Meeting notes for regular business meeting on May 14, 2019
Members present: Ethel Phinney of the Cornish UCC, Marjorie Yandell of Sugar N Spice Bakery, Gloria Bougie of Kezar Falls Safe Storage, Beverly Russell of Sacopee Veterinary Clinic, Dustin James of Minuteman Press, Cristina Forsyth of Bustle and Grow, Karen Remington of Spirit Flow Pathways, Lynn Kearney of Sacopee Valley Health Center, Jeff Gilliland of Sacopee Veterinary Clinic, Heather Newman of The Local Gear
Meeting was called to order at 6:05pm by Cristina Forsyth. A quorum was established.
Secretary Report:The March minutes were sent out by email and there was no meeting in April due to the weather. Heather Newman gave a brief overview of the meeting minutes from March. Beverly Russell motioned to accept the minutes, Gloria Bougie seconded the motion. The motion was approved.
Treasurer Report:Beverly Russell presented the financial report for April and the beginning of May. Starting balance on 4/1 was $3510.69, income for April was $1290.79 giving a total of $4801.48. Expenses in April totaled $1193.09. Starting balance on 5/1 was $3608.39, income as of 5/13 was $220.00, expenses as of 5/13 were $1979.23 leaving total available funds on 5/13 of $1849.16. There were maintenance expenses opening the restrooms including making several sets of keys to make sure they are accessible in case of emergency. One set will be held at The Inn at Cornish. Liability insurance is due in June. Heather Newman motioned to accept the minutes, Gloria Bougie seconded the motion. The motion was approved.
Membership Committee: Cristina Forsyth has sent out reminders to members who have not yet renewed their membership for 2019 and if anyone knows of a business that is not a member, please send their contact information to Cristina and she or Gloria Bougie will send an email inviting them to join CAB. There are new membership sign up options on the new website.
Letter from the Cornish Selectmen: CAB received a letter from the Cornish Selectmen regarding the meeting about the Strawberry and Apple Festivals and expressing their gratitude for the work CAB does in the community. The letter was read at the meeting.
Strawberry Festival:There are 42 vendors currently signed up for the festival leaving 5 available spots. Beverly Russell has not heard back from the Fire Department about their booth. There are several new vendors at this year’s festival including crochet animals, lobster, rolls and henna tattoos. Pete Finkle has been booked to provide music for the event. This year CAB will look at a local source as well as Pineland for the strawberries sold at the CAB booth. Beverly has received a commitment for several raffle items from Full Circle Gallery, Sacopee Veterinary Clinic, and the Hiram Arts Center. Anyone who wishes to donate an item for the raffle should contact Beverly. A request for volunteers will be sent out in the next couple of weeks. Assistance is needed with setting up, breaking down, and staffing the CAB booth during the event. The new Stripe payment system will allow CAB to take credit card payments at the festival.
Apple Festival: The application to use Thompson Park was approved by the Cornish Selectmen. Cristina Forsyth and Heather Newman met with the selectmen on April 3 to submit the application and clarify what steps need to be taken this year to attempt to mitigate traffic congestion and increase safety during the event. We have scheduled a meeting with the selectmen in October to review the event and discuss whether or not the measures worked. Applications to vendors will go out next month.
Marketing and Social Media Committee:The new CAB website is live! Feedback on the new site is welcome. Please contact Cristina Forsyth with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. The by-laws will be added to the website. The brochures are in and available at the Sacopee Veterinary Clinic 142 Maine St Cornish (Monday-Friday) and at The Local Gear 74 Maple St Cornish (every day except Tuesday). If you have an event you would like to have added to the event calendar, you can submit it on the new website. The quarterly CAB email will be sent out in June. If you have news or events you would like to have included, please contact Cristina Forsyth. This newsletter is geared towards visitors to the area and non-members. Shannon Surette from Full Circle Gallery has presented an advertising opportunity from Town Square Media. For a cost of $2500 they will promote an event on the radio for the week before a CAB event and have a host broadcasting from the event. Several businesses can split the cost and have their businesses promoted along with the event. Please contact Shannon for more details or if you are interested.
Scholarship Committee: Beverly Russell stated applications have been rotated through the committee for review. The next step will be to have all of the committee members meet to discuss and choose the scholarship recipient. Clear guidelines for the scholarship will be developed so that the application and information can be posted on the new website.
Kiosk Marketing Committee: There are two brochure spaces reserved for the season. There are three spaces available for the season. Any business interested in purchasing brochure space ($10/month for members and $20/month for non-members) or are a non-profit with events to advertise (free for non-profits), please contact Heather Newman. Dustin James from Minuteman Press delivered the new kiosk map at the meeting.
Crosswalk Painting: Patrick Harrigan will chair this committee. The paint has been ordered, but he has not yet heard back from the Cornish Selectmen about a date. CAB will also need to conform whether or not the town is changing the direction of the one way next to the Cornish Trading Co before painting the spaces there. Painting will most likely be the 1stor 2ndSunday in June. A notice will go out to the membership when the date is set. Volunteers are needed to clean and paint.
New Meeting Format: New ideas were presented to increase attendance at the monthly CAB meetings. There have been requests for more networking or social opportunities for members during the meetings. There was a suggestion to rotate the location of the meetings, but the by-laws will need to be reviewed before making that decision. There was also a suggestion to hold a meeting for business and a meeting for networking. Karen Remington led a team building exercise.
Open Discussion:
Karen Remington proposed heading a committee for a local CAB Green Up Day to clean litter in public spaces and have a BBQ for volunteers at the end of the day. Cristina Forsyth gave permission to form the committee and Karen will present information at the next meeting. Interested members can contact Karen.
Cristina Forsyth mentioned the Sacopee Valley Professional Networking group meets the first Tuesday morning of every month. For more information, contact Cristina.
Karen Remington is hosting a Student Appreciation Open House Potluck on Sunday June 9 at Spirit Flow Pathways 37 Minkey Way Cornish.
Beverly Russell discussed expanding the About and History sections of the new website to include information on all towns in the Sacopee, featuring historical buildings to create a tour of the area.
Dustin James shared Minuteman Press is currently offering a purchase 500 business cards, get 500 Free business cards at their Denmark location. They are also having a sale on 6’ X 2’ banners for $45.
The Local Gear is hosting group rides on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 and Saturday mornings at 8:00. Contact Dave at The Local Gear for more information.
Meeting adjourned at 7:25pm. Next regular business meeting is June 11, 2019 at 6:00pm at the Cornish UCC