Meeting notes for regular business meeting on January 10, 2019
Members present:
Beverly Russell of Sacopee Vet Clinic, Patrick Harrigan of The Demers Home Team of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate the Masiello Group, Ethel Phinney of the Cornish UCC, Rick Rowland of The Inn at Cornish, Tiffany Parent of Finding the Puddles, Jeffery Gilliland of Sacopee Vet Clinic, Paul Watson of Legal Shield, Heather Newman of The Local Gear
Meeting was called to order at 6:08pm by Patrick Harrigan. A quorum was established.
Patrick Harrigan announced the annual Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for January 29, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Sacopee Valley Eye Care, 91 Maple St in Cornish. All members are welcome to attend.
Secretary Report:The December minutes were sent out to the members through email. All members present had reviewed them and agreed to bypass reading the minutes at the meeting. Patrick Harrigan motioned to accept, Rick Rowland seconded. Minutes were approved unanimously.
Treasurer Report: Beverly Russell presented the end of year report. CAB ended 2018 with $427.42. There were unexpected expenses such as renting a lift to remove the lights from the tree in Thompson Park because the Kezar Falls ladder truck was out for repair and unavailable as well as improvements to the Thompson Park kiosk. CAB’s budget is geared towards 70 members, this goal was not met in 2018. Patrick Harrigan motioned to accept, Jeff Gilliland seconded. The report was approved unanimously.
Event/Committee Chairs
Membership Committee:There was no report presented, but a discussion about how to improve membership moving forward. Ideas presented included asking existing members to recruit business owners who are not currently CAB members, creating a database so members can pay dues on a revolving anniversary date per business rather than a set annual date, and creating an “elevator pitch” for CAB for members to be able to easily explain the benefits of CAB to area business owners and the community in general. A suggestion was made to include information on the annual brochure about how CAB benefits the area. Any business members who have paid their membership dues in full by January 31, 2019 will be entered into a drawing to win one of 5 free advertising spots in the 2019 CAB brochure.
Christmas in Cornish: Patrick Harrigan thanked Tiffany Parent and Rick Rowland for organizing the lights along the fence at Thompson Park. There was discussion about the best way to hang lights in 2019 including reviewing the electrical outlets in the park, what decorations are available from CAB, and alternatives to renting a lift. The Town of Cornish provides the funds for the wreaths. There was a significant increase in attendance for the Christmas in Cornish event this year. Tiffany Parent gave a brief history of the event and how it has evolved. Beverly Russell put forward the idea of splitting the event between 2 people with one in charge of the lighting and related activities and the other in charge of the Polar Express event. Terry Belair and Teresa Drown are stepping down from chairing this committee, another member may be chairing it for 2019. This will be confirmed before announcing. Christmas in Cornish relies on business sponsorships for funding and there was a shortfall of $451.28 this year. There was also difficulty finding enough volunteers to assist the chairpersons. The event is anticipated to grow again this year.
Strawberry Festival:Beverly Russell stated she has begun planning for the 2019 event. She will be allowing vendors to leave at 2pm rather than 3pm if there is no attendance after that hour, 2018 saw a significant attendance drop off after 2pm. It was recommended that CAB add a shuttle for the vendors in order to free up downtown parking spaces. There was a suggestion to add a strawberry pie/shortcake contest similar to the apple pie event at the Apple Festival. If anyone would like to consider chairing this event in the future, Beverly recommends contacting her in order to work together this year to learn the ropes.
Apple Festival:No report was presented. There was a suggestion to market the Apple Festival as part of a weekend away by tying it to other events in the area occurring at the same time.
Cornish Community Harvest & Bazaar: This committee needs a chair.Teresa Drown is stepping down from chairing this committee. There was discussion about moving it to mid-October.
Restroom Committee: This committee needs a chair.Pat Edgerly will continue to clean the restrooms in 2019. One of the door locks does not work, Rick Rowland offered to look at and repair the lock before next season. Extra supplies will be kept in the barn at The Inn at Cornish. The committee chair will need to purchase supplies as needed.
Open Discussion: Ethel Phinney requested anyone using the UCC for meeting space ensure the front doors are locked and securely closed before leaving. The doors need to be pushed in order to latch properly. There was a brief discussion about creating a CAB Halloween event. Interested members will meet to create a budget with event ideas before deciding whether or not to move forward. Members in attendance expressed the need to engage more/new members to volunteer at CAB events in the future.
Next regular business meeting is February 12, 2019 at 6:00pm at the UCC.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Newman
Comments