NORTH WEBSTER — North Webster Community Guide Books are in the process of being distributed to area businesses and organizations the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce learned at its regular monthly meeting Monday, May 8. It was held at noon at the Tippecanoe Township Building.

Secretary Susan Stump, The Papers, passed out copies to all present and encouraged members to take boxes to their businesses. Sponsored by the chamber, the guide is a useful tool for visitors, summer residents and year around residents to use to find out what is happening in the community. Besides a calendar of upcoming events and articles on the Mermaid Festival and the Dixie Day Festival, it includes important numbers of government and businesses as well as town history and information on non-profit groups.

Businesses of the Month chosen by the chamber for the past year are also featured. The guide is free to the public. It is published by chamber member, The Papers, Milford.

The six Polywood benches purchased by the chamber have been placed in downtown North Webster. Plaques designating the chamber and My Little Red Moon for facilitating buying the benches at a discount will be placed on them soon.

The board approved purchasing a dozen 16 inch plastic pots filled with begonias, a spike and sweet potato vines to be placed at each end of every bench. The cost is $50 for each pot. Chamber member Clayton’s Garden Center will be putting the pots together. This was done at the request of beautification chairman Scott Kuhn, Tangibles.

Stump presided at the meeting. She announced the street banners were put up by the town of North Webster’s street department under the direction of Mike Noe. Thanks were extended to them for this.

A scholarship will be given by the chamber to a graduating Wawasee High School senior at the Wawasee High School Honors Night May 17. Linda Land, Lake-Land Cottages, is in charge.

Other business brought the news name plates are being put on the four chamber owned port-a-potties while bench insurance discussion was tabled. There are still some technical difficulties with the chamber website reported Ben Ashpole, Bashpole Software, and Tammy Waliczek, Dixie Haven Resort. They are in the process of correcting them. Ashpole presented a credit card reader to Treasurer Brenda Peterson, Lake City Bank.

Jim Smith, Loose Moose Motorsports, will speak on the chamber’s behalf at the tourism event at the Kosciusko Convention & Visitors Bureau. He noted the ground is still too wet to get the Christmas tree lights off the tree in front of Pilcher’s Shoes but it will be done when the weather cooperates.

Martha Stoelting, The Papers, reported she applied for a $500 grant from the Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission for Dixie Day Festival advertising. The outcome is not yet known.

The Dixie Day Festival & Artisan Fair committee met after the meeting adjourned to continue planning. It will be held Saturday, July 29, in downtown North Webster along SR 13 and West Washington Street, at the Mermaid Festival Grounds and North Webster Town Park. Terry Frederick, The Watershed Foundation, and Smith are chairmen.

The next chamber meeting will be at noon Monday, June 12, Tippecanoe Township Building, 102 S. Morton St.