FMA February 2024
Meeting Minutes
Meeting began 8:30am
Next Meeting: March 21, 2024
Members Present: 33
Announcements
• Account Balance Beginning January 2024: $14, 262.49
• Recurring Fees: $804.89
• Operating Expenses: $73.80
• Additional Costs: $164.00
• Donations:100.00
• Total Expenditures: $1,142.69
• Account Balance end of January 2024: $14,512.55
• Current Membership Total: 155 Members
President Bill Blanken welcomed members to the morning meeting. He spoke about the importance of
collaboration between members as it is important benefit an association can provide its own members.
Vice President Marion Gibson reminded the members that all new members are entitled to a t-shirt from
Fresh Prints of South Walton. The coupon is redeemable at Fresh Prints of South Walton at 15950 US 331
Business, Freeport FL. 32439.
New member presentations were made:
1. Judy Coelho with North Bay Mercantile
2. Judy Griffin with Coastal Villages Real Estate
3. Robyn and Ken Aites with Trifecta Training
4. Lisa Robertson with Quest Real Estate Services of Florida
5. Jamie Tutnjevic with The Yoga Garden of Santa Rosa Beach
6. Ted Shoop Realtor with e-PRO
7. Glen White with The Green Air Group LLC
8. Melissa Harbin with Dunlap and Shipman, PA
9. Denise Barao with Universal Countertop
10. Alecia Clagett with Peoples First Insurance Services LLC
11. Ferrin Campbell with Ferrin Campbell Construction LLC
12. April Cook with Morgan Container of NWFL, LLC
13. John Dorsey with Get Finished LLC
April Paden, a Pastor at Mosaic Church reported on the progress of the Mosaic Church in Freeport to be
completed September 2024. She also announced the “Start Up Party” that will be held on March 9th,
2024 at 4:00pm at the Hammock Bay Club House.
Presentation made by Gary Gegor with Walton County Property Appraiser. He shared his experience to
include a Revenue Service Manager and an Appraiser with the Florida Department of Revenue.
The property appraiser is responsible for identifying, locating, and fairly valuing all property,
both real and person, within the county for tax purposes. The Property Appraiser has the legal
responsibility to appraise property every year. The Recapture Rule requires property appraisers
to annually increase assessed values on homestead properties who market values are greater
that last year’s assessed value by 3%. Gary discussed real property tax exemptions that included Homestead Exemption where an
application must be filed and they must have legal title or beneficial title in equity to real
property in the State of Florida and who in good faith makes the property his or her permanent
residence is eligible.
• A service member who receives a homestead exemption may receive an additional tax
exemption on the homestead property if they are deployed during the calendar year or active
duty outside the US
• Florida residents with a total and permanent disability are eligible for $5,000 Disability
Exemption. As required for totally and permanently disabled person must be currently certified
by a physician licensed in the state of Florida, or by the Social Security Administration to be
totally and permanently disabled.
• The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) rule on objection related to market values established by the
Property Appraiser. The VAB is an independent forum for property owners to appeal their
property value or a denial exemption, classification, or tax deferral.
• Currently in Walton County there are over 90,000 parcels. All properties in the county are
appraised every year.
• Each Tangible Personal Property (TPP) is eligible for an exemption up to $25,000 of assessed
value under Florida law.
• Introduction was made to Tom DeMonbrun who is a Commercial Department Supervisor of the
Walton County Property Appraiser Office.
Raffle prizes drawn.
Meeting commenced 9:30am
April 2021 Meeting Minutes
Freeport Merchants Association
Meeting Minutes
April 15th, 2021
Present: Chase Barfield
Ethan Barfield
Nancy Spears
Yolanda Ellis
Aaron Ellis
Nico Powell
Bill Blanken
Rick Gonzales
Melissa Miller
Keith Miller
Next meeting: May 20th, 2021, 8:00am, Blount House
1. Announcements
• Current Membership Total: 59
- We have grown almost 50% in the past year
• Current account balance: $2801
• Expenses to pay:
- Membership works portal – auto pay
- 501c6: $60
• Preparing for 501c6 Status and moving forward:
- We will need to do a few things a little more formally.
- As we continue to grow, we will be putting processes into place so that all who volunteer
can do their responsibilities in an easier more efficient fashion.
- The Secretary will reach out via email, one week in advance of the next monthly meeting
requesting any items you would want added to the agenda which you would like to discuss.
- The morning meetings will now be compiled into a formal set of minutes. They will be
uploaded to the Minutes Section of our website https://thefma.online under
News>Minutes. You must use your username and password that you have to manage your
membership account in order to access them. Minutes will be up within a week of our
morning meetings.
Freeport Merchants Association
Meeting Minutes, April 15th, 2021
Page 2
• Aaron Ellis appointed Secretary
- Voted in by the board
- Jeff Weller requested to step down from position due to his level of other responsibilities
• Due to the May 22nd Event, we will not have an evening social in May.
• Membership Committee
- Bill Blanken and Josh Spears are taking over
o They will share who the new members are at each meeting
o Secretary will send them a report prior to each meeting
- Freeport Jujitsu joined
o Rob and Lisa are the owners
o They have a big “Family type” event coming up on May 10th
- Rick Gonzales will be doing “Thursday Promote Your Business” in his Freeport Insider Group
o Bill Blanken will monitor to see who is not a member yet and reach out to them to
share about the FMA
• Business Intro Emails:
- Some members have participated, some have not
o If you have not participated yet and want an introduction sent out to the
membership base, please write a summary and send it in
There will be no edits made so however you send it in is how it will be sent
out – copied and pasted, no auto or manual corrections will be made.
o The application for membership now asks for a description so it can be circulated
• Business Checklist:
- Received feedback
o Asked to add Sales - process, planning, forecasting
o Asked to add Location – office needs, physical, virtual, how to choose, etc.
o Asked to add Culture Development – creating an environment for success and
thrive, personal value proposition, team member selection, etc.
- We are ready to ratify and formalize
o Legal
o Accounting
Freeport Merchants Association
Meeting Minutes, April 15th, 2021
Page 3
o Insurance
o Technical Infrastructure
o Financial
o Marketing
o Sales
o Location
o Culture Development
• FMA Emails:
o Emails used to be in person’s name@, with the 501c6 filing, emails will be created
based on position. i.e., president@, secretary@
2. Discussion
• May 22nd Event: A Night Out for the Library
Full details can be found here > https://thefma.online/events/a-night-out-for-the-library
- All members can have a booth at no cost (not required)
- A donation is suggested for members.
- Nonmembers are able to get an event space
o Any business that wants to do a sponsorship and/or pay for a booth can pay with
cash, check, PayPal, and Venmo as well.
o Early bird special for non-members is ending soon
- Members, if you can take a shift in the FMA booth, this would be helpful
***Get in touch with Lori Logue – Lorilogue1220@gmail.com or Kaylee Pylant Casey –
Pelicanprintshack@gmail.com, regarding all of the above***
• Sponsorship form
- There is a form for sponsorship that needs to be revisited
o Needs to be more descriptive with more imagery describing what each level of
sponsorship gets.
o Kaylee is working on this.
• Advertising for the event:
- Lori, Kaylee and others have been doing a lot of word of mouth
Freeport Merchants Association
Meeting Minutes, April 15th, 2021
Page 4
- Library is pretty good at getting the word out
- Barbara at city hall will tell everyone that walks in the door there.
- Lori and Kaylee have created an e-event on the FMA page and an event on Facebook and
they will be sending out reminders and notifications.
- Members can share these events and invite members right from the event page.
- Social media marketing for the event is in motion
o Any members who see the posts, etc. and has any ideas, please send them to Lori
Logue - Lorilogue1220@gmail.com
Rain Date for the Event:
- Lori and Kaylee are working on getting one set up
Needs:
Reach out to Lori Logue – Lorilogue1220@gmail.com or Kaylee Pylant Casey –
Pelicanprintshack@gmail.com
- Volunteers for FMA booth
- Creating a map
- Punch cards
- Contacting local businesses
- More sponsors
- Silent Auction
- 50/50 raffle
- Band/Singer – There is one lined up and we would love to have 2-3
April 2019 Meeting Minutes
Freeport Merchant’s Association – Monthly General Meeting 18Apr19
Welcome and pledge – Amy
Thanks to for coffee and food provided by FMA – Jennifer
Committees (still need volunteers) – Jeff
Membership volunteers (help get new members)
Event volunteers (help with events, including finding hosts)
Host For June Evening Social (May is TipToes) – Jeff
Adriane Rily with Style Dots will be hosting on June 6.
Accounting Report (anything relevant to FMA accounting)- Nanci
Membership payments
Tax filing
Nanci is in process of filing for 503c status for FMA
Signs and banners (cont) – Chase
FMA wants to get copies of actual ordinance (Tim will get) and get this on the City Council’s agenda as it is felt to be selectively enforced and a hinderance to small business advertising
Website – Chase – Taken off City of Freeport –
Requesting posts
Any member can post on the website & it will increase search capacity and visibility on the web.
Intro Answer This Question (how it works) – Amy
This was postponed as the group spent time discussing various topics, including ways to increase membership and visibility in the community. The idea of an FMA discount card was discussed at length. With proceeds going to a non-profit org.
Any other questions, comments, concerns – Nanci
Close Meeting – Chase
February 2019 Meeting Minutes
Call Meeting to Order – Jennifer Laird
Pledge of Allegiance – Jennifer Laird
Thank you for coffee & refreshments – Jeff Weller
Coffee provided by Sweet Southern Comfort
Café & Pastries provided by JNS Financial
FMA Web site – Chase Barfield
Profiles
Members, please go out to the FMS website & complete your profiles
Listed on Freeport City Site
FMS Is now listed in a more conspicuous place on the Freeport City website
FMA Committees – Chase Barfield
Membership volunteers
Event volunteers
We are looking for committee volunteers
Reporting questions, comments, issues – All
No comments from the floor
Discuss signs and banners – Chase Barfield
There is a city ordinance prohibiting signs and banners except for realty or politics.
It appears to be selectively enforced.
Deron is going to locate a copy of the ordinance.
FMA will look to act with the City Council in some fashion as it appears to be prohibitive to a healthy business environment.
Need a Host for FMA Evening Social – March – Jeff Weller
We are looking for a host for the March social
Introduce Speaker – Jeff Weller
Guest Speaker Nanci Watkins – Tax Changes for 2019 & How they impact small businesses
Tax Law Changes
There is no deduction anymore for entertainment
Still allowed a certain amount of meal deductions at 50% for clients
There is a 21% flat tax for corporations
LLC’s are allowed $20,000 in deductions
You can depreciate assets 100% in first year
The limits on business losses have increased
There is a minimum of $250 per donation for charitable donation deductions
FILE ON TIME!!! Penalties and interest charges are HUGE!
Final Comments & Adjourn meeting – Jennifer Laird
The Tax Collector Office will be having an Open House at its new location in Freeport on Wednesday February 27th from 9:00 – 11:00 am.
The office will then have a “Soft Opening” the following day.
January 2019 Meeting Minutes
Freeport Merchant’s Association – Monthly General Meeting 17 Jan 19
Meeting Call to Order – Chase Barfield
Pledge of Allegiance – Amy Blizzard
Thank you for donations of refreshments – Jennifer Laird
– Coffee: Sweet Southern Comfort Café
– Pastries: JNS Financial Services
New Member Welcome – Amy Blizzard
Request for After Hours Host – Jeff Weller
– Amy Resiak with Premier Designs Jewelry Volunteered to host
Introduction of Board Members – Chase Barfield
Review of Billing and Dues Information: Nanci Watkins
Website Review and Information: Chase Barfield
Main Speaker “How to Protect Your Business Accounts” – Debbie Uezato AVP & Branch Manager Trustmark Bank
Question & Answers for the Association
Auto Draft available for dues? – Yes
Is the website live? – Yes
How many members are allowed per company? – Currently Unlimited
When are meetings and socials? 3rd Thursday each month at 8:00 am and 1st Thursday evening
Announcement of Veterans Memorial Golf Tournament – Tim Ard
Close Meeting – Chase Barfield