MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PERKINS COMMUNITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
March 1, 2007
Present:
Martha Larsen
Virginia Sasser
Harland Wells
Jim Kinder
Pat Bickell
Kenneth Deckard
Candy Deckard
Richard Coate
Jeff Gill
Jack Vassar
Barry Moreland
Erika Eads
Jamie Andrews
Larry Collins
Melissa Kiser
Eunice Kinser
Merl Kinser
Jan Neufeld
Dave Lester
Peter Seikel
Cheryl Sheldon
Pat Bays
Sue Dempsey
Richard Murray
David Sasser
Lisa Sasser
Kelly Myers
Dawna Custard
Bill Van Beber
Bernadette Huber
Tod Robertson
Chris Petermann
Jalyn Bailey
Cindy Sheets
Call to Order: Jeff Gill, president, called the meeting to order at approximately 12:24 p.m.
Meal: Provided by Jalopy’s
Invocation: Merl Kinser
Guests/Introductions: Tod Robertson, Iowa Tribe administrator; Bill Van Beber, Iowa Tribe chief accountant
Announcements:
- Virginia Sasser said she has tickets for the Centennial Dinner on March 30. Anyone who needs tickets can see her
after the meeting.
- Gill congratulated Iowa Tribe Four Winds Child Care Center and Tech, Inc. as award recipients of Smart Start Payne
County’s “Spirit of the Family” Award. They will receive their awards next Friday, March 9, during a luncheon at
OSU.
- Mel Miller said he had recently attended a legislative forum and was asked to pose a question to the group. One of
the legislators is working on a “100 Ideas” concept that targets ideas for future legislation, or areas that need to be
worked on by legislators. Bernadette Huber asked if this could be something that the chamber could work on during
a regular meeting. Miller said he was told the forum could last up to two hours, so it would be too long for a chamber
meeting. Gill asked the members in attendance to raise their hands if they would like to participate in a forum. About
six people expressed interest.
Minutes: Martha Larsen made a motion to approve the minutes of the Feb. 15 meeting; Jack Vassar seconded; motion
approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Jalyn Bailey reported a balance of $18,683.78. David Sasser made a motion to accept
Bailey’s report; Merl Kinser seconded; motion approved.
Board and Committee Reports:
Centennial Dinner Theatre: Plans for the March 30 event are progressing. Cindy Sheets, director of the play, said Chris
Petermann had agreed to handle sound for the play. A person is still needed to handle lights, however. Anyone
who can do that, or has suggestions to help with it, is asked to contact her.
Legislative Golf Tournament: Kelly Myers said the committee needs more participation from chamber members. Also
more donations for prizes and goody bags and team entries are needed.
Schedule: Gill challenged members to sign up to help with events during the coming year. He said chairs are needed for
the annual Garage Sale Day, City-Wide Clean-Up Day, and the FreeWheel visit.
Old Business:
Budget: Gill said the board is still working on the budget and he hopes to bring the final recommendations before the
membership soon.
New Business:
Premium Sale: Chamber was asked to contribute $500 toward the Premium Sale this year. Mel Miller asked if these
funds were for add-on money. Petermann said the money will go toward a pool to buy Perkins kid’s animals.
Miller made a motion to approve the contribution; Virginia Sasser seconded. Motion was approved.
Program: David Sasser introduced Perkins postmaster Sue Dempsey, who gave some updates on Main Street mail
delivery and other issues involving the post office.
Dempsey said approximately 28 names had been submitted for rural route extensions, with delivery boxes on the north
and south end of Main Street. This would be for rural delivery.
Dempsey said the extensions have been approved, and the Postal Service will supply the two boxes. The Perkins
Community Foundation will help fund the concrete slabs that will secure the bases of the boxes. Each box will have 12
compartments with two parcel lockers. Rural carriers will be required to come inside the business to deliver insured or
certified mail. Dempsey said it will probably be six weeks before the boxes are installed.
She said possible locations under consideration are at the Perkins Drug corner and the Perkins Tag Office corner. If
anyone has other ideas or questions, they are asked to contact her.
Harland Wells asked Dempsey if the post office has enough room for post office boxes. She said there is a limited
number of some sizes of boxes. She also said many people have expressed a desire for a new post office which features
handicap access, better parking, and no swing boxes.
Dempsey spoke briefly about the importance of getting mail addressed properly. She also said those who have the #1-
sized boxes must pick up their mail daily because they are just too small to hold much mail.
She was asked about the removal of stamp machines from the lobby of the post office. She told the group the Postal
Service directed their removal because they were not making enough money and they were hard to maintain
Dempsey also noted there is still time to get the special Oklahoma Date of Issue postmark. It’s available until March 11.
There are also a few commemorative envelopes left.
Meetings: The next general membership meeting of the chamber will be at noon, Thursday, March 15, at the Lion’s Den.
Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at approximately 1 p.m.
