Attendees: Darla Hamlin, Marilyn Matthews, Brian Bartlett, Deborah Buxton, Karen & Alan Morrison, Chris Toriello, Julie Waterman, Tammy Lincoln
At 5:40 pm Darla Hamlin welcomed the group to our meeting, followed by introductions.
By quorum of voting members present we motioned and approved minutes of March 16th and May 25th 2017. Darla clarified the associate membership does indeed have voting rights, that was the intent. There was no treasurer report but bank account remains stable with no drastic changes since last meeting.
Business:
Karen Morrison has been working on the survey on “what can NYBA do for you?” and will have that available at the next meeting.
Topics for future speakers were discussed, we should provide Thad with suggestions for speakers of interest. Chris Toriello co-markets nutritional products with Julie Waterman in addition to Chris’s Fit3 for ME business. Recent efforts are the “nature to network” walk ( 30 – 45 minutes ), various town trail walks approx. 30 mins in duration with anywhere from 4 to 10 participants. she will share these on her FB page.
Julie also introduced her “paint night” business where she goes to local venues and conducts a painting class for groups. Chris and Julie will offer to be “speakers” at a future meeting to inform the group of the benefits of their program and how there are interacting with the Towns for seniors and other activities. Other suggestions were “Living Well in North Yarmouth, SCORE small business loans, Fire Dept Updates, advances in social media and training opportunities. Education for small business startups, like a panel discussion may also be an interesting presentation that would draw new members.
Discussion of the Trade Show and how we can once again beef up attendance followed. We felt a combination of weather, time, day of week, and time of year might all have played a part in lower attendance, although running a joint event with the Fire Company was probably a plus. Suggestions made to redate event to around April 10th or 12th, do specific mailings to more Towns, send personal invitations to prior attendees, and target Thursday or Friday evenings 4:30 – 7:30 as more available to most people. We should also advertise on LOCAL TV channel, Facebook, Community Network, Town office website. Planning will start in January 2018.
Marilyn has displayed banner during June at Averill, has two other members signed up thus far to display in July and August. Banner at places of business for thirty day intervals may gain recognition. Our poster is up at the Town office.
Darla passed out sponsorship forms for Flag Committee and Events Committee ( FunDay. ) NYBA members receive a ten percent discount on their ad. NYBA as an entity will be in the program.
Darla’s goals going forward are again membership growth of 10%, and visibility of the organization. More immediate she hopes to recruit, train and seat a Treasurer by August 1st. Website enhancements and SEO for member companies, plus add a business resource page.
July and August Meetings
As voted by the attendees, the July and August meetings will MOVE to 7:30 AM at Stones Cafe and Bakery. The meeting dates are July 20 and August 17. Darla will put out a notice to all members.
Notable Accomplishments:
- Alan Morrison passed his practical skills test and is about to sit for his exam for North Yarmouth Fire Dept !!
- Soft Trac LLC recently received recognition for implementation of programs for Non Profits by their vendor, Abila.
- Karen Morrison of Morrison Environmental recently was project manager for a large asbestos abatement job at Bowdoin College, in charge of the operations, and has another similar tank removal project coming up that she will manage.
- Deb Buxton’s summer program at Let’s Create is FULL !! Congrats Deb for a great startup year !
Respectfully submitted
Marilyn Matthews, Secretary