Dear Chamber members,

Below please find the Agenda for this week’s meeting as well as the Minutes from the November meeting.

Please be aware that Erin Fordham from Alta Vista Planning Group will be at the meeting to advise you on the Benefits Plan that is available to Chamber Members.

See you this Wednesday, January 15^th in the Council Chambers at the Clearview Township Office, 217 Gideon St., Stayner at 6:30pm.
   

1. Welcome & Call to Order
2. Approval of the November 20, 2019 Minutes
3. Presentation from Erin Fordham re: Alta Vista Benefits Plan
4. Financial Report – Ramona Holm
5. Update re: Membership – Rachael Broderick
   1. Early Bird Winner
   2. Early Bird Entrants 2019 vs 2020
6. Discussion re: New Directors
   1. 3-Year Director
   2. Treasurer
   3. Secretary
7. Report re: Stayner Country Christmas & Tree Lighting
8. Update re: 2020 Business Awards
9. Update re: Logo Submissions – Kat Salvador
10. Announcement re: 2020 Workshop Series
11. Announcement re: Business of the Month Signage
12. Discussion re: Facebook Parameters – Cayleigh Jago
13. Discussion re: New Events – Charley Lewis
    1. Clearview Community Arts Program
14. Other Business

 
1. Welcome & Call to OrderIn attendance:
Charley Lewis, Kat Salvador, Troy Disabato, Craig Raffan, Linda Parolin, Robyn Parolin, Carolle Kerfoot, Lisa Squire, John Broderick, Gord Mulgrew.
 
2. Presentation re: Witches Walk
Lisa Squire and Tamara Culham provided statistics on The Witches Walk and announced that they raised $2,100 this year.  The recipients of the money raised are listed below.
 
Recipients:
Clearview Community Theatre - $500
Clearview/Stayner Youth Centre - $500
Creemore Kids Club -$500
New Lowell Public School - $100 (for nutrition program)
Creemore Public - $100 (nutrition program)
Clearview Meadows - $100 (nutrition program)
Byng Public - $100 (nutrition program)
Stayner Collegiate - $100 (nutrition program)
Nottawa Public - $100 (nutrition program)
 
Statistics:
103 Prizes Donated
8,500 Points of Contact between Witches and Merchants
212 Passports Sold
Witches Arrived from Over 33 locations
Favourite Experience was Ramona Holm, CPA Professional Corporation’s Haunted House
 
3. Presentation Re: Clearview Trails
Peter Dunbar reported on the opportunity to develop and expand the Clearview Trails. He has been involved in developing trail systems for 12 years with different townships.He advised that with all the subdivision coming to Clearview Township that families will want the trails.Based on his previous experience the number one thing families want in their community are trail systems, not community centres. Peter also advised that there is a direct correlation between cyclists and commerce. You do not see as much if you are driving in a car.
 
The result of the presentation was that the Chamber needs to ensure Clearview Township has a long-term trail plan for the area.For this there needs to be a green light from Clearview Council.Charley and Peter will set up a meeting with Amanda Murray, Community Culture & Tourism Coordinator, to discuss the trail budget and long-term plan.
 
4. Approval of the October 16, 2019 Minutes
It was moved by Troy Disabato, seconded by Kelly Kramer and unanimously carried to adopt the minutes as presented.
 
5. Financial Report
Ramona Holm was not present at the meeting so the Financial Report will be deferred to January’s meeting.
 
6. Update re: Clearview Chamber of Commerce

• Name Change – The name change from Stayner Chamber of Commerce to Clearview Chamber of Commerce has now been done.
• Mission Statement – It was motioned by Kelly Kramer, seconded by Craig Raffan and unanimously carried to adopt the new mission statement as presented.
• Logo – Kat Salvador raised concern over the previous idea of holding a competition for the new logo. She did not want the Chamber to be stuck choosing from unappealing options.Instead, it was proposed that we ask for submissions for the logo and the creator of the one we choose will be gifted with dinner at a local restaurant up to $100. (no alcohol is allowed to be included).The opportunity will be open for anyone young or old to submit. The deadline is January 10^th and it will be promoted immediately.
• Branding – It was decided that any community branding will be looked at after the new logo is selected.  It was suggested that promoting the use and purchase of certain animals by business owners will give the area more of a ‘vibe’ for shoppers. This will be suggested to businesses as the branding begins.  The idea of hosting an Apple Festival in the fall was suggested because we have two cideries in Clearview Township (Duntroon Cider and Rinehart’s)

7. Update re: Membership

• Membership – Membership has remained the same since the last meeting.
• 2020 Booklets – Rachael Broderick is currently updating the booklet and will work with Kelly Kramer to update the web information as well.
• 10% Non-business Members Allowed – Kat Salvador confirmed that at the February 2018 General meeting it was voted to allow 10% of the membership to be non-business owners.It was decided not to announce this to the general public but it can be discussed with anyone who inquires.
• Membership Drive & Fees – Advertising for the 2020 membership year will begin on December 1^st.Kat Salvador proposed that the membership fees increase for the year 2021.This will be brought back to a future meeting for implementation well in advance of the 2021 membership year.
• Member to Member Discounts – Kat Salvador reminded everyone that the Chamber has a Member To Member program and encouraged people to be part of it. During the discussion the idea of providing membership cards to members for the purpose of Member To Member purchases be provided.There was much discussion on this idea and no decision was made.It was decided to bring this back to the January meeting for further discussion.

8. Update re: White Wednesday
Many who participated or spoke to those involved were impressed with the number of stores that participated in the first White Wednesday. It was reported that the store windows looked really good and many had increased sales that day.
 
In order to dress-up the downtown a bit, Charley Lewis spent approx. $40 on tissue paper to make flowers to affix to the lampposts.It was moved by Carolle Kerfoot, seconded by Kelley Kramer and carried to reimburse the amount to Charley.
 
9. Discussion re: Facebook Parameters
Cayleigh Jago stated that she feels that the Chamber facebook page should be allowed to post ads and events for member businesses.It was argued that this should not be allowed as it will cause too much traffic on the page and will make it ‘muddy’. It also causes a problem with perceived favouritism if posts are made/shared for some and not others.There was much discussion about the topic, but no decision was made.This will be brought back to the January meeting.

10. Discussion re: Events

• Music In The Park – John Squire Sr. has volunteered to continue as the chair of this event.
• Business Awards – Some new Business Awards were suggested:

1. Young Entrepreneur Award (30 & under)
2. Best Family Run Business Award
3. Agriculture Award
4. Best Farmer Award

•  Workshop Series – Kelly Kramer will be doing a workshop on Websites sometime in February (date TBD).Kat Salvador will reach out to the Centre for Business and Economic Development in Collingwood for suggestions on workshops and whether they would like to facilitate any.

11. Announcement re: Alta Vista Benefits Plan
Kat Salvador announced that Erin Fordham will be at the January meeting to talk about the members benefits plan. She also announced that those members who are part of the benefits plan may now pay for their membership monthly through Alta Vista instead of a lump sum payment at the beginning of the year.

12. Other Business???????

• Chamber Dollars – It was decided to not use the Chamber Dollars for now as they are being underutilized and causing problem and confusion when used. Lisa Squire has several Chamber Dollars in her safe and will speak to Ramona to give them back.
• Business Crawl – Kelly Kramer reported on the details of the Business Crawl for 2020.The date has been chosen to be July 9^th – August 21^st, 2020.It will be launched at Music, Market & Park It in Stayner on July 9^th and the passports will be given out at the MMP event and the Visitor Centre each week, as well as at the participating businesses.The goal is to involve 20 vendors spread throughout Clearview Township. Participants must collect 10-15 stamps in order to submit for a prize draw.The cost for business participants is $100 per member or $150 per non-member.The winner will be pulled at Music Market & Park It on August 27^th.The prize will be $1,500.
• Stayner Country Christmas – Craig Raffan reported on the Stayner Country Christmas and Tree Lighting.The date is Friday December 6^th from 7-9pm. Santa will be in there and photos with Santa will take place in the Visitor Centre, which will be decorated with a fireplace. There will be a spaghetti dinner at the Missionary Church at 5pm with caroling inside.There will also be a choir singing carols at Station Park. Local dealerships will have decorated cars and tractors at the gazebo.Tim Hortons will supply the hot chocolate and Shawn’s Cookery is providing soup.Torn Pages will also be doing a book giveaway.

Meeting adjournment: It was motioned by Kelly Kramer and seconded Carolle Kerfoot to adjourn the meeting at 8:55pm.
 
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