Brewster chamber seeks board nominations

BREWSTER – Nominations for the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors were requested at the regular October meeting and nominees will be accepted through the regular meeting on Dec. 8. At this writing current nominees include President - Mike Mauk, Vice-president - Charlene Knox, Treasurer - Daniel Blanchard, Secretary - Jeff Dowd, and Director – Manny Hurtado.
Holiday Lights Map
The board voted against having a community holiday lights competition this year in favor of a road map tour of decorated businesses and residences. The chamber is working with Washington Hometown Maps owner Jennifer Hackett to feature addresses on a digital map that can be accessed online on Facebook and the chamber website, brewsterwachamber.com.
In a related issue the chamber is working with each business on Main Street to assist with getting holiday lights up. One suggestion for continuity is to feature all Main Street buildings to display the same color lights at the tops of the buildings while businesses decorate their store fronts with their own color schemes.
At last September’s general meeting Mayor Art Smyth and city clerk Misty Ruiz offered the assistance of city workers to help decorate downtown. The chamber will contact the PUD to help decorate the big evergreen in Legion Park. The chamber board voted to allocate $200 for the purchase of additional light strings for the tree.
Projector
The purchase of a projector and screen approved at the October board meeting was done on Nov. 9. Together with chamber use the equipment will also be available for the Salmon Derby reader board, summertime movies and other functions.
By-Laws
A proposal to reduce the number of board members from seven to five will be put to a vote by the membership in accordance with Article VI of the chamber by-laws. The by-laws may be amended by any regular meeting of the membership by majority vote when a quorum is present. The proposed amendment must be presented in writing and read into the meeting minutes at least seven days prior to addition of the amendment to the agenda and dissemination to all members.
Senior Center
The Brewster-Pateros-Bridgeport Senior Center is once again open following the loss of president, Neal McKee earlier this year. Chamber board member Charlene Knox, owner of The Rusty Relic next door to the Center is its new president. The Center has a certified kitchen and is interested in attracting more meetings and functions to better utilize the space. The Downtown Strategies workshop was held there last October, and the chamber will move its general meetings to the Senior Center starting with the Dec. 8 session. The chamber board voted to pay one-half of the monthly internet bill in return for using the space and will also have an internet Hot Spot installed.
The next regular meeting of the Brewster chamber will be at 6 p.m., Dec. 8, at the Senior Center at 109 Bridge Street.