Members of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce convened for their March meeting on Thursday, March 20 at The Bake Shop, one of the newest businesses to join the chamber. The owner of The Bake Shop, Kristy Clouse, welcomed those in attendance to her business as well as shared a small portion of her history in the baking industry. Having baked her first cake in 1981, Clouse is both proud and grateful of the success The Bake Shop has had as well as for being given the opportunity to turn her passion into her career.
Following the introduction of the Chamber to The Bake Shop, Karen King provided the rest of the chamber members on hand with a financial report that showed a grand total of $5603.04.
With these opening items out of the way, the Chamber then moved onto work towards establishing the dates for the wide variety of events that will be taking place in Fayette over the next few months. The third session of the series “Are You Tired of Being Poor?” will take place on March 28th at New Beginnings Church at 6:30 pm and all interested persons are invited to pretend. Also, just as in years past, garage sales will be held throughout the village over the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday preceding Memorial Day. The registration site for those interested in participating in the event is being determined and will be released to the public upon confirmation. The Bullthistle festival is slated to take place on August 2 this year.
“Building Character”, a presentation to be held on April 4 at The Fayette Opera House, will precede the May 1, 2, and 4 production of As Different as a Frog and a Grizzly. The play focuses on the differences between historical figures Mark Twain, portrayed as the frog in the title due to his iconic “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, and Theodore Roosevelt, avid wildlife hunter and the man from which the “teddy bear” was named. The Thursday date is set for students to attend, the Friday date as a dinner theater, and the Saturday as general admission. Admission to the Friday date will be $20 that includes a prime rib dinner. Saturday admission will be $10. Those interested in attending are urged to reserve tickets early.
Other events upcoming over the next few months will include the annual festivities at Hal’s Garage, which will focus this year on the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, and Friday Night on the Square, which the date for has not quite yet been finalized for.
Also discussed was the Chamber of Commerce’s presence at The Fulton County Fair, which has seen many positive responses. In past years the Chamber has focused on a theme of Home Grown Business. However, there are some concerns whether or not the Chamber can continue with this theme with a limited amount of Chamber businesses to spotlight. Mayor Ruth Marlatt pointed out that she believes that the Chamber’s focus on these businesses is “something good” and both she and all of the Chamber members present would like to encourage all of Fayette’s businesses to join the Chamber so that they can partake in the benefits the Chamber has to offer.
Other matters attended to during the meeting were agreements to change the signers on the Chamber’s bank account to Michael Figgins, DeeAnn Lawrence, and Karen King; and Mayor Marlatt’s honoring of Lowell Beaverson for his commitment to the village and the tree commission. A donation of $100 from the Chamber to the Parks and Rec department to assist with renovations being made at the park was also unanimously agreed upon.