Present: Jim Hopkins, Michelle Kerr, Jamie Yarrow, Patty Buyck, Patty Paprocki
- New Business:
- Discussion on what format our member meetings might take in light of lower attendance numbers in 2025. Suggestions were quarterly with planned programs that might be of use/interest to our members. Program topics include Dept of Labor speaker, Medicare/health insurance overview, Tax code changes, SCORE programs overview (Service Corps of Retired Executives.) and more…
Tentative plan 2026: March 5: Dept of Labor speaker @ Reliant (JHopkins to plan)
May 1: Citizen of the Year/Milestone banquet/Scholarship raffle. Jim will contact The Heights and investigate menu/cost. Patty will notify Nancy Ross to cancel Wallington Fire Hall.
Sept 25: Harvest Fest/Nancy Ross will pull together a raffle basket for the Chamber table.
Oct 1st: Medicare/Health Insurance/K Rawden speaker (MKerr to plan)
Nov. 5th: Annual mtg/elections/SCORE speaker to give overview of their services. (PBuyck to plan)
Could also do a picnic or pop-up networking gathering in the summer. (Ice cream social at Country Lux)
- Membership: presently have 58 paid members per Jamie. Nancy Ross offered to contact folks that have not renewed-Jamie will get in touch with Nancy to develop a strategy.
Annual new member stickers of chamber logo: J Hopkins will look into having Steady work make us stickers (no date on sticker) Jamie has a jpg of logo when needed.
Snail mail vs pick up at some location-MKerr offered to look into a couple volunteers to help with a snail mail with welcome letter and sticker/donation of postage etc
Have decided to no longer offer free membership to new businesses since its difficult to be consistent -Jamie will adjust website to reflect this change.
Discussed better use of Facebook page/Jamie add as admin to include membership items, COY nominations etc.
Jamie to check on PBuyck and JHopkins membership renewal and get back to them.
PBuyck mentioned What’s app for communicating among members; need more info on this.
All BOD members took post cards wo hand out to potential new members.
- Discussion on other ways to support and highlight members. In the past did “Sampling Sodus”-ads/ articles in newspaper/-Could utilize our website more perhaps for this (rotating banner, business of the month on home page with a pic/bio). Would need helpers/committee to expand on this possibly.
- Citizen of the Year/Milestone:
- Jim will contact the Heights for menu/cost discussion.
- Jim to ask Kari if she could make dinner and raffle tickets
- Will sell tickets at Destinations and Country Hardware
- Patty P to check with the Times re: COY press release/interview, cost of ad
- Nomination deadline 4/1/26, BOD mtg on 4/2/26 to do selection/process and revisit how plans are coming along for 2026 plan
- Scholarship
- In the past we provided 3 scholarship: $500/Ernie Piekunka, 2@$300 =$1100.
- Fund raising in last couple yrs struggles to meet that goal. Decision made to give one scholarship per yr @$500.
- Discussed mailing members raffle tickets and letter to request donation of items to raffle to help boost fund raising. Patty Paprocki and Michelle Kerr offered to help with this mailing.
- Patty P will also contact school counselor secretary, Nichole Diver to review criteria/change in number and amt.
- Will sell 3 chances for $10 or 1 chance for $5.
- Will need to have a place for people to drop off raffle items and someone to track who has donated what. Also need a few folks to reach out to business for items.
- Budget for 2026: JHopkins requested that Jamie provide this for the board to review.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm
Respectfully submitted by
Patty Paprocki
