GARDEN CITY BUSINESS ALLIANCE
MEETING MINUTES
GCBA February general membership meeting
February 14 2025
In attendance: Jackie Perrydore, Mike Walker, Elaine Salter, Don Nicholson, Sue Bellows, Elaine Fleming, Mike Hojeije (King Kone),Dawn Parker, Mickey Edell, Kathy Callegas (Cafe Amour), Natalie Thurmond. On Facebook: Jerry Thorne, Mike Lica, Baz Muhammad, Amy Smith, Mike Lawrence
Call to order 9:08 am
New member - Cafe De’ Amour / rebranded from Fudgey Grandma’s
Approval of minutes: Don Nicholson, Mike Walker support
Treasurer's report, as reported on agenda Beginning $8547.27, Income $2450.03, Expenses $278.53, $10718.77 ending balance. Accepted as is and filed.
Sponsorships have been coming in, which is why our balances are high. Please reach out to Joe if you have any questions.
Presidents report - welcome packets have been given to new businesses applying for licenses. 7 new licenses were applied for in January. Jackie will be dropping off 20 more bags to city hall. Please reach out to Jackie if you want anything included.
Scam - emails, texts, phone calls. Our members are being targeted as well as other chamber’s members telling them they need to pay them $150 to continue their membership. THIS IS A SCAM! Please do not respond to these emails or give them any money.
Ongoing business - MITP. Save the date cards have been completed by Don and are ready to be distributed to local businesses, etc. There is a QR code on the back sending you to our website.
Bizbee Vendor show - Elaine F.
Entertainment - Elaine S.
Sponsorships - We have our headliner and 2 presenting sponsors, 1 lead vocal sponsor, 2 backup singer sponsorships have all been received.
Merch: We are considering selling Tye dyed t-shirts in various colors. Our logo will be in black/white so as not to blend with the colors. We would sell the shirts for $20 each. We are also considering selling peace sign necklaces, etc.
Sue Bellows is making a motion to go forward with pursuing a price with Inkorporate Graphics for shirts and purchasing merch for MITP. Elaine F seconded the motion. All in favor - passed.
Don is suggesting we pre-sell the shirts so we’re not left with a large amount of unsold shirts.
We will do more research in getting the pre-sale setup on our Facebook page and/or our website.
Sharon - Porta Potties, we will be supplementing the park bathrooms with porta potties. Scotty’s potties were the best price. We will more than likely do 2 potties per event.
Parks & Rec fee schedule - We are not sure yet if we will need to pay for the pavilion for MITP. We will probably need to pay for the staff to stay past the 8:00pm park closure time.
Kiwanis Pig Races March 8, 2025 - We have paid our fee to have our pig in the race. We also purchased an ad in the race booklet.
Permanent / semi permanent sign holder for GC Park. Jackie has been working on a solution to put up a permanent sign showing events. Our proposal to the Parks & Rec was denied. P&R suggested yard signs instead.
1st business of the year. You can nominate a business in GC to be the Business of the Year. Go to the city’s website, click on community, and there will be a link to nominate. Nominations accepted up to February 28, 2025. The winning business will be invited to the volunteer dinner on march 28, up to 6 members can attend. The GCBA has discussed offering a sponsorship for MITP to the winner.
Member spotlight -
Elaine Fleming - Bookkeeping made simple
Don Nicholson - Don Nicholson Enterprises Marketplace & Auto events
Kathy Callejas - Co owner Cafe De’ Amour, previously Fudgey Grandmas
Mike H - King Kone Ice cream - Girl Scout cookie
Sue Bellows / Mickey Edell / Dawn Parker - Plymouth Canton AAUW / Women’s rights / Women’s education. Their annual children’s play was last weekend. It funds scholarships for women
Natalie Thurmond - Shaklee Ambassador, help people be healthy and be their best.
Elaine Salter - Elaine’s gift baskets
Mike Walker - Liberty tax Garden city Ford & Middlebelt.
Jackie Perrydore - Realtor
Adjourn 10:06 am
