September 2023 Minutes
Baker Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture General Meeting
Thursday September 7th, 2023, at Lakeview Country Club at NOON.
Members present: Alissa Miller (President), Shyla Hadley (Vice-President), Karol Zachmann (Treasurer), Tammy O’Donnell (Secretary), Josey Madler, James Parks, Dean Wang, Vaughn Zenko, Steve Zachmann, Lisa Hastig, Darcy Wassman, Marty Asay, Terra Burman, and Jodi Varner.
Staff Present: Melissa Higbee, Executive Director Mariah Miller, Chamber Assistant
Alissa called a meeting to order at 12:08pm.
Shyla made a motion to approve the minutes from last month and Tammy seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
Executive Director Report: Melissa reported that it has been a busy month. I will talk about things on the agenda further down. I wanted you I will be going to the Fusion Conference in Bowman ND on September 14th. Melissa reported she will be out of the office on September 12th.
Rec Department Committee Update: Mariah reported for the Rec Department. Soccer League is full and no longer taking registrations. U6 has 18 kids and 3 coaches. U8 has 20 kids and 2 coaches. U10 has 14 and 1 coach. U12 has 12 kids and 1 coach. Games in Miles City will be on September 16th, September 30th, and October 14th. We had to close soccer sign ups due to lack of coaches. The Rec Department did get enough sponsors to buy permanent soccer jerseys. Flag Football started with 29 kids signing up. Football Skills has 20 kids signed up. Preschool Sports have 7 kids on Thursday and Friday both classes are full. AAU- New footballs came in and coaches got hats. The AAU team will have 5 total games with 3 of them being at home on September 16th @ 7pm, September 23rd @2pm, and October 21st @1pm. We still need volunteers for the home games. The Rec Department would like to have a fundraiser on Fall Festival September 30th. Looking at doing a pie throwing contest. Mariah is going to ask the Home Coming Court if they would volunteer to get pies thrown at them.
Old Business:
Fall Festival Update: Melissa reported that Fall Festival is going well. We got a grant from Mid-Rivers Communication for $1,000 to pay for the bouncy houses and a band. Vendors are signing up. Duck Race tickets are ready to start selling. We are added a Rib Cook Off to Fall Festival this year like they have done in the past.
Moonlight Madness Update: Melissa reported that Moonlight Madness will be on Thursday October 12th. If you’re a retail business and want to be on the flyer for Moonlight Madness let Melissa know.
Glow Run Update: Melissa reported that the Glow Run will be on October 18th at the Lakeview Country Club starting at 7pm. I have a volunteer sign-up sheet I will pass around. This is a fun run and ends with going through a bubble machine with glow in the dark bubbles. I will get flyer up about the Glow Run as soon as Sew What lets me know the price of the T-Shirts.
Other Old Business:
New Business:
Baker Adventure Books: Melissa stated that we will be giving away the leftover books at the Fall Festival.
Rib Cook Off:
The Baker Chamber will be hosting the Rib Cook Off this year. Calcutta starts at 5pm and Judging starts at 5:30pm. Spectators can eat at 6pm with the purchase of a wristband for $15.
Downtown Trick or Treating: Melissa stated this will be on Halloween. October 31st from 3pm to 6pm. Melissa is starting a list so if you will be handing out candy, please let her know if you will be a regular pumpkin or teal pumpkin.
Christmas in the Park: Melissa reported that she is helping organize this community event and has sat up a date for the committee and anyone else to attend on September 13th at The Coffeehouse at Lawler’s at noon if you would like to be a part of this committee, we would love to have you.
Strawbale Trail Contest: Melissa reported we are going to have the Strawbale Trail Contest again this year. I already have purchased the straw bales for Fall Festival and will give 2 bales to the first 13 businesses that would like to participate in this event. Anyone business can participate in this event, but the Chamber only has 26 straw bales to give away. If a business wants to participate and we no longer have strawbales they will need to purchase their own bales.
Other New Business:
Reports from Members:
Vaughn reported for SMART/EMEDA. Work has been started on the pocket park downtown. The turf has been installed. The concrete slab, waterfall feature, ivy on the wall and planter boxes will be installed next year. Saturday September 23rd SMART will be having a fundraiser at the OS Brew Pub called Pizza, Puzzles, and Pubs. You will need a 4-person team and the first team to finish a whole pizza, the puzzle of your picking, and 8 beers is the winner. SMART is looking for donations for an Escape Room for October. The Escape Room will be a fundraiser for Save the BSB Clock. SMART is 1 year away from being able to take the clock to Colorado to get it refurbished. SMART has $6,000 in the funds right now and we need $15,000 to get the clock back on the BSB building. The Community Theater will be putting on a show on December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The show will be A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Grid United is still taking grant applications if you have a community project, please let SMART know and they will help you apply for the Grid United Grant. Deadline is November 7th. Josey reported to Classy Cactus that she is getting ready for Fall. Terra reported for EPEDC. She stated that EPEDC is hiring for the Community Development Specialist position. EPEDC is hosting a training on October 10th. The training will be on How to Be a Great Leader and it will be held at Dawson Community College with lunch served for free. On October 12th there will be a roundtable held in Baker on Childcare. The 0-5 group will be coming down. Terra stated, if you need help with grants give her a call and she will help you. The value-added producer grant is coming out soon. Karol reported for FMC. The Community Choir will start practicing on Monday September 11th at 7pm and every Monday there after until December. Fall Festival is coming up and FMC will be doing a 5K run/walk at 7am at Baker Lake. October is Breast Cancer awareness month. FMC will be holding a Breast Cancer Awareness Soup and Salad luncheon at the Fallon County Fairgrounds on October 5th. The next chamber meeting will be held at the luncheon in the board room at the fairgrounds. The Christmas Bazaar will be on November 19th. Steve Zachmann reported for the City of Baker. Change order for the SID 36 saved the city $11,000. Resolution bond of $423 annual cost over a five-year period. After the first assessment you can pay it off. The water from the rainfall was impressive. We had a child kayak down 5th street we got so much rain. We had a blow up on 2nd street across from the tennis courts that needs repair now. Knights of Columbus will host the Americanism Program on February 6th, 2024. Shyla reported come out to support our JR High Volleyball games this Saturday. Dean reported that the Bank of Baker Tailgate party will be September 29th Homecoming game and Lame Jones will be serving Burgers and Brats sponsored by the Bank of Baker.
We will be meeting at Fallon County Fairgrounds next month for our monthly meeting.
Adjournment: Tammy made the motion to adjourn at 12:43pm. Vaughn seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
**Next Meeting Thursday October 5th, 2023, at NOON at Fallon County Fairgrounds**