Board Meeting: Tuesday, September 24th 7:30am at Lower Macungie Community Center

Sharon Trexler, Bud Carter, Bruce Beitel, Christina Price, Tom Capehart, Virginia Haas, Scott Cope, Gary Trively, Michele McGrath, Marian Magee, Francee Fuller, Kate-Hart Zayaitz, Jeff

McElhaney, and Larry Delhagen. Welcome – Jeff McElhaney August Minutes – Approval (Emailed) Motion made by Kate Hart Zayaitz. Seconded by Michele. All in favor. Finance Report

o Only line to hit our budget so far is an expense from the previous meeting. Ashley Municipal Reports

o Alburtis – Sharon Trexler Working on their budget, sewer project, and garbage contract Their Holiday Festival will be Sunday December 8

o Emmaus Emmaus Main Street Partners & Knauss Homestead Oktoberfest for 9/28 was cancelled Emmaus Halloween Parade and 5K will be Saturday October 19

o Macungie – Chris Boehm – no reporto Lower Macungie – Bruce Beitel

They recently opened up a portion of their trail that includes some parking. The township is working on their budget. There’s a new trash contract for residential township members. The Parks & Rec group has two community support programs: Troop Support & PJ Program

o Upper Milford – Bud Carter The local fire companies are hosting a community day on October 5 at the municipal building

with local churches and scouts. The Route 29 bridge project will launch around the beginning of October but the detouring

won’t take place until 2021 They’re working on their budget too

o Lehigh County – Virginia Haas Meet the Buyers Expo | October 23, 2019 | $50 Day of | Arts Quest The County is working on their budget. The Census will be in March. There’s a huge push to get people to register through the census.

We get federal funding for each person identified through Lehigh County. For each person not counted, we lose about $2000.

The Penn State extension is hosting farm tours. There are new ballots for Lehigh County voters.

Community Reports o Lehigh County Authority – Liesel Gross – no reporto East Penn School District – Kristen Campbell (via email)

The EPSD Education Foundation, in conjunction with the Emmaus High School Counseling Department, would like to extend an invitation for you to join them and share your career experiences at the 2nd annual Career Exploration Fair on Tuesday, October 22, 2019. Interested? Sign up on the EPSD Education Foundation website.

Join us for any of our three upcoming elementary report card parent nights (all at 6 PM): 9/26 at Lincoln Elementary, 10/1 at Willow Lane Elementary, 11/18 at Shoemaker Elementary

The Nationally Acclaimed program, Guiding the College Bound Athlete , is scheduled for Tuesday, September 24th in the EHS Auditorium. Join our EHS Athletic Department to find out all that you need to know about the college athlete recruiting process.

EHS is sponsoring their Alg 1 & 2 Parent Class again this year. Classes are held twice a month on Thursdays starting on September 26th. You can sign up through the EHS Website or contact Mrs. Wasilewski at Emmaus High School for more information.

East Penn is committed to educating the school community about the hazards of vaping . In addition to sharing information on our website and building newsletters, we are planning to offer a parent information session on vaping.

Information on the work of the Late Start Time Task Force is now available on the district website.

Congratulations to the EHS Golf Team for going undefeated this season. Congratulations also to the EHS Boys Soccer Team for currently being ranked #1 in the state.

o Wildlands Conservancy - Scott Cope Sunday September 22 the Wildlands hosted their 4th Annual Wine & Dine event. Over the summer Wildlands staff parked at Emmaus High School so they could clear up their

own lot for parents of campers. Thank you to Kristen Campbell! On October 4 the Wildlands will be hosting their Annual Make a Splash event that has seen over

1000 kids each year. Marie Rue is retiring on Monday September 30.

o Emmaus Main Street Partners – Ashley Lorah This past weekend was Farewell to Summer festival along Main Street in partnership with the

Emmaus Heritage Festival. Green Earth Marketplace and Lehigh Fine Foods has their ribbon cuttings on Saturday October 5.

Green Earth’s ribbon cutting will be at 9:45am at 1328 Chestnut ST. Lehigh Fine Foods will have their ribbon cutting at 12:30pm at 1301 Chestnut St.

Committee Reports o Programs/Events Committee

East Penn Chamber Municipal Update went very well. Thank you to our municipal officials for being there! We came in positive after this event with big thanks to Univest for serving as a Sponsor.

Behind-the-Scenes at Dorney Park for HAUNT | Oct 18 | 4-6pm Amusement Park 101 Presentation & Behind the Scenees Tour of Haunt HQ BONUS! Chamber members for the event receive FREE admission to the park this day

only so stick around and enjoy what their fall season has to offer PLUS bring up to six (6) friends or family members for only $29.99 each, plus tax with a coupon at the front gate. Dorney Park is open 6pm-midnight on Friday October 18.

November Luncheon TBD Holiday Luncheon | Wednesday December 18 | 1130-13pm

o Membership – Marian Magee With today’s membership report, the committee will convene and reach out. The summer was

slow so there aren’t any updates because there weren’t any reports. o Scholarship – Kate Hart Zayaitz

No real report because the committee won’t meet until January 2020 to finalize the application and connect with the school district.

Dine & Donate | Thursday November 14 | 6-830pm | Live music, raffle baskets, and discounted movie tickets!

o Restaurant Week – Larry Delhagen The committee will look to meet in October or November and personally reach out to restaurant

owners we want involved.o Nominating Committee – Tom Capehart

Christina Price and Brian Duvall have expressed interest in joining the board. Tom made a motion to vote Christina and Brian to the board. Larry seconded. All approved. Motion passes.

With this, we have a full board of 25 members. Ashley will send out a contact list for all board members.

o ROCKtoberfest – Jeff McElhaney October 12 | 11am-4pm | Macungie Memorial Park We have food trucks, live music, drink vendors, yard games, and a hay bale maze! Kate will connect with her sister to see if she can provide some lawn games.

We are looking for volunteers to help setup, tear down, and run the East Penn Chamber booth.

Chamber Reports o Public Policy – Michele McGrath

Subcommittees of Public Policy: Energy & Environment, Healthcare, Transportation, Tax & Regulatory, and Manufacturing

o Ambassador Report – Jane Schiff – no reporto Board of Governors – Jeff McElhaney

The BOG meeting was yesterday and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms were there. They’re launching a sled hockey program to support youth with mobility challenges.

Philly Pretzels handed out free samples and encouraged members to try their pretzel platters for meetings and gatherings.

There’s a new program with AblePay. It’s an affinity program that looks at diffusing the rising costs of healthcare deductibles and coinsurance.

Becky Bradley was there with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission discussing the state and federal budget cut for transportation.

o Liaison Report – Ashley Lorah John Hayes was featured on the September Connections edition with the Emmaus High School

football team. Healthcare Summit | Weds Oct 2 | 7:30-9:30am | DeSales University Nonprofit & Business Partners Collaboration Breakfast | Thurs Oct 3 | 7:30-9:30am | Coca-Cola

Park WBC Business Council Athena Awards | Tuesday Oct 22 | 5-7pm | Foy Hall Moravian College Manufacturing Summit | Thurs Oct 24 | 3:45-6pm | SteelStacks Chamber Annual Meeting | Thursday Nov 7 | 11:15am-1pm | Wind Creek Event Center

New/Old Business

Adjourn

Next Meeting: Tuesday, October 22nd @ Lower Macungie Community Center