Mission

Merchants Association General Membership Meeting Minutes Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Businesses in attendance:
The Armory Community Center, The Rite Spot, Make Out Room, Latin American Club, Ken Ken Ramen, ProLocal, JWalks, Colliers, Urban Retail, SF School of Massage, Recology, SF Auto Repair Center, FSC Barber, Beauty Bar, Casanova Lounge, Asiento, In-Symmetry, Where Travel Media, Balancoire, Shambhala, VIA MEDIA, Channel 4, Andy Levine Architect, Encantada Gallery, Elbo Room, Docs Clock, Gateway Management, Lolinda, Lesser Enterprises, Blondies, Mission Station, SFPD, New Door Ventures, Wells Fargo, WHERE, and Sangeetha Rao Attorney.

Neighborhood Crime - Captain Moser and Sgt. Limbert Thefts primarily take place in bars and occasionally at restaurants. There are two ways thefts occur: from unattended items and pickpockets. These types of thefts can be avoided through education and prevention. Everyone is reminded to always be aware of their surroundings, not to leave any items unattended, and to report all suspicious activity to the police. San Francisco SAFE, Inc. (Safety Awareness for Everyone) is a non-profit organization that guides residents, business owners, and community members to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods. SAFE provides education and support regarding public safety and assists community members in identifying and resolving issues of crime and violence. SAFE partners with the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) to provide crime prevention education and organizing support for communities and Neighborhood Watch groups. Video surveillance is another way to help with reducing the crimes occurring in the neighborhood. SFPD has been meeting with bar and restaurant owners to get them to install cameras. For crimes in progress call 911. If its a cold case 415-553-0123 If its after the fact create a report online. On the last Tuesday of every month there is a community meeting at 6pm at the Mission Station. Visit www.missionstation.org to sign up for notifications about the meeting.

Text Alert System Don Alan A text alert system has been recently set up. We need to get the phone numbers of bartenders, restaurant / bar owners, business security contacts that want to be part of the distribution list. Contact Thomas for more information or to get on the list: Thomas.ostly@gmail.com or 415-735-4937. Let him know that you are part of the Mission group. New Operations Manager - ProLocal Mission Merchants Association hired ProLocal to manage the associations operations. ProLocal is a Mission based business that understands that merchants associations are run on a volunteer basis, and Board members have their own businesses to manage and grow. By aligning operations with strategic goals and coordinating daily activities, ProLocal maximizes opportunities for promoting locally owned business. ProLocal will be providing the following services for MMA: Website: LocalOn-powered websites feature member directories, marketing tools, partnership opportunities, and automated invoicing Members Directory: Annual VIA MEDIA printed directories feature detailed member listing and are widely distributed Events: Eventstir-powered crowd-funding platform helps to plan and promote events, while eliminating the financial risk Newsletters: A monthly member newsletter keeps everyone informed, and a monthly coupon newsletter brings in new customers Social Media: Facebook strategically promotes association activities and member businesses Member Recruiting Member Relations Meeting Minutes To find out more about ProLocals services please visit http://prolocal-sf.com/ New Directory Mission Merchants Association and Mission Creek Merchants Association have formally made an agreement to collaborate for the benefit of each association's locally owned member businesses. The first joint project will be to collaborate on a printed directory featuring member listings to be widely distributed. The directory will be produced by VIA MEDIA.

Carnaval Celebration Crisis The organization that was producing the Carnaval Parade and Festival will not be organizing this years celebration due to major challenges they are facing. Roberto Hernandez is a very talented promoter and is steering the effort to save this years festival. ProLocal EventStir will be working with MMA to crowd-fund the VIP section of this years parade. New Door Ventures New Door Ventures prepares at-risk youth for work and life. They provide skill- building, individual support and jobs that enable youth to discover and achieve their potential. New Door Ventures work is integral to their successful transition to healthy, sustainable adulthood. They aim to transform individuals who will in turn transform their communities. New Door provides paid job internships for at-risk youth ages 16-21, at one of two social enterprises (nonprofit businesses that we own and operate) or with community partners in the Ally partnership program. In addition to earning a paycheck, youth interns develop hard job skills, such as bicycle repair and screen-printing, while also learning soft job skills like professionalism, time management, workplace communication and teamwork. New Door partners with 30+ local businesses and nonprofits to provide paid job internships for youth. New Door pays for the interns' wages, as well as provides all HR, training, admin and legal support for its Ally jobsite partners. Ally partners pay nothing, and benefit from low-cost labor and New Doors program expertise, while giving back to the community To find out more about New Door Ventures please visit: http://www.newdoor.org/ The Armory Community Center Housed exclusively in the former National Guard Drill Court of the Mission Armory in San Francisco, The Armory Community Center (TACC) offers nearly an acre (40,000 square feet) of event space under an 80 barrel ceiling. TACCs utilitarian beauty is reflected through exposed brick, slab concrete and arched steel beams. Best described as indoor space with an outdoor feel, TACC is on its way to becoming an important location for San Francisco events as well as a strong support hub for its community. Their program will focus not only on private events, but also educational, sporting, art and community focused uses. They will not be able to host loud amplified events at this time TACC is currently going through the permitting and funding process. Their goal is to turn the space into an entertainment venue, and they want our support.

Jean brought a motion for MMA to write a letter in support of this permit and Phil seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. Parklet in front of Ken Ken Ramen The owners of Ken Ken Ramen want to install a parklet in front their restaurant. They already have approximately 400 signatures. Colleen MeHarry brought a motion for MMA to write a letter in support of the parklet and Jean seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. Member Newsletter We ask that all members keep themselves informed by reading the monthly member newsletter that is sent out once a month on the Monday before the general membership meeting. It is a valuable resource for information concerning all out businesses. Email mma@prolocal-sf.com to be added to the email list. New Website Our new website is up and running: http://www.missionmerchants.com. With just one click all member updates are posted to our homepage, our Facebook page, and to the East Bay Express. Email mma@prolocal-sf.com for information on how to post events, announcements, and coupons on our new website Community Events / Member Announcements: Email mma@prolocal-sf.com to have your events included in the monthly member newsletters. See website http://www.missionmerchants.com/ for additional community announcements and upcoming events. .

Next General Membership Meeting: Tuesday, May 15, noon 1:15pm. Location TBA.