Chamber of Commerce plans events, membership drive
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By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors met Monday evening and began making plans for upcoming events, as well as the chamber’s membership drive with half-price memberships.
Chamber President Travis Milhan said that he wanted to begin working on the chamber’s fall calendar. He asked board members to consider any events they might like for the chamber to participate in or host through the fall and next year.
During discussion some potential events that were mentioned for consideration included mini meet and greets with the chamber in different communities throughout the county, business updates, small business training and expo, Career Day at the high school, fall festivals, and more.
Suggestions for small business training included having guest speakers to discuss various topics such as taxes, staffing, grants, and more. Milhan mentioned that the chamber could potentially host those events monthly depending on interest and having the guest speakers available each month.
It was also suggested that the chamber continue its “Keep it in Coosa” campaign to encourage shopping local and supporting local businesses.
Tying that in with fall festival events, the board discussed possibly having a booth for the Chamber of Commerce at those events and allowing member businesses to share the table with any of their materials and the like.
The board said it could have “Keep it in Coosa” reusable cloth bags for various events, including fall festivals, for holding promotional materials from member businesses and having a list of chamber members included with each bag. Children could then also use the bags for holding candy, prizes and other such items collected at the events.
After discussion, secretary Cornelia Tuck said that she would check into pricing for the cloth bags and provide that information to the chamber board for further consideration.
Also regarding fall events, the board began planning for its annual membership event to be held in October. Board members discussed possible locations and dates, with those details to be determined at the next meeting.
The October event will serve as a membership update and will include a guest speaker, as has been done in years past. The speaker and topic will also be decided at a future meeting.
In other business, the board briefly discussed the chamber’s membership drive and discounted memberships for the 2022-2023 year.
Tuck said that all 51 of the chamber’s current members will get half-price memberships for the upcoming year, with the membership rates returning to full price for 2023-2024. Membership renewals containing that information and reflecting the discounted rates will be mailed to members on August 18.
After mentioning some potential new members, Tuck said that she would contact those businesses and send out membership information to them to try to get new members to join the chamber. The half-price membership rates apply to existing and new members alike.
Additionally, Marketing Director Kathy Fulmer reported that the new membership form reflecting the half-price membership rates has been posted to the chamber’s website.
In other business, Chamber President Milhan suggested possibly switching the chamber’s mobile phone from Verizon to Google Voice, explaining that it seemed like it would better serve the chamber based on the phone’s usage. After discussion, the chamber board unanimously approved Milhan proceeding with switching the phone to Google Voice, including keeping the chamber’s current phone number and simply porting it over to the new service.
Additionally, treasurer Joe Chastain said that he would be sending the board the chamber’s budget for the current year with updated actual figures so that the board can begin preparing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Milhan also asked that, in preparing the new budget, the chamber board consider sponsorships for some organizations for the 2023 fiscal year.
For more information on the chamber or to join, visit the chamber’s website at www.coosachamber.com or see its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/coosachamber.
The next regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Coosa County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will be held at 5:30 p.m. September 12.