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
