FMA News
General News • Events • Member News
Archive
- August 2022 1
- January 2021 1
- December 2020 1
- November 2020 1
- October 2020 1
- September 2020 1
- April 2020 3
- March 2020 1
- February 2020 3
- January 2020 4
- December 2019 1
- November 2019 4
- October 2019 2
- September 2019 2
- August 2019 2
- July 2019 3
- June 2019 2
- May 2019 2
- April 2019 5
- March 2019 2
- February 2019 3
- January 2019 3
January 2021 Evening Social
The FMA would like to extend an invitation to all of our members and anyone who is interested in becoming a member to our monthly Evening Social It will be held January 14th at the Hammock Bay Lake Club from 6:30-8:30.
We hope that you can join us for an evening of drinks, fine food and networking with some of our current members as well as our Board Members.
This month’s After Hours Social is sponsored by Jill & Mark Tanner of CLUTCH Media Works & Chef Nathan Davis of the Polished Chef. Please join us for an evening of fun and mingling, while learning more about our local businesses and how they serve the people of Freeport and beyond.
2020 Christmas Party Update
The FMA 2020 Christmas Party was a success. Here are the updates from the event.
At our November Morning Meeting, the topic of more networking events and being able to have fun with other members was a heavily discussed topic. Networking won out over any other benefit from the FMA. So we decided to produce an end of the year Christmas Party. And it was a great success! We plan on making this an annual event moving forward.
The event was held at the Hammock Bay Club House. We reserved the entire Club House to give our members and guests maximum freedom to move around and enjoy the event.
The scheduled time was 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. But we had members stay after and continue on visiting after the “official” end of the party.
We enjoyed delicious food that was prepared and provided by The Infinity Chef: BBQ pulled pork, baked beans and cole slaw. It was all delicious! We had so much that there were a ton of leftovers that members and guests actually took home on plates and in Solo cups. Apparently putting some BBQ and cole slaw in a Solo cup is a great way to save a combined snack or meal for later. Hahaha!
We had many members and some guests attend. Networking was apparent as you could walk by and hear multiple conversations about what people did, what others needed and potential for them to work together or use the services of others. That is what the members wanted. So, again…another success of the party!
The party seemed to allow many of the attendees to “let their hair down”, have fun, meet new people, become better acquainted with others and generally have a great time.
The party culminated in a giveaway. Merchants brought attention grabbing swag from their businesses, creative giveaway collections or other great gifts of value and entertainment. Everyone in attendance brought business cards, placed them in a bowl and if their card was drawn, they won the next giveaway. This was so much fun. Especially having the merchant describe what the winner got.
All in all it was a great end of the year event to bring some togetherness and merriment. As we said, this will be a new annual event. Thank you to all who attended, those who brought giveaways and especially to those who volunteered to make this happen.
We have one meeting left this year. We look forward to seeing you all at the December Morning Meeting.
And, if you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
November 2020 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. We had a wonderful morning meeting and a great open forum discussion. Here are the November 2020 morning meeting highlights.
The meeting was moderately attended. As we get into the holidays, it seems that merchants are more super occupied than other times. Which is great!
We opened the meeting with Dr. Jennifer Laird welcoming everyone, the pledge and offering coffee and snacks (provided by the FMA for our guests).
This was followed by a membership report from Nanci Spears.
From here, we jumped straight into a Membership Discussion. The FMA wanted to know:
What would you like to get from your FMA Membership?
Is there anything you would like to learn more about?
How do you engage the Freeport market?
We were pleasantly surprised that we never got past the first bullet point!
The vast majority said they wanted networking opportunities out of the FMA. This was followed up by asking for participation in more events with others and holding more of our own events.
Then that springboarded into wanting more members so we could have better networking groups and asking for current members to bring a non-member to an event.
There was so much positive energy in the room that it kind of electrifying.
Although the meeting could have gone on and on we had to close. So all members should expect more things to roll out through the end of this year and into the next!
We look forward to seeing you all at the December Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
October 2020 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. We had a wonderful morning meeting and a great speaker. Here are the October 2020 morning meeting highlights.
The meeting was well attended. It seems that more and more merchants are getting back into the swing of things.
We opened the meeting with Dr. Jennifer Laird welcoming everyone, the pledge and offering coffee and snacks (provided by the FMA for our guests).
This was followed by a membership report from Nanci Spears. She said our membership was still going strong and that she would be working with new members to make sure they were signed up correctly and with renewing members that may need help with managing their accounts online. She said that ultimately if you put your credit card into your account online, it will automatically renew for you to ensure you stay current.
Then Jeff Weller put out the request for a host for our next evening social. It will be held on November 5th. So, if anyone wants to host, please contact us to reserve the date for your business.
Finally, Chase Barfield introduced our speaker. His name is Keith Miller, with SOL Sales Solutions. He is a Sales Success Advisor. Keith gave a presentation on how to create a plan ahead sales strategy, post COVID. The presentation was about the things that businesses can do to assess the situation and build for future sales success.
Keith asked the crowd if Covid-19 affected their sales in a positive, negative or neutral (no affect) way. The results within the meeting was in a positive way. Everyone in the room had growth in sales during Covid-19. Keith did say that they conducted a national survey and the results were split on the positive and negative sides; basically no or very few neutral responses.
During Covid-19 closures and restrictions, a sales person could not travel and getting the attention of customers became even more difficult. So, businesses had to get creative.
In that same survey, businesses were asked if they had a plan ahead sales strategy or sales plan. About 1/2 of them had one. The others had no clue.
Keith continued by discussing “Going Social.” This meant that you need to ask the question “What does the data say about your market? How is the environment affecting your customers?” He stated that more customers are staying home and are doing a lot more market research. So you have to “Go Social” so that you are in front of them when they do their research.
Then Keith discussed “Taking A Selfie” which meant to look inside your company. Examine how you are doing things. What works? What doesn’t? What needs to change? What do you need to do more of? It is basically a self assessment, something many small businesses do not do.
Keith concluded with the 3 R’s: Realign, Remove and React.
Realign: Where are the opportunities? Who is ideal or most profitable? What is the sales cycle? Realign with the current market environment.
Remove: Take away the idea that things don’t change. Remove any ineffective business or thought processes.
React: I can help my customers by _____. Fill in the blank and do it.
The presentation was much more in-depth than the summary here. But, needless to say, it was a wealth of information. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Keith Miller yourself and he can help you with your post Covid-19 plan ahead sales strategy.
Conclusion
That concluded the October Morning Meeting. It was a very informative meeting. We look forward to seeing you all at the November Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
September 2020 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. We had a wonderful round table discussion on multiple key points of interest. Here are the September 2020 morning meeting highlights.
The meeting was lightly attended as some people are still dealing with Hurricane Sally repercussions and others are still not attending gatherings due to Covid-19. However the meeting was highly productive where we covered topics pertinent to the merchants of Freeport.
An open forum discussion was conducted where the following questions were asked and the subsequent responses given by the merchant members.
1) What would you like to get from your membership in the FMA?
The most common responses were, in no specific order, as follows: Networking, Learn About The Community, Connection To Freeport and Leverage.
The members stated that they liked the networking aspect of the ability to connect with other merchants.
And, that learning about things going on in the community as well as the history of the area helped them to be more informed all around.
Finally, being a member of the FMA allows there to be one voice that can speak on behalf of the merchants and gives the individual merchant the leverage of an entire organization.
2) Is there anything in particular that you would like to learn about?
This question was posed to identify any topics that the members would like more info on. That is because the FMA would bring in subject matter experts to speak on the topic.
Most of the members stated that they had a pretty good handle on most general business topics (accounting, marketing, etc). But acknowledged that they appreciated the updates on current events and new laws/regulations being created or already formed.
3) How are you engaging the Freeport market?
One of the common ways, and is no surprise, is Facebook. Most of the merchants use Facebook to reach out to and communicate with the population to build rapport and relationships.
In addition, also no surprise, was using word of mouth. What was a surprise was that there was no specific plan for word of mouth engagement. They said that people just refer them without being prompted at all. And we think that is because Freeport is still growing. The community is still smaller and more tight knit so people are continuously asking for recommendations. But as the city grows, a solid plan will need to be put into place.
And finally, regular mail is used. Some use direct letters where others use the EDDM service of the post office.
Business Incubator
After the round table discussion was conducted, the idea of a business incubator was discussed.
This is where you formally create a program, many times in conjunction with the city government, that has an education component to teach and guide new business owners on how to form their business, get an EIN, open a bank account, get insurance, etc.
And after they are properly formed, to learn how to setup their accounting, engage in marketing and more.
It essentially takes a business from infancy and helps it to develop into a strong operational entity.
This will be discussed in greater detail at the next meeting.
Conclusion
That concluded the September Morning Meeting. It was a great and lively meeting. We look forward to seeing you all at the October Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
February 2020 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. It was a great conversation with a lot of useful information. Here are the February 2020 morning meeting highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food (the FMA Board) we launched into discussions.
Nanci Watkins, FMA Treasurer, updated everyone on our current and growing member count. We appreciate all new members and ask current membership to spread the word.
Nanci followed up with an explanation of how members can pay and about automatic reminders. New members can pay or renew online with their profile. If a member would rather pay with a check, they can contact Nanci and she can arrange to receive the check. Also, when renewal is coming up, our system will automatically notify all members about their renewal. If you have a credit or debit card saved with our system, it will automatically renew. If you do not, please arrange to have a check to Nanci before the renewal date.
She continued on with asking the membership for a host for our March FMA Evening Social. It will be on March 5th, 2020 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Being a host gives a member a unique opportunity to spotlight their business and get to know other and potential members. If you would like to host, please contact us.
After that, Chase Barfield, VP of the FMA, reminded everyone about the Social Media Workshop that the FMA is sponsoring and that is being led by Rick Gonzalez, founder of the FreeportInsider.com. This is a monthly workshop held on the 4th Monday of each month, for FMA members only. The second one is at 6:30 pm on February 24th and will last about an hour. It will be at the Hammock Bay Lake Club – Theater Room. Rick will continue his teachings to FMA Members about how to effectively use social media for marketing their businesses. If you attended the last one, remember to have your pillar content ready.
Next Chase spoke about potential causes that the FMA could get behind. The general consensus was for it to be “business oriented.” And the final determination was to get behind a Main Street initiative. So, we will be communicating with Freeport Planning and Zoning as well as The City Council and Freeport Mayor in this regard. If you have experience in the Main Street Program and would like to participate/help, please contact us.
Then Chase introduced the speaker, which was Chase Barfield. That was a quick, self-introduction. For those who are not aware, in addition to being the FMA VP, he also owns/manages NorthStar Global Inc., the local IT Services (computers, networking, etc) company.
Chase discussed a topic that most find boring until ignoring it causes panic…data backup.
Many business owners go about their daily lives believing their computers will just continue to operate as it did the day before. Technology is great when it works. But, when it does not, it can be a serious disruption to our businesses. It is imperative to have a data backup process in place, use it and test it to make sure the backups are good.
Chase explained that having a data backup process in place will save time, save money and increase business continuity.
It will save time because if data loss occurs, being able to easily restore from a good known backup allows for minutes instead of hours or days of downtime. It saves money because you do not have to pay for an expensive data recovery service to retrieve your lost data. And money is saved because it minimizes any loss of business because of focusing on retrieving/restoring lost data. And, with a solid data backup process in place, it dramatically increases business continuity (meaning, minimizes disruptions) so that we can continue to focus on building and managing our businesses.
There are many data backup options. But most can be narrowed down to a USB hard drive, a Network Attached Storage or a cloud based backup. These can be used individually or in conjunction with each other, depending on the data and workflow of your business. Chase offered to speak with any FMA member about their current business processes and recommend a suitable data backup routine for them. NorthStar Global can be reached at 850.678.9191 and at 15950 US331 Business, Freeport, FL 32439.
That concluded the February Morning Meeting. It was a great and lively meeting. We look forward to seeing you all at the March Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
February 2020 Evening Social
The FMA would like to extend an invitation to all of our members and anyone who is interested in becoming a member to our monthly Evening Social It will be held February 6th at the Hammock Bay Lake Club from 6:30-8:30
We hope that you can join us for an evening of drinks, snacks, and networking with some of our current members as well as our Board Members.
This month’s After Hours Social is sponsored by Adrienne Reilly of Style Dots. Please join us for an evening of fun and learn more about Style Dots and how they serve the businesses and the people of Freeport.
January 2020 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. It was a great conversation with a lot of useful information. Here are the January 2020 morning meeting highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food (the FMA Board) we launched into discussions.
Nanci Watkins, FMA Treasurer, updated everyone on our current and growing member count. We are around 40 now. We appreciate all new members. Not bad when all membership is from word of mouth. That will begin to change this year with our marketing material.
Nanci followed up with the current status of our marketing material, which in completed and “in hand.” If you have a brick and mortar location and want to display FMA rack cards in your business, please let us know. You can also pick some up at NorthStar Global (they have a box of them). Here is what they look like.
Next up Jeff Weller, FMA Secretary, recognized our volunteers with a heartfelt “Thank You” from the entire board. We appreciate Betsy Steinbaum for her assistance with Membership, Adrienne Reilly for her assistance with our Online Coordination and to Tami Scott for her assistance with Event Coordination. You all have been a great and welcome help to us and the FMA. If any of our members would like to volunteer with any of the above 3 areas, please contact us or one of the above members for more information.
Jeff also stated that we need a host for the February 2020 Evening Social. The January one, the first one of the year, was hosted by the FMA and it was great. It is a time to get to know the other merchants on a more personal level, build a relationship and, for the host, to allow the attendees to get to know their business better. Adrienne Reilly volunteered to host the one in February. It will be on February 6th, 6:30pm at the Hammock Bay Lake Club. Check our Events Calendar for more information. It should be placed on there soon.
After that, Chase Barfield, VP of the FMA, reminded everyone about the Social Media Workshop that the FMA is sponsoring and that is being led by Rick Gonzalez, founder of the FreeportInsider.com. This will be a monthly workshop held on the 4th Monday of each month. The first one is at 6:30 pm on January 27th and should last about an hour. It will be at the Hammock Bay Lake Club – Theater Room. Rick will be teaching FMA Members how to effectively use social media for marketing their businesses. He will go over things like building relationships, gaining authority, getting exposure and more. Please note, this is for Members only.
Next Chase spoke about the Friends of the Freeport Public Library (FFPL). Various merchants were approached by this non-profit organization to ask for a donation that would benefit the expansion of the Freeport Library. The FFPL has a program called the Circle of 100 where a person or a business can make a 1 time donation of $1000 to help with things like attach an architect to the project, pay for initial expenses, etc. in order to get the library to a “Build Ready” status. All Circle of 100 members will be honored in a memoriam in the new expansion. Betsy, from Skipper’s, had suggested that FMA members all pitch in to support The FMA being a Circle of 100 member and immediately hands shot up willing to donate. So, if you are a member and want to donate into the FMA so it can be a Circle of 100 member, please contact us.
Then Chase launched into a short discussion about causes and speakers. The FMA is discussing taking up a cause. Many were suggested at the meeting. Some were around education, others around foster children and other suggestions were to find a focus that was business oriented. So, if you are a member and have an idea, please send it to us. Following the causes discussion, Chase told the membership that we were looking for speakers that could deliver value to our members at our morning meetings. So, whether you are a member, a public speaker or know someone who is, if you have a suggestion, submit it to us.
Finally, Nanci introduced our guest speaker. His name is Scott Miller and he is with Blacktip Fi, previously CPAY NWF. He is a 17 year industry veteran and former Nationwide Trade show business owner. He is originally from Georgia and lived in Destin back in 1982-1983 where he was a life guard on the beach. He left to join the United States Marine Corps and after his service he started a career in Law Enforcement. Scott served the people of Gwinnet and DeKalb County for 14 years where he was a SWAT team member and K9 supervisor and trainer/handler. He was lucky enough to attend Broward County Florida K9 School and many other K9 training programs throughout the United States. He has two sons Zack age 34 and Matthew age 32 and also two daughters Ali age 22 and Gabrielle age 19.
Scott talked to the Membership about credit card processing. He explained the different types of rates and fees charged as well as some of the pitfalls in the industry. It was clear that Scott knew what he was talking about. He discussed what Blacktip Fi does for their clients and how he helps merchants to save money and time. He even has a $1 million dollar low rate guarantee. The discussion actually ran overtime but the members were still interested since credit card processing is so integral in most of our businesses.
To contact Scott Miller and discuss what he may be able to do for your business, you can call 850.424.1639 or visit www.blacktipfi.com.
That concluded the January Morning Meeting. It was a great and lively meeting and what a wonderful way to kick off the new year! We look forward to seeing you all at the February Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
January 2020 Evening Social
The FMA would like to extend an invitation to all of our members and anyone who is interested in becoming a member to our January 2020 Evening Social.
It will be held January 9 at The Hammock Bay Lake Club (1830 Great Hammock Bnd, Freeport FL 32439, US) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
We hope that you can join us for an evening of drinks, snacks, and networking with some of our current members, our Board Members and new guests.
This month’s After Hours Social is sponsored by The Freeport Merchants Association to say thank you to our current merchants and welcome to any new ones. Please join us for an evening of fun and camaraderie as the FMA continues to serve the merchants and people of Freeport.
December 2019 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. It was a great conversation with a lot of useful information. Here are the December 2019 morning meeting highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food (the FMA Board) we launched into discussions.
Nanci Watkins, FMA Treasurer, updated everyone on our current and growing member count. We had new members join since last meeting, so…again…The FMA is growing. We appreciate all new members.
This was followed up with the current status of our marketing material, which Nanci will have “in hand” tomorrow (December 20th). If you have a brick and mortar location and want to display FMA rack cards in your business, please let us know.
Next up Jeff Weller, FMA Secretary, talked about the FMA Evening Social. And he shared how beneficial the socials are to the host businesses. The last one was hosted by Skipper’s and within a couple days another FMA Member came in and bought new furniture. Also, FMA Members like to give benefits to other FMA Members (this is something we encourage). So, if you intend to buy furniture from Skipper’s or patronize any other FMA Member’s business, ask them if they offer an FMA Member only benefit.
Jeff also stated that we need a host for the January 2020 Evening Social. So, if you want to host, let us know. We commonly do them the 1st Thursday of the month. In January, that will be January 2nd. After a New Year’s Celebration, not many merchants will be attending an evening social on the 2nd. So, this time we are pushing it to the 9th.
After that, Chase Barfield, VP of the FMA, discussed the Social Media Workshop that the FMA is sponsoring and that is being led by local realtor and founder of the FreeportInsider, Rick Gonzalez. This will be a monthly workshop that will be held in the evening (once a month) at the Hammock Bay Lake Club. Rick will be teaching small businesses how to effectively use social media for marketing their businesses. He will go over things like building relationships, gaining authority, getting exposure and more. If you want to attend and have not notified us yet, please do so to confirm your spot.
Next, the board gave Rick Gonzalez the floor to discuss the Census. The 2020 Census is important as the data collected is what helps drives governmental decisions. The 2020 Census will be the first one ever where you can fill it out online.
According to Rick, he thinks this will become available in March of 2020 online. For complete details, check out the Census Bureau online.
On to the next topic, Chase continued with the offer that came from Corey Flynn of N2 Publishing. She granted an FMA Exclusive offer for advertising in Be Local, a magazine that is delivered to every new resident in Walton County as well as those who move within Walton County. The offer included a special reduced price and to have a Freeport Map with multiple merchants on it, each sharing in a portion of the cost. We currently have 6 members who want to commit to this offer. In order to us to make it feasible, we need 4 more. The summary version is that committing will give you broad distribution for your business at the cost of about $45 per month on a 1 year commitment. Contact us if you are interested. If we do not have 10 by January, this offer will no longer be available.
In the same vein of marketing, Chase shared Newspaper Rates from the DeFuniak Springs Herald. Stacy Martin, a Herald Reporter and Photographer, shared a Christmas Edition special where they feature one family in the newspaper. If you would like to advertise in this edition, contact Stacy Martin at stacy.dfsherald@gmail.com.
Finally, Chase introduced Ray Cyr with Bay Life. This is a local newspaper that covers the area from Niceville to Freeport. They are increasing their stories, events and coverage of the distribution area. So, if you have something to share or you want to advertise, contact Ray. You can find complete details about the paper and contact info on their website.
That concluded the December Morning Meeting. It was a great and lively meeting. We look forward to seeing you all at the January Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
Lastly, we have a diverse group of members in the FMA that celebrate different holidays at the end of the year. So, we would like to wish all of our members and their families a Happy and Joyous Holiday Season and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
December 2019 Evening Social
The FMA would like to extend an invitation to all of our members and anyone who is interested in becoming a member to our December 2019 Evening Social.
It will be held December 5 at Skipper’s Furniture (66 State Hwy. 20 East, Freeport FL 32439, US) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
We hope that you can join us for an evening of drinks, snacks, and networking with some of our current members, our Board Members and new guests.
This month’s After Hours Social is sponsored by Skipper’s Furniture and NextHome Bayside Realty. Please join us for an evening of fun and learn more about Skipper’s Furniture & NextHome Bayside Realty and how they serve the people of Freeport.
November 2019 Morning Meeting Highlights
Good day members. Thank you to all who attended our meeting. It was a great conversation with a lot of useful information. Here are the November 2019 morning meeting highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food (the FMA Board) we launched into discussions.
Nanci Watkins, FMA Treasurer, updated everyone on our current and growing member count. This was followed up with the current status of our marketing material. All drafts and designs are created and preparing for printing/manufacture. Once we have it available, we will share it with the membership to place in their place of business and share with others.
Following on the heels of our marketing, Nanci launched into a discussion about end of the year tax tips. She explained that even subcontracted labor adds to the COGS (cost of goods sold) which reduces the profit and thereby reduces the tax burden. Additionally Nanci relayed that you can capture your receipts digitally now and do not need to keep the receipts any more (as long as you keep the digital copy). She went on to discuss how to attach that to your accounting software as well.
For more in-depth info on these tips, reach out to Nanci directly. She owns JNS Financial and you can find her contact info here.
In that same spirit, The FMA would like to extend a Happy Thanksgiving to all merchants and supporters! We are grateful for you.
Then he reminded everyone of the monthly evening social. The next one is hosted by Skippers and NextHome Realty at the Skippers Furniture location. It will be December 5th at 6:30 pm.
Next up was Chase Barfield, FMA Vice President. He relayed a suggestion give to him by City Council Member Ferris. The following is what was contained in the email and it was summarized at the meeting:
“I would like to throw something out to you and the merchants dealing with Christmas. What do you think about seeing if all of the merchants would be willing to decorate the outside of their business for Christmas? I believe it would be a great tradition to start in our city. To be able to see the eyes in our kids light up as they see the different decorations throughout our city is worth it all. To be able to bring a little joy and spread the joy of Christmas.”
Some of the merchants have storefronts while others do not. The merchants that were in attendance and have a storefront did not seem opposed to the idea at all, as long as they would not receive code violations for decorations outside of their stores and offices.
This actually caused a discussion about the Main Street Program that the FMA was (is) in discussions with Latilda (The City Planner) about. Chase spoke with Jay Evans, Executive Director of Main Street DeFuniak Springs, back in October to garner his experiences and successes with the program in DeFuniak Springs (which were quite positive and a learning experience for Mr. Evans). The general, unofficial, consensus is that the City would rather wait until FDOT is finished with the 4 lane on Hwy 20 since that is the proposed Main Street corridor. However, it makes more sense to us (members of the FMA) to work with FDOT, the county and the city so that all construction takes place at one time. Stay tuned for further updates.
After the Main Street conversation, Chase jumped into the conclusion of the land development code saga that had been going on that specifically pertained to outside influences trying to get signage and building construction changes made that will reduce choice and increase cost on the merchants. The grand sum of the efforts of our board, our members and other merchants in Freeport resulted in not adopting the new language and keeping the freedom of choice, while eliminating burdensome costs from landing on the merchants’ shoulders.
The FMA would like to thank all of those merchants who gave their support in this. We would also like to thank the Planning and Development Board who UNANIMOUSLY supported the merchants in their recommendation to not proceed with the proposed changes. And we would like to thank the entire City Council that voted in accordance with the Planning and Development Board.
To the City Council member that voted against the Planning and Development Board, we hope to win you over to our side in support of Freeport Merchants’ freedom of choice and not incurring unneeded and burdensome costs in an environment that can be difficult enough to make a profit in the first place. We need to help, not hinder, the growth of the merchants in Freeport. Our thanks yous could not be complete without thanking Latilda for talking with the FMA, at our invitation, and explaining what the land development code changes meant and granting us clarity of understanding.
One other thing came out of the last City Council meeting. Some of the Council Members suggested a collaboration between the city and the public. Chase Barfield referenced a discussion he had with Latilda about this very topic. To create a committee that included private citizens, merchants and government to learn and understand the needs and wants of all aspects of life in Freeport. Anyone interested in participating, contact us.
On to the next topic, Chase continued with the offer that came from Corey Flynn of N2 Publishing. She granted an FMA Exclusive offer for advertising in Be Local, a magazine that is delivered to every new resident in Walton County as well as those who move within Walton County. The offer included a special reduced price and to have a Freeport Map with multiple merchants on it, each sharing in a portion of the cost. We currently have 6 members who want to commit to this offer. In order to us to make it feasible, we need 4 more. The summary version is that committing will give you broad distribution for your business at the cost of about $45 per month on a 1 year commitment. Contact us if you are interested. We need to know before December 5th.
Along the lines of marketing, Rick Gonzales made a couple of offers. The first is in regards to a Social Media Workshop. This is an FMA Exclusive for Members only and each of you have already received an email about it. The other offer he gave us was to put articles on the FreeportInsider.com. It receives about 6000 views a week and it is a way to put out value to the public, become an authority on what you wrote and get free advertising.
Rick said that the article needed to be 600 words or more and include 1 picture he can use. One suggestion for a source to write about is to think about what your customers ask you as it pertains to their problems and solutions you offer. Write about their problem and your solution and viola! You have an article. Contact Rick on Facebook Messenger to discuss the article. You can find him here.
Brian McBroom from the Walton County Tax Collector’s Office had an announcement to make as well. He said, first of all, that the Freeport Office now offers EVERY service that DeFuniak and Santa Rosa Beach does with the exception of issuing driver’s licenses. He anticipates on that coming in around the first quarter of 2020 but has no concrete date. The second thing he announced, and this one saves you money, is the discount on property taxes.
If you owe property taxes, make sure you pay them before December 1 and you will get a 4% discount. This includes if you mail it in and the postmark says November 30 or earlier. But, don’t wait or you could lose out. They offer a 3% discount in December, 2% in January and 1% in February. No discount is offered in March and if you go past that, your bill could go higher. The early bird gets the worn on this one.
The meeting was concluded by Jeff Weller asking is there were any other questions, comments or concerns. We (The FMA) serve you (The Merchants). The more input you give us the more effective we can be at helping. We know you are all super busy building and running your businesses. But, if you would take some time to let us know what kind of help, direction or advice you need, we will happily do our best to help. You unanimously voted against the land development code change. So we went to work. But it was because you spoke up. We are stronger together and the FMA and its members are willing to help other members. But it is up to you to make those needs known.
That concluded the November Morning Meeting. It was a great and lively meeting. We look forward to seeing you all at the December Evening Social and our next morning meeting.
If you are not a member and wish to join to gain the benefits of membership, feel free to visit our membership page to sign up.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
Freedom For Merchants Prevailed
There was a Freeport City Council Meeting this morning from 9am to 10:30am and freedom for merchants prevailed. This was a particularly important meeting for the merchants of Freeport. Why? Glad you asked.
For months the FMA Board, Membership and other Non-FMA Member Merchants have been attending Planning and Development Board Meetings, workshops and City Council Meetings that pertained to the suggested change of the land development code.
The suggested changes would have removed the choice of type of building on 331 and the choice of signage on 331 and Hwy 20. Essentially, if you have a metal building on Hwy 331, it must be clad on all sides that it can be seen from the road. For the most part, that is 3 sides. Many merchants choose metal buildings because of their cost effectiveness. And others like its aesthetic. One of the changes would have removed this as an option.
The other suggested change would have been to only allow monument signs with 911 addresses on them. This is an aesthetic (fashion) preference that is not one held by all merchants but the cost to implement it would apply to all merchants moving forward (one council member said that current signs would be grandfathered in). However, with this change, the choice of monument, monopole or dual pole sign would be completely removed and the only option would be monument.
The City Council asked The Planning and Development Review Board to examine this. The summary of the results is that the Planning and Development Review Board voted UNANIMOUSLY against adoption of the proposed land development code changes. Their results, minutes from the meetings and comments from the workshop were all given to the City Council. They voted on this today.
The result of that vote was in support of Freedom for the Merchants of Freeport to be able to choose whether they wanted a metal, brick or concrete building and whether they can have a monument, monopole or dual pole sign. We wish we could report that the vote in support of the Merchants and their Freedom was unanimous. We are happy to report that is was near unanimous.
If you want to know how your representative voted and why, feel free to contact them and ask them directly – City Council Contact Info. You can also read the minutes and listen to the audios for the meetings here.
The FMA Vice President, Chase Barfield, spoke to the Mayor and the City Council on behalf of all Merchants who had expressed their opinions to the FMA. He thanked those on the Council for their support and conveyed that he hopes he can sway those who did not support to change their mind because the cost to implement these changes would fall COMPLETELY on the backs of the Merchants. To which some Merchants stated they would go out of business if they had to comply with these changes.
And all of these changes are being proposed because of aesthetic (design and fashion) choices that emanated from outside of the City of Freeport. Suggestions from others who want a uniformity between Freeport and South Walton. Freeport is not alone as this push for uniformity is county wide.
We are happy that most of the City Council voted in favor of the Freeport Merchants and to help maintain Freeport’s unique identity. We hope that this does not make it to the City Council again. But if it does and our membership feels the same, The Freeport Merchants Association will stand up again and fight for your rights of choice as a Merchant.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport.
November 2019 Evening Social
The FMA would like to extend an invitation to all of our members and anyone who is interested in becoming a member to our November 2019 Evening Social.
It will be held November 7 at The Hammock Bay Club 1830 Great Hammock Bnd, Freeport FL 32439, US) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
We hope that you can join us for an evening of drinks, snacks, and networking with some of our current members, our Board Members and new guests.
This month’s After Hours Social is sponsored by Kona Ice. Please join us for an evening of fun and learn more about Kona Ice and how it serves the people of Freeport.
October 2019 Morning Meeting Highlights
The October 2019 morning meeting for the Freeport Merchants Association was a very informative meeting consisting completely of members in attendance. Here are the morning highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food (the FMA Board) we launched into discussions.
Please note, this was our first meeting at the Blount House and it was well received because it has a more intimate setting setup for discussion and the members seemed to like that. I will say, we had quite a bit of open conversation.
First up was our Treasurer, Nanci Watkins, who discussed our membership count and how much we are growing. This was followed up by her sharing updates on marketing materials for the FMA. We should have physical materials in hand by our next meeting. Post meeting, Nanci setup a mailing address with The UPS Store, another FMA member, to make for easy mailing if any of you members need to physically mail us something. The address is 16400 US Hwy 331S, Suite B2 # 280, Freeport, FL 32439. It is also on our Contact Page if you need it.
Again, as a repeat from last month, the FMA has grown organically based upon word of mouth with current membership. When the materials are available next month, our membership committee (headed by Betsy Steinbaum from Skippers), we will take a more active approach on membership with new and existing businesses. The larger and more engaged our membership, the greater the impact we can have as an organization.
Nanci continued and informed everyone that our 5013c status should be complete shortly and membership dues then become tax deductible.
Following Nanci was our Secretary, Jeff Weller. He opened discussion about needing an Online Coordinator. This is someone to help with our online posts and updates. Adrienne Reilly, from Style Dots, volunteered. Side note, Tami Scott of Kona Ice, volunteered to be our Events Coordinator. We are so thrilled that our committees are filling out.
Then FMA VP, Chase Barfield, spoke about mostly government meeting updates. First up was the Land Development Code. For those of you who have not followed the story thus far, take a moment to read these articles (article 1 and article 2). All of the progress made thus far will ultimately be voted on by City Council at the October 24th meeting. For all Merchants who want to show support, attend the October 24th meeting at 6:30pm at the Freeport City Hall building.
Another update that was given is that the Community Directory Boards proposal is being given consideration. This would allow placement of signs on 4 separate locations in Freeport that gave direction to the location of merchants on less traveled streets. Should we succeed with this proposal, many merchants will have another marketing tool to help them get exposure.
The final update was on a Main Street Initiative, trying to establish a Main Street in Freeport. This is still in the discussion stages and not a lot of information can be shared at this time.
The meeting concluded with commentary from our Treasurer, Nanci Watkins, as she relayed a message from another member, the Walton County Tax Collector’s Office, Property taxes are coming due and now you can pay them at their office right here in Freeport. Their Freeport Office is becoming more and more the central hub to get things done and the need to go to South Walton or DeFuniak Springs for their services is quickly dwindling.
That was it. We wrapped up another great meeting with a packed room. Join us at our next morning meeting on November 21st at the Blount House.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
Victory For Freeport Merchants
We just had a victory for the Freeport Merchants. As many of you are aware, we have been both following and participating in the discussion around the change to the Freeport Land Development Code. For those of you who are unaware, this pertains to external (outside of Freeport) entities and people trying to influence a change in the language and regulations of both signage and building construction in Freeport. This would have removed choices from the merchants while at the same time placing the financial burden on the backs of the Freeport Merchants. You can read a more in depth article about it here.
As soon as the FMA became aware of what was proposed to transpire, we felt it necessary to get involved. Our mission is to unite the businesses in Freeport, whether they are a member or not, and to be a voice for the merchants. So, we met with the City Planner, Latilda Hughes-Neel, to learn the details. Upon sharing of the proposed changes with us and making us aware of the Planning and Development Board Meeting, we studied the changes and subsequently attended that board meeting.
During that meeting, multiple members of the FMA stood up and spoke to the point that these changes were coming in from outside of Freeport, without the merchants being consulted or having any say in the matter and the net result was less freedom of choice and bearing the burden of the cost of these changes.
The Planning and Development Board heard our plight and chose to schedule a workshop the next month.
The FMA, along with a multitude of other non-member merchants, showed up to the workshop in force. Everyone was passionate, thoughtful and quite helpful with commentary on the topics at hand. The entire Planning and Development Board was attentive to the comments and helpful with the questions.
They concluded and set a meeting to have time to review and reflect on what they learned and vote on whether to make a recommendation to accept or reject the changes.
The meeting took place last night, Wednesday, October the 2nd at 6pm.
We are happy to report that the proposed changes and additions to the Land Development Code, that were initially influenced by entities outside of Freeport, were rejected. The merchants of Freeport have retained the ability to have single pole signs and to have metal buildings without expensive facades. Most importantly, the rules, regulations and laws of the City of Freeport were not influenced by external factors that do not live and work in Freeport.
At this time, we would like to thank The Planning and Development Board for the way they handled this whole endeavor. They did so with an open mind, careful and considerate thought and included those who would be affected most into the conversation. They truly have Freeport’s best interest at heart.
So thank you to Ricky Fannin, Kasey Cuchens, John Konopacki, Steve Thomas and Michael Gilley. You are an effective board. Keep up the good work.
We would also like to thank the City Planner, Latilda Hughes-Neel. Without her painstaking thoroughness of documenting everything and taking the time with our membership to explain the proposed changes to the land development code, the merchants may have ended up with a lack of choices and literally paying for that lack of choices. Thank you Latilda for the work you and your office does.
We would also like to thank Clay Adkinson, City Attorney, for explaining to the merchants and to the board what the proposed changes meant and the various options that were available.
Finally, we would like to thank every single merchant (member and non-member) who talked with the FMA, showed up to meetings and workshops, shared information or stood up and spoke. Without the support of each and every one of you, we could have never accomplished this. So, thank you so very much.
This shows that the future of the City of Freeport is influenced by those who show up and care. We invite all who read this, merchant and non-merchant alike, to pay attention to what is happening in our fair city. We are growing and we are growing fast. More and more people are taking interest in our city and if we collectively want to participate in the direction of its growth, we must first care and we must also show up and make our voices heard. Do not be or add to the silent majority.
And to any merchant that wants to have their voices heard but speaking up is not your talent, contact the FMA. As we said, we are here to unite and give a voice to the Merchants of the City of Freeport.
September 2019 Morning Meeting Highlights
The September 2019 morning meeting for the Freeport Merchants Association was a very informative meeting with members and guests alike in attendance. Here are the morning highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food, the FMA Board, we launched into discussions.
First up was our Treasurer, Nanci Watkins, who discussed our membership count and how much we are growing. This was followed up by her sharing updates on marketing materials for the FMA. This was brought up at the last meeting and slated for sharing at this one. She did not disappoint with samples of rack cards, mouse pads, pens and more.
So far the FMA has grown organically based upon word of mouth with current membership. With the creation of the marketing materials and a membership committee, we will take a more active approach on membership. The more members we have, the more input we get and the more collaboration that can take place. We will continue to push forward building a strong association to unify and represent the merchants of Freeport.
Following Nanci was our Secretary, Jeff Weller. He formally welcomed Betsy Steinbaum to the FMA Board as Membership Director. From there Jeff explained that as we continue to grow, we need volunteers for an events committee. This would be primarily helping with morning meetings and evening socials. As well as assistance with placing the events on the website. If any members are interested, contact us and we will call you to discuss.
Then FMA VP, Chase Barfield, got up to speak about the new morning meeting location. Since the City of Freeport is growing so rapidly, the Planning and Development Department has outgrown their office area and will be moved into the Community Center. So, as of October, no more events will be held in the Community Center. The October morning meeting will take place at the Blount House located at 541 Kylea Laird Dr, Freeport FL 32439.
He then continued on to notify everyone of a new newspaper that is available in the area called Bay Life. This is part of the “Life” family of newspapers that cover Destin and South Walton. Bay Life is designed to cover the area from Niceville to Freeport and include the communities of Blue Water Bay and Hammock Bay. Click here for an article from the Publisher that gives a little more info. Their first issue, September, came out last week and it is delivered to the mailbox of each resident’s house (about 20,000 people). So, if you are looking for another advertising medium, contact Ray Cyr at 850.797.5283.
Following the discussion about the Bay Life Newspaper, Chase proceeded to introduce the guest speaker. We had the pleasure of hearing from Mrs. Latilda Hughes-Neel, The City Planner. She is a lifelong native of Northwest Florida. Latilda received her college education from Chipola Junior College where she majored in Art/Art Education, then from Florida State University, where she enrolled in the Urban and Regional Planning Certification Program, while employed as Assistant County Planner for Jackson County, Florida. Latilda received her AICP certification during her 17-year tenure with Walton County. She served as Walton County Planning Director for eight of those years. Latilda became Freeport’s first City Planner in January of 2005.
Latilda came in and briefed the FMA on the future development of Freeport. This included discussing all planned developments, potential jobs created time lines, and more. We were presented with maps of the different development areas with color coding for vested vs speculative. And we were able to see the Freeport Government Complex Long Term Plan. It shows how the government complex is going to transition over the next few years, what buildings will be constructed, entrances, services and more. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office even wants to occupy space within the complex. Which, is welcome news compared to where they are housed at the moment.
Latilda explained the need for the sewer expansion up and down the 331 corridor and how that applies to the developments planned in those areas. And she covered the conversion from the tap and impact to capacity fees. There was a lot of information that was covered. Nanci recorded it and shared the video on our Facebook Page. You can watch it to gather the data. You will need to turn up your volume a little.
Many of the documents Latilda refers to can be found here – https://www.freeportflorida.gov/planning.
The meeting concluded with commentary from fellow member, Tim Ard, as he reminded us of The Mayor’s Ball on October 19, Bayfest on November 2, The Veteran’s Program on November 11, and the Christmas Parade on the first Saturday of December. We are trying to collect full details so we can share it on our Events page.
That was it. We wrapped up another great meeting with a packed room. Join us at our next morning meeting on October 17th at the Blount House.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
October 2019 Evening Social
The FMA would like to extend an invitation to all of our members and anyone who is interested in becoming a member to our October 2019 Evening Social.
It will be held October 3 at Emerald Coast Automated (415 Tropical Way, Freeport FL 32439, US) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
We hope that you can join us for an evening of drinks, snacks, and networking with some of our current members, our Board Members and new guests.
This month’s After Hours Social is sponsored by Frederick Palmquist with Emerald Coast Automated. Please join us for an evening of fun and learn more about Frederick’s business and how it serves the people of Freeport.
August 2019 Morning Meeting Highlights
The August 2019 morning meeting for the Freeport Merchants Association was a very interactive meeting with members and guests alike in attendance. Here are the morning highlights.
After conducting our pledge of allegiance and thanking those who donated the coffee (Sweet Southern Comfort) and the food, the FMA Board, we launched into discussions.
First up was our Treasurer, Nanci Watkins, who discussed our membership count. Which, as of today, is about double what it was a year ago. Not too bad when we have not had a formal membership committee. Which brings me to the next item, marketing.
The FMA will be creating brochures about what the FMA stands for, the benefits of FMA and about membership. We plan on rolling out the design by the next morning meeting in September.
And, now, we do actually have a formal Membership Committee Chairperson. It is Betsy Steinbaum of Skippers Furniture. So, any FMA members who would like to help with membership (go out and talk to businesses or help new members become acquainted), please contact Betsy at Skippers Furniture (850-835-3200).
We are also looking for the right volunteer who is excels at event related items. This includes organizing events, understanding the logistics behind them and sending out notifications. Right now that mostly consists of assistance with our morning meetings and evening socials. But this will begin to grow as we expand what we do within the community. If you are an FMA member and interested, use our contact page to express interest.
Following Jeff Weller’s, our Secretary, discussion on committees, Chase Barfield, Vice President, got up to speak about EDDM which stands for Every Door Direct Mailer. It is a great program by the US Postal Service to be able to deliver marketing material to targeted sections of the community. This is another valuable tool for business promotion. And, we have an FMA Member who can help you with the entire process. Talk to Ken over at the UPS Store, they will take good care of you. Tell them the FMA sent you.
After this, Chase Barfield continued on to discuss the Planning & Development Review Board meeting that took place on August 7th. Jennifer Laird, our President, captured it on video and it is on our Facebook Page. The premise was this. A meeting was held by the City Planning & Development Review Board to discuss changes to the Land Development Code. The merchants were not consulted for any input but were expected to bear the cost of the changes. The FMA attended that meeting and voiced the collective membership’s opinions. All consideration was halted and a workshop was scheduled. The entire story can be read here. The bottom line…ALL MERCHANTS need to be at City Hall on August 28th at 6pm to give input on the sign and building changes that are up for discussion. Be there and show your support.
Then Jeff Weller announced our speaker for next month. We are delighted to have Ms. Latilda Hughes-Neel, the Planning Director, for the City of Freeport. She will attend and give insight on signage and is there to answer any and all questions about signage, a topic that has been long discussed at our meetings.
Finally, the floor was opened up to any questions or comments. There were 3 main ones.
First, we are going to implement posting about new developments within Freeport. Meaning, our Secretary is going to pass along the information about new businesses, business developments, etc and we are going to share it here.
Second, the topic of the Main Street Grant was brought up. This is to establish a Main Street in Freeport. A proposal has been drawn up and it is under review by friends of the FMA for input, at the moment. More to come as more comes out.
Finally, Jennifer Laird brought up the sad state of affairs at the Freeport Middle School, as it pertains to their outdoor/recess time. Entrepreneurs and business people are problem solvers and she wanted to engage the collective brainpower of our members and our guests. Apparently the Middle School has hundreds of students that are required to take recess outside. The playground equipment consists of 3 swings and 1 slide (the old version made out of metal that burns the backside). On top of this, there is no shade to gather under.
Many different audience members chimed in with concern, suggestions and a willingness to help. That is the wonderful Freeport Spirit we love to see. If any of you have any insight, suggestions or willingness to help on this, please use our contact page.
That was it. We wrapped up another great meeting with a packed room. Join us at our next morning meeting on September 19th.
FMA – Uniting The Businesses of Freeport
Calling All Freeport Merchants
The purpose of The Freeport Merchants Association is to unite the businesses of Freeport, Florida, deliver education and information to help them with their businesses and to represent their collective interests. A time has come now where we are calling on all Freeport merchants.
Some of you are aware and many of you are not, about a few suggestions that were placed for consideration with the Freeport Planning & Development Review Board. The suggestions were placed by one or more members of the Freeport City Council. And some of those suggestions were influenced by people and organizations from outside of Freeport.
Why is this an issue that we are addressing? Because, ultimately, it is the merchants who will incur unneeded or cost prohibitive expense for these decisions. The suggestions were made without consulting a single merchant that the FMA has spoken with. That means that we, the merchant class who will pay, was not sought for any input or opinion. The FMA sees this as unfavorable to our merchants and counter to the principles upon which we stand.
There was a meeting on August 7, 2019 at City Hall where the Freeport Planning & Development Review Board convened. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss whether to make formal suggestions to the City Council for the adoption of edits or amendments to the Land Development Code. Other than the board and staff, the only other people in attendance were members of the FMA and a President of an Engineering Firm. Not a single merchant was in sight. This told us that the Merchant Class in Freeport is mostly unaware of some of the suggested changes.
More to the point, the main changes we focused on were signs and buildings. One suggestion was to prohibit all monopole or single pole signs along Highway 20 in Freeport. If this were to go into effect, one outcome could be the removal (after a set period of time) of all existing pole signs, to include the new O’Reilly’s sign and older ones like B&M Tire. Signs that look good and are in good condition, but because they are counter to a new vision or what is “scenic” so they would be removed if it becomes part of the code and the rule to change them after a period of time is put into effect.
In addition, along Highway 331, both north and south of Freeport, the prohibition of monopole (single pole) and dual pole (two pole) is being suggested. The only qualified sign would be a more expensive monument sign, complete with 911 address on it as a requirement. Again, an external organization is attempting to influence what they believe is “scenic” without consultation of the merchant class or regard for the expense to the merchants or their freedom of choice where a monopole or dual pole sign would be preferred.
Please note that we are not advocating for an anarchy with signs. We believe in maintaining standards and we want Freeport to look visually appealing. But forcing the merchants into one style lacks both choice and the ability for variety. We are comprised of people from all over the world here. There are different tastes in design that should be allowed to be expressed. And, when it is difficult enough for businesses to capture the attention of the public and get noticed, causing an unnecessary increase in expense while simultaneously restricting choices is counter to freedom and solid business practices.
Another suggested change was to prohibit metal buildings along 331 (the north and south corridor in Freeport) that are not completely clad in stucco, concrete and brick. Many merchants construct metal buildings in order to save money on construction. They are also low maintenance structures and look quite nice if designed to be aesthetically appealing. Forcing the cladding of the building in stucco, concrete or brick negates a lot of the cost savings that are initially received from the metal building construction. And the reason for it is nothing more than aesthetics (the looks…how “scenic” it is). Again, passing on the expense of this onto the merchants that it affects without soliciting an opinion or any insight from them.
That sounds like an awful lot of bad news. But, there is a super bright spot. The Freeport Planning & Development Review Board decided that the opinions of the merchants were important in this process. They understood that this would put an undue burden and additional expense on the merchants. And that the merchants have not had an opportunity to give their opinions on whether they agree or disagree and if they disagree then what alternatives or suggestions do the merchants have.
This is why the Freeport Merchants Association is calling all Freeport merchants. This goes out to both members of the FMA and non-members alike. On August 28th (Wednesday), 2019 at 6pm, there will be a workshop put on by the Freeport Planning & Development Review Board at City Hall. All merchants are invited to listen and participate.
Let there be no mistake. If you are a Freeport Merchant, this will affect you whether you attend or not. At least if you attend, you will demonstrate that we, as a merchant community, care about helping to form the plan that charts our destiny in Freeport. Even if you are not good at or scared of public speaking, just your attendance is requested to show support. We would like to fill City Hall with Freeport Merchants who want to give polite yet constructive insight and be an asset to this process.
Do not be the silent majority. The FMA is happy to lead but we need your support to work with the Freeport Planning & Development Review Board so that they can make informed decisions and recommendations that take our positions into consideration. If you have any questions, please use our contact page to submit them. We look forward to seeing you there.