january 9th, 2025 meeting minutes

Present: Phil Crutchfield, Diana Bolton, Karissa & Elijah Canfield, Cheryl VanVliet, Hal Hultman, Thad Bogert, Mark Blondy, Tim Root, guest Chiara Mattieson, and Theresa Furget.
Elijah called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM.

1. Additions & Corrections: Karissa added Member Recruitment & Retention under 5c.
2. Minutes of October 10, 2024: Phil made a motion, and Thad seconded it to accept the minutes. Motion passed.
3. Treasurer’s Report:
   1. January 2025 Financial Statement: Diana went over the general and Millionaire Poker (MP) accounts. She pointed out that the Pumpkinfest ticket sales netted $1,306. Karrisa made a motion, and Phil seconded it to accept the treasurer’s report. Motion passed.
   2. Finance & Budget Committee: Diana went over the working draft of the KVCC budget for 2024-2025. This shows side by side of the general and MP accounts. This gives an overview of the two accounts. She also pointed out the club has spent more from the MP account than it has taken in over the past couple of years.  At this point, it is not an issue as there is a large amount in the account and it has covered all expenditures to date.
4. Correspondence:
   1. Lyon Twp. Article: The latest copy of the Lyon Today magazine was passed around in which there was an article about the club. Karissa gave an excellent and detailed overview about the club and the club’s community involvement.
   2. Giving Tuesday (12/03/24) Donation-Elijah & Theresa: Club officers decided to donate $425 to Civitans at the Helm which benefits the Civitan International Research Center (CIRC). The amount was based upon $17 per member (at the time) and Civitan International (CI) tripled it and gave the club credit for $1,275.
5. Open Discussion:
   1. New Project Checklist-Karissa: Karissa made up a chart with KVCC events for 2025. The chart covers the date of the event, time, point person (person in charge), number of volunteers needed, whether marketing is needed, resources needed and type of follow-up-if needed. Incredibly detailed chart with all that is needed. She explained the question marks next to a couple of events. 2024 was the first time the club participated in the River Cleanup; Kitefest-club has not participated in the last couple of events. Christmas in July (Carl & Joanne Foundation) club has not participated. The chart gives all upcoming events for the club and community and makes it easier to put on the upcoming agendas for discussion. It was noted that the Camp Civitan MI Raffle Tickets need to be added to the chart. Fantastic-Karissa. Thad indicated that he has a meeting set up to discuss the Inspire Movement Project timeline and costs.
   2. 3rd Major Club Projects-Elijah: December through May are slow months as far as events the club participates in. He would like to fill this gap in 2026 and set a goal to have a new project by May 2025 (for 2026). This would help to put the club’s name into the community and have an impact. Elijah will keep this on future agendas for ongoing discussion/decision. Here are some of the ideas that were brought up and discussed:

i.Cheryl talked about sponsoring a dance for special needs individuals one to two times a year.
ii.Karissa talked about February having random acts of kindness to the Police, fire department, non-profit groups, senior facilities, group homes etc. She also discusses having a chili cook off.
iii.St. Patrick’s Day event-such as a shamrock hunt.
iv.Mark talked about a bowling fundraiser.  He has some old coffee urns (about 20) that could be used as targets for throwing balls (softballs etc.) at them. He also has a cotton candy machine and the spin art spinner that can make tie-dye tee shirts.

1. Member Recruitment & Retention-Karissa: Karissa asked the question as to whether former club members have ever been asked to rejoin the club or come to an event? Theresa did indicate that all former members are kept on the club’s contact list and the business meeting minutes and newsletter are sent to them. Need to actively seek out members whether it is at Desert Angels or the Youth Entrepreneur Market or asking former members to come back. Need to have membership recruiting party by inviting individuals to a pizza party like at the senior center or such. Discussed the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) which tracks customers’ interactions and can categorize groups to target etc. Need to establish a committee to investigate how best to recruit and retain members. Thad indicated that he would take the lead, Karissa and Phil will also be on the committee. It was decided to call the committee: Member Recruitment & Retention, (MRR).

1. Project Updates Since 10/10/24:
   1. Goodies on the Grand (Trunk or Treat)-10/19/24: Diana and Theresa worked on this event.
   2. Desert Angels Packing Party-11/14/24: There were about 103 volunteers of all ages that worked at this event resulting in 194 boxes being packed for overseas military. Karissa stated it was utter chaos, and it needs to be revised/reorganized. Her thoughts are:

i.Need additional time to set up and organize.
ii.Need to start collecting items sooner.
iii.Allocate club money to purchase items that have not been donated.
iv.Solicit more monetary donations.
v.More flyers need to be distributed.
vi.More collection areas are needed.
vii.Need to recheck the Amazon Wish List as products change continuously and delivery dates change with vendors.
viii.Space is an issue and more tables are needed.
This brought up the discussion of where to hold the packing party in 2025. Need a gym, cafeteria type location at an elementary school or even a church (St. Joe’s). The Roper Barn was brought up. Thad will contact The Roper Barn to see if this is possible. He knows that The Roper Barn will need to pull a special permit to have the packing party there. Also, more setup time is needed to set up and organize items prior to having the public come in and start packing.

1. Abby Park Festival of Trees-11/29/24: Cheryl, Tim and Theresa decorated the tree. Cheryl reported that St. Vincent DePaul was the winning tree. Their tree was decorated with food like items, grocery bills, and shopping lists etc. Cheryl and Theresa took the ornaments off the tree.
2. Giving on the Grand/Inflatables-11/30/24: Cheryl indicated that she purchased a third inflatable to use-Snoopy. Sue took the inflatables down and is providing storage.
3. Adopt-A-Family Shopping (12/07/24) & Wrapping (12/12/24): Cheryl, Hal, Karissa, Elijah, Mark, Maureen, Tim, Diana, and Theresa did the shopping for the three families of kids. Carol delivered to the one family and Cheryl & Hal delivered to the second family and Karissa & Elijah delivered to the third family. The families were appreciative for the gifts.
4. Club Christmas Party -12/12/24: The gifts were wrapped prior to dining. All the food was great, and everyone had an enjoyable time. Thanks, Paulina, for letting the club use the Salem-S. Lyon District Library for the Christmas/Wrapping Party.
5. Light Up the Grand/Flashlight Candy Cane Hunt 12/14/24: Karissa, Elijah, Tim, Mark, Thad, Theresa, and her niece Diana participated. Unfortunately, flashlights were not provided (as promised) and it was so dark and the candy canes were so small, making it hard for the kids to gather them up. About 30-40 kids participated. It was great to have the club’s tent set up as this sheltered people from the wind.

1. Upcoming Projects:
   1. Youth Entrepreneur Market (YEM)-Elijah:

i.2025 dates: May 10th, June 14th, July 12th, August 9th, and September 13th (8:30-3). Elijah already has eight individuals wanting to sign up.
ii.Participation Certificates sent: Maureen sent them out to the kids.
iii.Facebook Group Creation: Thad reported this has been done.
iv.Implement Refundable Deposit: Elijah reported that he has individuals sign up and then they do not show up. He wants to implement a $20 deposit for each date that would be refundable when they show up. Venmo would allow the refund to go directly back to the individual and money left in the account (individuals that did not show up) could be directly deposited into the club’s general account at the end of the season. Elijah will investigate setting up the account for YEM. This also brought up the discussion about increasing foot traffic for the YEM. Discussion was:

1. Need more marketing around town.
2. Possibility of having a food truck or ice cream truck.
3. KVCC sponsors a booth at the Farmers Market and handing out flyers to the public and directing them to YEM. This would cost the club $70/75 each week if it had a booth.
4. Handing out flyers to the public at the Farmer’s Market on the days of the YEM and/or having signs at the Farmer’s Market.
5. Having free food (hot dogs, ice cream).
6. Charity Poker Save the Dates-April 3rd-6th & June 26th-29th-Elijah: He does not have the morning/evening hours yet. He needs to apply for the license. Hal made a motion, and Phil seconded it to use $200 out of the general account to apply for the license from the State of MI. Motion passed.
7. MI Monster Dash-October-Karissa: Tabled for a later date to discuss.

1. Dinner Meeting: January 23rd at Teresita’s Mexican Grill.
2. Next Meeting: February 13, 2025.
3. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.

Minutes taken by Theresa Furget on January 9th, 2025, and respectfully submitted on January 10th, 2025.