Community Development Committee

Community Development Meetings Thursday, March 14 and Saturday, March 16.

Thursday- 4 attendees

Saturday-6 attendees

Both meetings began with an introduction from Mayor Werner and two volunteers who have been involved in the Barrel Festival and Community Development Board. Mayor Werner outlined the different roles of the two boards and how they operate.

Community Development Board - all volunteer board that picks a chairperson, co-chair, secretary, and treasurer. This Board is part of the town and as a result there is one Alderman who attends meetings to represent the Board of Mayor and Alderman. 

The Barrel Festival is a separate board that at a minimum should have seven members. Similar to Community Development board, members pick a chairperson, co-chair, secretary, and treasurer. Also, the Barrel Festival has in the past had a volunteer in charge of sponsorship, marketing, food trucks, vendors, music, and the 5-mile race. 

Next Mayor Werner gave a summary of different events the town has hosted. **handout attached**

Then the meeting was turned over to attendees for question:

1. Which events were already cancelled? At this point the Easter Egg Hunt and Barrel Festival for 2024 are cancelled. There would not be enough time to organize and advertise the events.

2. Are any events guaranteed to happen this year? Yes. The Frierson Chapel Cleanup is a partnership with the Historical Commission and the Keep Tennessee Beautiful clean up. The date for this event will be posted soon. The Remember the Removal Cherokee bike riders are scheduled to come through on The Historic Trail of Tears June 7th (date subject to change depending on weather). This is a morning breakfast event. More info coming soon.

3. How much time is needed for the Barrel Festival Board to prepare for a festival? This depends on the number of volunteers on the board and how the work is split. Some weeks may not require much time, but many weeks require organizing and communicating with vendors, musicians, locations, sponsors, and so on. Sponsorship needs to be the first step before marketing can begin on signs, tee shirts, and flyers. Generally, preparation begins 9 months before the festival date.

4. Has the committee reached out to the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, teens needing volunteer time, and those who need community participation due to court rulings? Yes. For example, girl scouts handed out finisher medals and the boy scouts have helped with cleanup after the Barrel Festival. What is needed currently are volunteers willing to sign up to help with the planning and organizing of events.

5. Many residents don’t know about volunteer needs. Steps to attract volunteers were explained including posting on social media, announcements by Smokey Barn, information on the town website, community development booths at every event and so on. It was suggested that volunteers could go door to door asking for volunteers and send out mailers.

Next steps: There was a handout given out at both meetings that asked attendees to select which events they were interested in and whether they would help with committees. Information will be compiled and those interested will be contacted to schedule the next meeting, potentially 3/28.

Those who were unable to attend the sessions can still sign up to volunteer. Please call City Hall for further information.

Event Information Handout 

Volunteer Interest Handout 

Please email completed Volunteer Interest Handouts to Clerk@Coopertowntn.org
or feel free to mail or drop them off by

Coopertown City Hall
2525 Burgess Gower Rd.
Springfield, TN 37172