Minutes of

Newport Farmers' & Artisans' Market

Annual Meeting

February 16, 2009

Members present: Tom & Courtney, Gloria, Dan, Sam, Karl, Andrea & Renee

Members absent: Sue, Joan, Everett

Former 2008 members: Grace, Heather & Dave, Priscilla

The meeting began at 3 pm.

Treasurer's Report: Gloria reported the Market's 2008 income and expenses, details provided in the report. Tom pointed out some details he would like to have seen, including the itemization of the different forms of income (annual dues, daily stall fees, and the ending balance from 2007). There were also 2 outstanding 2008 expenses, so the prepared report was inaccurate. Tom offered his help in the preparation of the revised report.

Promotion Report: Courtney reported that there were two printings of the market brochures, which were fairly well distributed, and we have only a handful remaining. Brochures were distributed at PFU, Curves, and at the market. Karl reported the SV Weekly did a story on the market, and that he made signs that were put up at the entrance of the PFU road and parking lot as well as at the intersection of Rtes. 2 & 11. There was also an ad in the Rolling Thunder.

Attendance Report: Gloria prepared a report that outlined the months that members attended market, the peak being in August. There is no record of the daily attendance, but Courtney reported that it seemed like members were more consistent than in 2007. She added that she would love to see more people starting and ending the season if possible. There was brief discussion of how the market line formed. Old members (Joan, Gloria, Courtney, Karl) have been setting up in the same places since 2007, which was roughly the order that people arrived to market in the morning and evolved to each of us knowing where to turn into the grass to leave room for the others in their traditional spot. New members simply set up in the next available space, and everyone moved over if a member was absent.

Member feedback: Karl pointed out that the last hour of market has traditionally been slow for him, to which everyone agreed. There was also discussion about how the last few weeks in October were slow, poorly attended, and cold. There was some discussion of the hours of other Saturday markets, 2 of which end at 1 pm. We agreed to keep the hours the same, though it is something we can come back to. New members said that their participation was worthwhile.

Important Dates in 2009

New Applicant Meeting: Friday April 17, 2:30 pm

Market open: May 9 to October 10

No market July 4 : PFU closed

Taste of Market/ Sample Days: July 11 & Sept. 12

Steering Committee elections:

Chair: Karl Market Manager: Dan Secretary: Renee Treasurer: Courtney

Asst. Treasurer: Gloria At Large: Sam

Promotional Plans: Brochures will be orange. Sample days/Taste of the Market days were scheduled, so we can advertise well in advance and hopefully draw crowds to sample food that we've all prepared from our product lines. There was some discussion of coupons for shoppers that brought friends. Tom told a story about a study that found the most effective way to stimulate word of mouth was to give small gifts at random to shoppers, which made the coupon idea seem like a more complicated way to reach the goal of encouraging people to tell their friends how great the market is. Karl mentioned the book Why We Buy, sounds like an interesting read. Karl also mentioned that the SV Weekly would probably be interested in doing another article on the market. We should do more ads in Rolling Thunder, and see how we can be listed in the weekly public service community calendar.

Farm Checks were tabled until we feel the membership is too big for friendly informal visits to be likely to happen.

Member recruitment plans: We figured that at our highest attendance there were probably 9 or 10 members present, and that given the space we had it would be hard to fit any more in. Karl called Skip (PFU manager) who said he could move the piles of stuff he has at the end of the market line away and give us more space. Three members from 2008 have withdrawn, so we brainstormed people we could recruit to join the market. It would be nice to have dairy and seafood especially. Courtney volunteered to get a posting up on MOFGA's website of markets seeking applicants, other people had ideas of people to talk to who might be interested in joining.

Meeting adjourned at 5.

minutes by Courtney