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
