October 2021 Meeting Minutes
Freeport Merchants Association
Meeting Minutes
October 21st, 2021
Present:
Chase Barfield
Ethan Barfield
Yolanda Ellis
Aaron Ellis
Bill Blanken
Gabriel Kilgore
Lori Logue
Jill Tanner
Betsy Steinbaum
Nanci Spears
Keith Miller
Next meeting: November 18th, 2021, 8:00am, Blount House
1. Announcements
Current Membership Total: 64
Current account balance: $3654.00 • Expenses:
o Blue Host – web hosting for website
o Food for meeting
• Events Committee:
o November Evening Social – Thursday November 4th from 5:30-8:00 pm Hosted by Moorhead Law Group
o No December Social due to how busy it is. If someone wants to discuss hosting one, contact Lori Logue
o January will be hosted by Angie Veno with Puppies to Guppies
o We can book Socials from February – Reach out to Lori or Kaylee
With hosting, you get to showcase and share about your business – everyone focused on you
It’s a great time for members and non-members to socialize outside of business
Usually, 2-3 hours with the host providing food and drinks – alcohol is optional
• Membership Committee:
o New Member: RISE Animal Refuge
2. General Topics
- City Council Meeting Update – Cara Attended
o There is a new Wastewater Treatment Plant going in on 20 between 331 and the
bridge.
o Freeport got “City of The Year”
- Friends of Freeport Library – Lori Logue
o Location has been approved – right behind the current library
o Meeting with Architects – want to make beautiful and community oriented
o Current building is metal so it cant be built onto
o Working on getting in on City council agenda to figure out what the city is also doing as everything needs to tie in and coordinate
o Library is in need of a secretary on the board
Meet once per month
Secretary would prepare Agenda and Meeting minutes
o The library does a lot more than most people know.
They check out laptops
Offer internet and computers there for use
The new library will have tools – drills etc. that can be checked out with books on how to use the tools
They offer online language education
They want to be a resource, not just a place to check out books
o In order to stay in regulations, their current building is 1⁄2 the sized it needs to be now.
- Guest Speaker: Terry Mauer of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
o The SBDC offers services at no cost to current small business owners and prospective small business owners
Small business consulting
Help with launching and growth Business Plans loan packages Licensing and Permitting
They understand the importance of small business and want to provide support in any way they can. No matter how simple – a phone call with a question to starting and growing your business, no matter the size or scope, they are available to help.
For more information, Go to: https://sbdc.uwf.edu/
Process to sign up: fill out a form – Request for consulting. It takes about a minute
Reach out to Terry directly:
Cell Phone – Text or Call 812.717.0079
Email: tmauer@ufw.edu