Members of the North Webster chamber look over the nominations for small business, large business and person of the year. Winners will be announced at April’s banquet. Pictured are Emily Shipley, Mindy Scaggs, Tammy Waliczek, Kim Bolt and Gwen Fox. Photo by Nicholette Carlson.

By Nicholette Carlson
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — At the March 8 meeting of the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce, the board passed an amendment to the bylaws regarding term limits for the board and discussed upcoming events.

Previously board members have discussed the possibility of term limits to promote different chamber members joining the board. A term limit of three years was proposed along with the limit of serving two terms, or a total of six years on the board. Following these six years, members are able to rejoin the board after a break. An individual could serve a third term if desired should no other members volunteer to fill the vacant seat.

For those currently on the board, the term they are on will count as their first term and they will each be able to volunteer to run for a second term. It passed unanimously.

Plans for Dixie Day in July were discussed. It was mentioned Dixie Day will take place Saturday, July 31, not July 24 as mentioned in the Festival Guide. For the event, Emily Shipley volunteered to chair the 5K committee, Paula Miller volunteered to chair the car show and train Chris Trowbridge on how to do it for next year, and Tammy Waliczek and Linda Land will be co-chairing the food vendor committee. Karilyn Metcalf volunteered to run the information booth again and Ryan Coverstone volunteered to chair the boat show. The board is still looking for chairs for the artisan vendors and the overall event.

The Main Street Committee is working on planning clean up days around North Webster in upcoming months to prepare for the Smithsonian exhibit coming to the library and aid in its goal toward beautification. The hope is to break the town up into segments and clean the areas in sections. Currently the committee is hoping for two smaller clean up days in April and June and a large Rock the Block clean up day in May in conjunction with the town’s large item trash pickup. Clean up will include picking up trash but also possible tree trimming or landscaping as needed. The chamber will be reaching out to local organizations and residents to volunteer to help on these clean up days.

“We want people to not drive through Webster, but stop in Webster,” Mindy Scaggs emphasized.

Waliczek suggesting contacting the town of Ligonier who has been recognized for their clean up efforts and have the process “down to a science.”

Trowbridge announced they had sent out letters and reached out to all owners of vacant buildings in North Webster. So far they have received no responses.

Chamber members were thrilled to hear more members have been added this year than in past years. Scaggs also plans to make a point of reaching out to members who stated they wish to volunteer and be involved on membership forms.

Susan Stump stated the invitations for next month’s annual banquet are complete. Nominations for small business, large business and person of the year were passed around. Board members looked over and voted on the nominees. The results will be announced at the banquet.

The chamber’s website is still currently under construction.

The next meeting will be the chamber’s annual banquet Monday, April 12.