Lake City Chamber of Commerce president steps down

The vice president of the Greater Lake City Chamber of Commerce has stepped down from the position and resigned as a member of the board.

Greg Moore, president of the chamber announced Paula McLaughlin’s, who is the director of the Lake City campus of Florence-Darlington Technical College, official resignation at the monthly board of directors meeting Monday, Feb. 6.

Moore said McLaughlin’s resignation is “a huge loss to the board,” and described McLaughlin as a “pivotal member,” who helped the organization accomplish a lot.

Moore said McLaughlin resigned to help take care of her parents as “she felt she could not live up to the responsibilities of being on (the chamber) board.”

McLaughlin’s resignation left an open seat on the board and a vacant office. Nominations for both the seat and the office were taken at the meeting and Lt. Roger Tilton of the Lake City Police Department was unanimously voted in to the vacant seat.

Tilton was recently announced as the city liaison to the board, a non-voting position, and will now be a full voting member of the board.

After some discussion of various potential candidates for the office, Brandy DeFields was unanimously nominated for the vice president office.

In regular business, Moore addressed chamber membership and noted that the current 72 fully paid members “is low and needs to be addressed,” he said. Moore said the chamber is currently working of a list of area businesses and said he “would definitely like all the board members to sit down and try to help (the chamber) do a membership drive,” once the list is concrete.

Moore said the chamber has increased some of the benefits membership imparts. Those benefits include promotional opportunities, use of the chamber board room, office services, directories, brochures, and recognition on the organization’s website.

Moore said “an immediate impact to our daily operating budget would definitely be an increase in memberships.”

Invoices for current member were sent out at the end of December and Moore said those memberships are what fund the whole operation and the events the organization sponsors.

The next such event is the annual EGGStravaganza that is scheduled for March 31.

M. Ava Baker, executive assistant for the chamber, said the purpose of kid-centered event is to get people to go into member businesses and to encourage people to shop locally.

“We have two large prizes that we give away that will have between $1,000 and $1,500 in prizes in these egg baskets,” said Baker. “In order to be in the drawing for the prizes you have to collect an egg from each egg sponsor,” she said.

Baker added that collecting the eggs is only part of the festivities scheduled for the event.

“There are games and entertainment and the Easter Bunny,” she said.

For details on membership or to sponsor eggs for the EGGStravaganza, call the chamber at 843-374-8611 or email lccoc1@ftc-i.net.