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SBG Minutes
May 1, 2006
Present: Don Brown, Susan Davies, Paula Kuehn, Tom Klein, Steve Ottone, Ted Adriance, Michael Zellweger, Diane Johnson, Don Sutton
Discussion Items as follows:
Brochure
- 20,000 were printed and have arrived
- The SBG has been approved for distribution at 4 sites; Seabrook, Hookset, Conway, and Salem. However, Conway is being renovated so will not be available yet for distribution.
- Still negotiating the distribution price with CTM, but should be no more than $500 for the year. We may be able to get a discount if the brochures come through the Squam Lakes Chamber of Commerce which would mean the SBG would have to be a member. The working group identified below will see if the discount is worth the fee associated with joining the Chamber. CTM will restock when necessary and tell us when the overall supply of brochures is running low. They can also distribute to other areas. We should find out exactly where and how this works.
- The Heart of New Hampshire is also doing some distribution, but Don wasn’t quite sure of the extent.
- Sue Davies, Diane Johnson, Lois Carmody and Don Brown will work on a final distribution plan
Website
- Michael described the content. He is still working a couple of issues. You can see it live at discoversandwich.com. Lot of discussion about how extensive the calendar function should be. The concern is that there are multiple calendars available (Sandwich Board, Chambers, etc) and it may be overwhelming for each business to try to keep them all up to date. Michael has not found a software package as of yet that would allow us to update once and have it feed multiple calendars. The group approved a motion to just list general seasonal items on the calendar at this point.
Collaborative Advertising
- Community Guide. Not a lot of interest seems to exist within the group to do the community guide ad this year. Last year’s experience plus the expanded distribution of the brochure made this opportunity seem less attractive. Therefore, the group decided not to participate in the Community Guide.
- Don Brown is going to check on the cost of a business card size ad with the Heart of New Hampshire.
- The idea of a more general look at advertising channels was discussed. The group decided to have a working group look at this over the winter and provide a report back to the group early next year with marketing options. Don Sutton, Tom Klein, and Michael Zellweger volunteered to be part of the working group.
State Grants
- State grants may be available for a group like the SBG. Sue Davies has the name of a contact at the Bureau of Tourism and Michael Zellweger will contact him/her.
IRS Non-profit Status
- Sue Davies checked this out with an accountant and the recommendation is that the SBG should become a 501(c)6 organization. It costs $150 to get that designation. The group approved a motion to apply for this non profit status. Lisa and Sue will apply online for this.
Meredith Village Savings Bank Business Partners Program
- We should have Cindy Oxem(sp) talk with us about the business partners program. It may be a good marketing and sales channel for some members of the group.
General
- A question came up as to dues for any business interested in joining the SBG at this point relative to the fact that the basic membership essentially accounted for the brochure and a new business won’t be able to be in it. After some discussion, the group decided that the basic dues should remain at $35 regardless of when a business joins the group this year.
Next Meeting – Monday, June 5th– 8:30AM at the Corner House
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