DATE: August 15th, 2023
START TIME: Meeting 8:00AM
LOCATION: Yorktown Fire Department
8905 W Smith St, Yorktown IN 47396

Agenda: 7:45-8:00 Doors open/Coffee served

8:00 am Call to order / Pledge of Allegiance: Keith Gary ran the meeting for Kat Blankenbaker.

Introduction: Members-Question of the Month. Kristi Ingram
Question of the month: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Mary Ann Stroeh, Steve Stroeh, Kristi Ingram, Keith Gary, Tyler Ewing, Katadyn Connerley, Erin Hurley, Dr. Greg Hinshaw, Brianne Kelly, Molly Harty, Brendon Comp, Erin Ailstock, Justin Earls, Marissa Earls, David Whitehair, Carolyn Grieves, Scott Metzler, Chase Bruton

Hot Spot: Breakfast Sponsor (3 minutes): Goosehead Insurance: Scott Metzler-He has been in the industry for 15 years. Goosehead represents 20 different companies that Scott will get price quotes from to ensure he is getting you the best rates. He is a graduate from Delta High School. Scott is involved in leading a group of Scouts, Kiwanis board, and is on the EcoRehab board. Scott and his wife have 2 kids. His wife is a professor at Ball State University. He focuses on home, auto, life, and some commercial insurance. If he can’t help you, he will refer you to someone that can. His office is located on Tillotson in Muncie.

Approval of last month’s Minutes: Erin Ailstock – approved as submitted.

Treasurer Report: Kristi Ingram – actual Chamber balance at the end of July was $58,580.12 (financials attached to email) – approved as submitted.

School Report: Dr. Greg Hinshaw: Yorktown is off to a great start to the 2023-2024 school year! Enrollment is up 77 students for the year. This has been the largest increase since 2015. The last 2 years, all of the teachers have been fully licensed. Yorktown is at the top in ECI on teacher’s compensation. Staffing as a whole is in good shape. They are planning for improvements to YHS, bids will open in January 2024 and construction will start in 2024.

Town Report: Chase Bruton/ Erin Hurley: Downtown development is working with developers on some property that the town owns. They would like to see some owner occupied townhomes. Four Day Ray is still coming to Yorktown, they have hired a chef, just don’t have an open date and no timeline of when they will be open. The town of Yorktown has submitted a grant with the state for the trails.

Program: Chief Boone-Yorktown Fire Department
Topic: Recruitment and retention for the fire department. What a volunteer firefighter does for the community and the time commitments associated with it.
The Yorktown Fire Department partnered with Mosiac Solution to help with their recruitment and retention. 85-90% of the department are volunteers and Yorktown is down to 40-50% of volunteers. The department receives 950-1100 calls a year. The department is able to have 50 volunteers on the department, their highest has been around 45 and they have had as low as 22 volunteers. They are currently at 42 volunteers. Chief Boone discussed that they are working hard on keeping volunteers and trying to get new ones. They have to overcome the “excuses”. A lot of peoples concern is having the time to dedicate to the fire department. 90% of the training is done in house and it saves the town money. It takes a lot of on the spot coordination when there is a fire! The Yorktown Fire Department has to transport their own water everywhere they go and have to make sure they know where the closest hydrant is to the location of the fire. It takes 40,000-60,000 gallons of water on a house that is fully engulfed. One tanker truck holds 3,000 gallons and the other one holds 2,000 gallons of water. Their goal is to make sure they never run out of water on the call.
Questions & Answers:
How long does training take? 6 months (training 2 times a week). Training is April 18th-October 29th.
What are the physical requirements? Anyone interested has to get a physical through the health department. The fire department can accommodate most people’s abilities. The main concern they hear from potential volunteers is claustrophobia.
How many females are volunteers? They currently have 5-6 females, which is above the national average. At one time, the department had 2 females as Lieutenants.
What is the minimum age to volunteer? 18 years old.
What is the number 1 call you receive? 80-85% is medical and being back up for the Delaware County EMS.
What is the number 1 cause of a fire? Electrical, negligence on property owners.
Anything specific the Chamber can do to help? The department is looking for volunteers to help staff the board. If anyone is interested, they can get with Chief Boone.
Do you have to live in the community to volunteer? No, you don’t have to live within the community.

Lunch and Learns: Brendon Comp-currently working on one for early November.

Ambassador news: Brendon Comp-nothing to report

Civic Green Report: Keith Gary-great turnout at the last one. August 26th is the next one.

Member Announcements:
Scott Metzler-Troop 69 is on board to do the Luminary. They are looking to partner with the town. The event is December 9th. They would like to help make it bigger.
Carolyn Grieves-There will be a fundraiser on September 24th from 5-7 p.m. for Jennifer McCormick.
Erin Hurley-The Homecoming Parade will be September 9th at 3:00 p.m., there is a Civic Green Concert and Book sale on the same day.
Brianne Kelly-WIBU Athena Award nominations are open.

Tip of the day: Katadyn Connerley: Don’t fry bacon naked.

Adjournment: Promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Next Meeting ~ September 19th at 8:00 a.m. Meeting will be at the Yorktown Town Hall located at 9314 Smith St, Yorktown. Maura Hoff will be the speaker.