This past Friday evening (March 26, 2021), the Trego Civic Center had its annual meeting and membership drive.
Attendees received an update on the raffle, new board members were appointed, and the bylaws were amended to change the requirements for membership, opening it up to a much wider area. Now, anyone living in the TFS Fire District can become a member. Previously, membership had been restricted to residents of Montana School District 53 – Trego and Stryker.
There was a proposal from the North Valley Foodbank to use the Civic Center to achieve more efficient food distribution. Then, there was a discussion on maintenance of the hall. Finally, the evening concluded with suggestions for activities and fundraising that could take place at the hall.
New Board Members:
Two Positions were up for vote: those held by Lindy Smith and Donna Todd Lowery. Todd Swan (of the Trego Pub & General Store) and Erica Ness were voted in as their replacements.
Amended Bylaws:
*** Current Bylaws, under the membership eligibility section, state that to be a member you must live in or own property in Trego. *** We would like to amend that to state that to be a member you live in or own property in the TFS (Trego, Fortine, Stryker) fire district.”
The sheet handed out to attendees, stating the meeting agenda.
North Valley Foodbank:
Lauren Jarrold from North Valley Foodbank arrived to discuss a proposal to use the Civic Center as a satellite food pantry. Biweekly food distributions from the mobile food pantry at Trego have served an average of twice as many families than at Eureka. (Trego has an average of 100 families, peaking at 160 last fall. Eureka averages 50).
Having the Civic Center as a place where food could be stored, boxed, etc. could potentially increase the number of distribution times a month. It would also mean that someone with a sudden need for food assistance could call and get food, even if it wasn’t a set distribution day, without having to make a trip down to the Flathead.
Lauren also briefly spoke about the BackPack program, which North Valley Foodbank is assisting with, noting that the mobile pantry will be bringing the food up, and that the program is fully reimbursed by the state. She mentioned the possibility of continuing the program on into the summer months.
Maintenance Needs:
- Repair of recent damage.
(Upon further inspection, this appears to have been done by a raised vehicle. Yes, county vehicles parked nearby have been considered. Snow plows have not yet been examined).
Ken Smith has volunteered to do the repairs. - Replacement of the current wood stove with a propane heater on hand.
(This would substantially lower insurance costs, which are high due to the fire risk inherent in wood heating). - Hooking up a wonderful commercial propane stove that was donated.
Suggestions:
Later, talked turned to the future of the Civic Center, the need for fundraisers, and how to better serve the community. The consensus seemed to be that more events were needed, but that to make that happen, more volunteers would be needed as well.
Speaking of volunteers, that’s one way to earn membership. Like-kind service is acceptable instead of the membership fee; Otherwise, it’s a $25 fee per household.
Some suggestions for activities and fundraisers were:
- Bringing back the Fireman’s Ball
(this was mentioned at the TFS Fire Department Meeting as well) - T-shirts, mugs, and other little reminders of the Civic Center
- Public Educational Talks by community members.
- Science Fair (open to all kids, both public and home-schooled)
- Community Potlucks.
Trego's Mountain Ear 