February 2023 Minutes

Baker Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture General Meeting

Thursday February 2nd, 2023 at the Compass Coffee at NOON.

Members present: Alissa Miller (President), Karol Zachmann (Treasurer), Tammy O’Donnell (Secretary), Josey Madler, Marty Asay, Steve Zachmann, Melissa Rost, Roy Rost, Trish Barth, Rolph Tunby, Jade Boggs, Jennefer Wheeler, Jane O’Connor, Jerri Breitbach, Dean Wang, Beth Epley, Rita Breitbach, and Vaughn Zenko.

Staff Present:  Melissa Higbee, Executive Director and Mariah Miller, Chamber Assistant/Rec Director

Alissa called meeting to order at 12:08pm.

Tammy made a motion to approve the minutes from last month and Melissa Rost seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.

Executive Director Report:

I have been working on membership drive we have 10 new members from last year. I have inputted all the new members onto the website, added them to the email list, and did a Facebook post about them. The new members are Kinsey Auctioneers & Real Estate, Direct Electric, Kelsey DuCharme Photography, F&D Oilfield Maintenance, The Box, Junction 39, Shyla Hadley, Diamond J Redi-Mix, and Stevenson Funeral Home. I have been helping with Rec when needed this past month. I started helping plan Heritage Fest this year. We are trying to get a travel Blacksmith/Bladesmith to the event. The cost is $4,000 so I reached out to some businesses to try and get sponsorship for the entertainer. We shall see it might not be feasible this year. If anyone knows of a traveling blacksmith or cowboy poet let me know. We are looking for volunteers if anyone would like to volunteer let me or Melissa Rost know. I worked on the By-Laws and got them up and on our website. Baker Adventure books are on sale this month at Classy Cactus Floral.

Rec Department Committee Update:  Mariah Miller introduced herself. Mariah reported the Rec Department is looking coaches for Dance. Martial Arts has a coach which will be Louie Hieb. He helped with Martial Arts last year. We need Refs for Baker Jam still. Teams are starting to sign up. 2 teams registered online. We are half way through volleyball and tumbling. We have made the decision not to print registration forms and deliver them to the schools. That is 300+ forms we print every session. This will save costs for the Rec Department from buying paper and ink for the forms.

Old Business:

Nominating Board Member: Jade Boggs was voted in at the board meeting to serve another 2 years.

Ag Pictures Need a Voting Committee: The Board picked a committee to vote on Ag Pictures for the calendar.

Hiring of Chamber Assistant: The Chamber hired Mariah Miller as the new Chamber Assistant/Rec Director

Other Old Business:  None

New Business:

Committee and Volunteer Sign-Ups: Melissa Higbee passed around sign-up sheets for the committees and volunteers needed for the events this year.

Set up a Day to Move Chamber Stuff: Let the members know we are moving our stuff from SMART Office basement to the Chamber Office so its more attainable. Jade, Josey, and Mariah volunteered to help move at 2:30pm on Saturday.

Other New Business:   Jade informed Melissa and the members that the opportunity for a huge donation of items might be available for the garage sale. He stated to call Todd Ploeger and see if we could acquire the items that were going to get donated to Miles City. Melissa replied she would get in touch with Todd.

Reports from Members:

Marty Asay reported for Lakeview Country Club nothing new. Jerri Breitbach reported for Sew What that they hired Jacob her son to help with giving Sew What a better online presence. Beth Epley reported for EPEDC- Annual Recap EPEDC administered over 2.6 million grants into the region.14.4 million in grant funding for projects in 2022 using funding from state, federal, and local government sources. EPEDC hired two new staff members and helped with 2 grants of $500 for the Baker Arts and Culture Council. Another grant for the Fallon County Shooting Range for $23,000 EPEDC also worked on. Beth reported they will be having business training coming up in February. Rita Breitbach with Junction 39 had nothing to report. Jennefer Wheeler with the Fallon County Fairgrounds had nothing to report except the Extreme Broncs will be on June 17th 2023. Rolph Tunby reported the Baker Lions Club with be hosting a Valentines Dance on February 19th 2pm-5pm at Thee Garage Showroom. The fundraiser will go back into the scholarships for high school seniors. Vaughn Zenko with SMART/EMEDA reported Baker is doing big things. Head Start has a high possibility of being able to have a program in Baker. SMART received a Tourism Grant for a Visitor Center to be put in the old Wospeka building. The roof grant that SMART applied for the MHPG looks like it will be funded. We are 3rd ranking for the grant. July 1st would be the earliest to receive funding. SMART and the Baker Arts and Culture Council will be putting on a play this summer called Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Looking for volunteers to help build a set, stage hands, performers, paint sets, and infinite parts for kids to play. Looking for bible costumes. February 23rd auditions at OS Brew Pub 6-8pm. July 15th will be the Baker Art Walk. Baker will be getting an Art Library Box where you take a piece of art and leave a piece of art. Baker Arts and Culture Council received a $5,000 grant from MDU for Community Theater. Growth Policy meetings are done. Survey at falloncounty.net to direct the policy. Vaughn also stated a community foundation would be a good organization to have here in Baker. They are trying to start one here. There will be a public meeting in April to get a steering committee together to set one up. Josey reported Classy Cactus Floral is getting ready for Valentine’s Day. Melissa Rost with the O’Fallon Historical Museum updated us on Heritage Fest for 2023. Heritage Fest will be Saturday, June 3rd, 2023. April 16th will be the 100th Anniversary for Steer Montana and our Historical Society meets that day as well. Come join us. Karol Zachmann reported for FMC. FMC will be holding the 3rd annual St. Patrick’s Leapin Leprechaun Pub Crawl on March 17th from 7-11pm. Games will be in the pubs. Open Container lifted for people with the cup received when signing up for the Pub Crawl. The cost of the Pub Crawl is $50 a clan. Proceeds will go towards medical scholarships. The Health Fair will be back this year on April 26th starting at 6am. Steve Zachmann with the City of Baker wanted to thank the County for helping with snow removal on 4th and 5th streets while the city was dealing with a water leak on Eastside. Melissa Foster is the Urban Supervisor for the Little Beaver Conservation District. Rich Menger passed the waste water that is used at the golf course as safe. John and Janice Moser are receiving Citizen of the Year. City Council will be meeting March 8th and March 22nd instead of the regular times. City is finally fully staffed. If there is a complaint please call City Office Facebook is not going to help resolve the problem if we don’t know what the problem is. A phone call can help clear up problems way faster.

Other Announcements: None.

Adjournment: Tammy made the motion to adjourn at 1:03pm. Melissa Rost seconded it. All in Favor. Motion carried.

**Next Meeting Thursday March 2nd, 2023 at NOON at Baker Bowling Center**