The Garretson Commercial Club met in regular session at The Gulch Bar and Grill on April 14th 2021.
Since the club was still without a secretary vice president Garrick Moritz took the minutes. After hearing, reading and approving both the secretaries and treasurers report the Commercial Club heard from Jesse Fonkert with Sioux Metro Alliance.
The Sioux Metro Alliance is a combination of the Minnehaha and Lincoln County Economic Development organizations that have now merged to form one entity. Fonkert outlined the services that the organization can provide going forward into this new decade and how the Garretson Commercial Club could best utilize the services they offer. The hope is that they will become a willing and able partner in growing the Garretson business community in the years to come.
The Commercial Club board then moved on to a discussion on Jesse James Days. At the March meeting it was determined that Jesse James Days would be held on Father's Day weekend as is traditional. Board members and those present had an initial discussion of what the schedule and events would look like from Friday the 18th to Sunday the 20th, creating an initial outline for members-at-large to review during the upcoming annual meeting.
Next President John Brinkman gave an update about the proposed sound system that will cover all of Main Avenue downtown. Boring would begin this summer and cost estimates would be shared with the city. Brinkman also updated the board on the new maps that would update our park and amenities in the city of Garretson, and that he would be ready soon to take those updates to Performance Press for a new printing.
Next the board discussed the electronic sign right beside Nordstrom's Automotive off Highway 11. The sign in question is not very old but it is considered a dinosaur by technological standards of today, the controlling software is not able to be used on modern computers and must instead be operated on an older system. To help raise funds to replace the sign and software Carlson proposed to the board that the sign be rented out for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and other events for a flat $10 fee as was done around the time of the 125th Years celebration.
Next Carrie Moritz gave an update to the Commercial Club board about the design and construction of the new commercial website at www.VisitGarretsonSD.com. She has been creating an online database for the Commercial Club that lists all members and member businesses as well as listings for all businesses in the Garretson area. Once complete this will be a comprehensive online guide to all the amenities available in Garretson and all the business opportunities as well. Businesses will be able to create their own blog posts and update calendars of events in real time and this website will also direct to businesses’ websites if they have them and will connect to social media as well.
Creating the database is the largest part of the exercise and has taken up most of the time in question. She hopes to have a fuller report for the annual meeting.
Lastly on the agenda was preparation for the annual meeting of the Garretson Commercial Club membership to be held at the American Legion Post 23 on April 26th 2020 with a Social Hour starting at 6 p.m. and a meeting at 7 p.m. Hors d'oeuvres will be served and the meeting will be broadcast on zoom and recorded for anyone who wishes to watch it and not attend in person.
The Commercial Club board has several open positions including a secretary which we should note is the highest priority and a new vice-presidential candidate. Omar Thornton of O So Good has agreed to fill one of the board member positions and he will stand for election. John Brinkman and Garrick Moritz asked all those present to actively recruit potential candidates from the membership rolls.
