michele Catlin, Steve Hawes, Judy Ryan, Melissa Lalonde and Michael Thayer.

Members absent: John Rishe and Derek VanHouse.

Introduction of Guest: There were no guests.

Approval of the July 19, 2017 meeting minutes: A motion was made by Penny Kerfien to approve the July 19, 2017 minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Betsy Porter and carried by all.

President’s Report & Correspondence: President McNamara thanked all board members for attending today’s meeting. He also shared the WPBS invitation for the Lunch and Learn and the CHMC Reception on Tuesday, August 22; Remington Art Museum invitation for Harvest Moon on Saturday, Sept 16 and the St. Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Newsletter.

Treasurer’s Report: Alex Augsbury reviewed the July 2017 financials. Current month’s expenses are $6,670.26 and income is $3,822.32 leaving a net loss of $2,847.94 for the month. Year to date expenses were $58,680.11 and YTD income was $57,280.63 leaving a net year-to-date loss of $1,399.48. Alex noted that even though the month had a net loss, overall we are doing better compared to last July’s financials. A motion was made by Betsy Porter to accept the July financials as presented. The motion was seconded by John Wade, and carried by all.

Executive Director’s Report:

·  Facebook – Please visit the Chamber Facebook page and “like” & “share” it with your family and friends.

·  Thanksgiving Craft Show – We have (80) vendors registered to date. Please sign up to work if you are able. The sponsorship letters will be mailed out September 30th.

·  American Red Cross Blood Drive – Sponsored by the Chamber is scheduled for Friday, September 22nd from 9 am to 4 pm at the Dobisky Visitor’s Center.

·  2018 City Proposal – is due on September 5th – Laura will get that sent out next week.

·  NYSARC Bus Routes – Laura and Sarah met with NYSARC to discuss possible bus routes in the City – picking up at the Towers/Belmont Courts and taking passengers to Wal Mart/Save-A-Lot/Aldi’s and other locations within the city.

·  Board Elections – The Nominating Committee will be working on potential board candidates – please take a packet and make some recommendations to the committee. Nominee list must be filed by September 27th so we can mail the ballots by October 11th. We will need (9) names on the ballots – (3) to fill vacancies by Melissa Lalonde (?), Alex Augsbury and Steve Hawes – up for 2nd terms are Betsy Porter, John Wade and Craig Chevalier – so we will need (3) more names to make the 150% criteria outlined in the by-laws. If every board member asked someone to join the board – we would have a great list to choose from for candidates.

·  City Entrance Signs – Laura sent the RFP to: Green’s Performance, River Rat Designs, Obvious Signs and Northeastern Signs – the proposals are due back by August 25th. The Marketing Committee will meet to review the proposals and bring back a recommendation to the board. Green Performance called to say that the plexi-glass idea would breed fungus -- Rhonda suggested that maybe the new signs could be printed on the back of plexi-glass and seal all the sides to prevent that issue.

Committee Reports:

NYS BASS Tournament/Sportsman Show -- we have (9) vendors and have received $2299 in sponsorship donations/pledges. Laura will take Monday, August 21st as a comp day for working BASS.

Ogtoberfest – We have (15) confirmed vendors – we had (23) last year. The sponsorship letters went out in mid-August – we have received $750 to date. Please sign up to work. Sean will try to schedule a committee meeting by the end of August. Rhonda said that America1 would donate $500 sponsorship fee. Ogtoberfest is scheduled from noon until 8 pm – The Shoes will play from 12:30 to 3:30 and Double Axle will play from 5:00 to 8:00. Having two bands made a net increase of $500 in expenses in the budget – we reduced the fireworks expense to $2000 and are opening at noon to draw in more admissions. The fireworks will start at 8:15. Laura will research the cost of having engraved beer mugs to sell for 2018. Kim Demers really liked the pumpkins and mums we had for decorations last year. Lee picked those up at John Patterson’s – we should be able to get some at Basta’s too.

Annual Dinner – Laura reported that the committee met on Thursday, August 10th – they revised the criteria for Citizen of the Year Award (person, couple or family) and the Outstanding Community Service Award (group/organization) to help make the nominating process go smoother. The Annual Dinner is scheduled for Friday, November 3rd at the GranView. The menu will be prime rib, broiled seafood platter and chicken cordon bleu. Cost is $40 pre-sale and $45 at the door. Dawn Merz will MC, again. We need auction items for the silent/live auction. The sponsor letters will be sent to all the members in early September. We want to put the Lottery Tree together to start selling tickets at Ogtoberfest.

Old Business:

There was no old business to report.

New Business

Nominations for Board Seats – Laura would like to send the entire membership a separate email requesting nominations for the vacant board seats. She read the proposed email – the board approved the email with the attachments of 2016-2017 Board Criteria and Nomination form. John Wade asked Laura to add the Chamber Mission Statement to the Board Criteria before she sends it.

Roundtable

Rhonda Roethel wants to send all the members a mailing asking for their support to update the Civic Signs signs at the entrances of the City.

50/50 Raffle: Ray Babowicz won the 50/50 of $4.50 (total was $9.00).

Adjournment: A motion to adjourn the meeting at 12:42 was made by Kim Demers, seconded by Penny Kerfien and carried by all.

NEXT MEETING Wednesday, September 20, 2017
DOBISKY VISITOR’S CENTER