Township council has agreed to provide about $4,000 in support to a revitalized Mapleton Chamber of Commerce this year and will consider a request for additional support over the next two years.
Dale Franklin, a local business operator and a member of the new chamber steering committee provided council with an update on the re-formed organization at the Oct. 26 meeting.
“We were thrilled as a group that was pretty keen to revitalize our idea of a Chamber of Commerce recently when we realized that the former Mapleton Chamber of Commerce was actually still very much in operation,” Franklin told council. “So although, it had been dormant for some time, all the paperwork had been filed so that we were able to really, quite honestly, just start fresh somewhat, but with a little bit of the legwork already done.”
The chamber is planning to hold its first annual general meeting on Nov. 29 at the Festival Theatre in Drayton at 7pm and prospective new members are encouraged to attend.
Franklin said the group will be offering “a one-time lower membership fee” of $50.
“Hopefully it will allow people to recognize that we are working hard at making sure we are putting some steps in place for a revitalized chamber, but recognizing that next year will be a real learning experience for the new chamber … We’re hoping that people will be interested in growing with us.”
Franklin noted the group has spent about $750 of funds allocated by council to assist the chamber with re-formation in 2017 and asked that the balance of the allocation, around $4,133, be donated to the chamber to assist with startup costs, including “even a very part-time staff person and a place to hang our hat, so to speak.”
Physical presence
Franklin said the organization will need a physical presence in the community where business people can come for information.
“Without that it won’t flourish,” she said.
“When trying to operate something as important as a chamber of commerce out of someone’s basement or a kitchen table it’s just something that won’t work,” Franklin added.
Franklin said the steering committee is also asking council to consider contributing $2,000 to the chamber in 2018 and in 2019.
She said the funding “allows us to create a budget. It will allow us to create a plan moving forward and, in my mind, it’s going to set us on a very sound financial footing.”
The committee plans to implement membership fees and revenue-generating events “that will make us sustainable and self-sustaining,” in the longer-term, Franklin said.
“We know that we need to be able to stand on our own feet and move forward in a positive manner as a group,” she stated.
Council agreed to contribute the remaining funds from the 2017 allocation and consider the funding requests for future years during budget discussions.
