Greater Maple Valley Network Association
June 19, 2018 at Stockton’s Restaurant

Meeting called to order at 7:31 am

In attendance: John Wolfarth (President), Gina Tucker (Vice President), Lisa Agron (Treasurer),  Sue Sherer (Secretary), Traci Sciuchetti (Publicity), Tatiana Proctor (ePublicity), Rommel Corsilles, Agueda Aguayo, Heather Campbell,

Returning Guest: Dawn Brown with Minuteman Press

Absent: Val Paganelli (Membership), Rick Owen, Serge Derkachev, Kevin Busby, Heidi Sivertsen

We heard commercials and reports, passed cards and cup.

Old Business:  Nominations for officers is open, and elections will be held on the last Tuesday of June. Terms run for 6 months (except Treasurer), beginning next in July. Sue made note of nominations so far.

Heather will be hosting our group’s summer picnic. Date will be August 18th. Details will follow later.

New Business: none

Speakers:
Traci’s key word for the day is Value. We know that consumers value professional services, and will look for us when they need our services. But we can’t just sit and wait for them to find us. We need marketing. As professionals, we all value our own time and expertise, but we also need to recognize the value in using other professionals like Traci. A business owner may be able to put together a simple marketing campaign, but that takes away from time that should be spent running the business and serving customers. Timely Design’s value is in Traci’s years of experience with design and marketing for companies large, small and in between. She knows what questions to ask when placing an ad for a client, and can save time and money by avoiding multiple revisions. Hiring Traci allows business owners to focus on providing value to their customers by running their business, while she brings the value of her expertise to their marketing.

Sue from Schram & Associates reminded everyone that she is not a tax preparer and only does a small amount of bookkeeping. Her current position is Administrative Manager, where she is a resource to the firm, as well as to the clients. Sometimes she has the answers to the clients’ questions, and sometimes she has to do a little research. Sue shared some handouts printed off of the IRS website as an example of how she can find information to assist taxpayers with their questions. She also passed around a resource provided by ADP that is available for clients that compares 2017 and 2018 tax brackets and other information in a simplified format. Sue answered some questions about IRS “audits” (that are now called “exams”) and other services provided by the firm.

Referral slips were turned in. Sue won the cup.

Next speakers: Rick and Dawn. The following week will be Agueda and Lisa.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 am.

Respectfully submitted,
Sue Sherer
Secretary