The Tarkio Chamber of Commerce met Wednesday, December 6, 2023. The meeting was called to order by Brooke Vette at 6:43 p.m. on December 6, 2023, at The Roost Eatery. Chamber members and community residents present were Jennifer Peregrine, Afton Hannah, MaryAnn Hull, Melissa White, Brooke Vette, Sondra Davis, Blu Dow, Paige Agnew, and Johnnie Davis.

The previous meeting minutes were approved.

There was a great turnout for the Tarkio Community Christmas event. The event brought in $1,897. Of that, $488.72 was spent, with a total profit of $1,408.28. There was some backlash from charging, but the overall turnout was very good. Having it the first weekend with the parade was a great success for both events. Next year, the chamber members would like to expand to include a shopping event to fill up midday. Members think this would be a better location fit for TJ Slemp’s gift shop as they felt having it with this event this year hurt them.

Members need to decide where to allocate funds that are made. Scholarships and small business grants were mentioned.

Ribbon cutting dates for new businesses need to be set for the new year. The list includes Nautihairs, Lea Sutter Photography, The Roost, and the new auto shop Tucker’s Repair.

The mission statement is still in the research phase. If you have a few minutes and want to look for inspiration please do and bring to the January meeting.

Online traffic has increased a lot on the chamber Facebook page.

The board and White Tee’s need to decide on final fonts for shirts.

The empty board seats were filled. Election of new board members: Paige Agnew, Blu Dow, and Afton Hannah as voting members.

Members voted to accept $75 for business memberships and $20 for associates. The chamber will include an invoice with the letter and run an ad in the paper with business and associate membership information.

Proposed ideas for the calendar of events include: January – Ribbon cuttings and Chamber commercial to highlight the benefits of joining; March – Easter Bunny and egg selling; May – City-Wide Garage Sales; July – Christmas in July Bingo.

The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.