March SPBL meeting minutes:
Date: Tuesday March 13th
Time: 6:30 to 7:30pm
Locations: SoPo Planning and Zoning (old Hamlin School)
6:30 Intro/Greeting by President
6:30 Reading of past minutes
6:35 Current Agenda Items:
. Board members: Really hoping to get some Cape Elizabeth business
owners involved. Leslie Grimschield was unanimously elected to the
board.
There are still two seats left.
. Summer signature event: Dani is still in talks with SMCC to host our
signature event. The recommendation of the board would be to hold it
in the summer, possibly August. There is a strong possibility that
this event will not happen this year due to timing; however, it was
suggested that we have a “Save The Date” event for members as a
precursor to what will be happening next year. Suzanne will check in
with the original group of members that volunteered to be on the
Signature Event Committee.
. Welcome Wagon Packets (Jon): Jon proposed putting welcome
packets/baskets together with a sampling of our Buy Local businesses
products/coupons/gift certificates for our Buy Local Realtors to pass
along to their clients when the move into South Portland from out of
town or out of state. Would be a great way to promote our businesses
and give new residents a sampling of what our members and our city has
to offer. Jon & Suzanne will be looking into this further to see what
the membership thinks and who may want to contribute.
. Directory and Launch Party (Jon/Suzanne): Last year Cindy at The
Sentry was our point of contact for the directory and did a great job.
However, it seemed that she was not financially compensated enough. We
are looking to get another quote from the Sentry this year and the ad
prices should be the same as last year. They do owe us 6000 free
directories from last year. Members should be thinking about
submitting their info for the directory soon as info will be coming
out about ads and company info at the end of this month. It was
suggested that neighborhood maps be added to the directories if
possible. Launch party to be at the end of May – possibly hosted by
the Snow Squall again.
. 2nd Tuesdays: The goal is to always have the meetings on the second
Tuesday of each month so everyone knows in advance when the meetings
are each month. Due to holidays or school vacations, sometimes this
does not work out. By keeping with a regular schedule, we hope that
more people will be able to join the meetings. We’d like to keep that
double digit attendance.
. Educational element to first 15 minutes: It was suggested that the
beginning of each meeting be an educational 15 minutes. Possibly one
member each week could teach the rest helpful marketing tips, how to
utilize social media to grow your business, how to use the Buy Local
website, etc.
Suzanne
will have more details next meeting.
. SoPo in 5: Suzanne has recommended that each month we have two
members showcase their business in 5 minutes at each meeting. It could
be a great way for all of us to get to know more businesses within the
local and also promote/pitch/network our businesses. First two are
next month and they are Maryann Malloy of Healthy Body, Fit Mind and
Cynthia Legere of Kiln Formed.
. Website:
o Kick up design and marketing
o Feature 1-2 business a month (from SoPo in 5) o Create YouTube video
and embed in home page Suzanne and Jon have been looking over the
website and realize that it needs some tweaking and updating. They are
hoping that the members will look it over and offer suggestions for
updates. A couple of suggestions from tonight’s meeting were: add the
logo for every company with direct a link to websites, create a back
end for members only, be able to tag or have more key words for SEO
and add a YouTube video of each company featured during SoPo in 5.
7:15 Bring up new agenda items:
It was suggested to Jon that we somehow help/become involved with the
South Portland Land Trust and their effort for an Earth Day event on
April 21st.
It was recommended by a member that we get in touch with the schools
to have them get involved. In previous years they were involved with
beach clean and trail clean ups.
7:30 Conclusion
Next Meeting Tuesday April 10th at SoPo Planning & Zoning Building
(old Hamlin School)