Argyle Town Council unanimously approved an item on Monday that allows Town Manager Mike Sims to negotiate and execute a marketing agreement between the Town and the Argyle Business Association.
This would allow the Town to sign a contract with the ABA for no more than $5,000 as a civic sponsorship.
At the Town Council meeting, it was described as an agreement for marketing, advertising and networking services.
“We consider that our businesses are partners with the Town,” said Lynn Seeden, the CEO of the ABA. “We are all on the same page, we want to grow the local economy and however we can be of help and y’all can be of help to them, that is what this is about tonight.”
She explained that the money will be an investment by the Town in the cause and the activities of the ABA so the group can better serve local businesses.
Newly-hired Town Manager Mike Sims will be in charge of negotiating and executing the agreement deal the Town and the ABA. He said this first year will be a chance to experiment with the agreement while the two entities work out what works best.
“This year will be more of a start up year, then we’ll move into next year with a more regular process,” said Sims.
Seeden said working with Sims and the Town has been excellent.
“I’ve been really happy with the support,” she said. “Especially with [Mayor] Ron Schmidt, he’s been very supportive of this and I’m thrilled because I feel that our businesses need to see that the Town supports them.”
The original Argyle Chamber of Commerce was started by the Town in 1997 but closed in 2018. They tried forming a business association four years ago, but Seeden and her husband, Curt, along with Gazette publisher Max Miller, ended up taking over as volunteers.
“We hoped the Town would take it back once it was ready, but they never were,” said Seeden. “Then, it was easier to go private and make it a business, put some legs on it and make it succeed.”
The current version of the group, the privatized ABA, started about 12 weeks ago. Since then, the organization has grown exponentially and has had a lot of buy-in from the community.
“We did not foresee this becoming this big this fast,” she said. “I’ve been involved in chambers before and have taught membership conventions and this is the first time I have ever been in a situation where membership exploded.”
Seeden said the growth means the group is touching on the needs in town, like support, a place to learn, a place to help each other and a place to make friends.
“I knew the need was there,” she said. “But I didn’t realize it was that deep.”
Not only are there more than 110 members, but all of them are participating, too. It’s a rare feat for a chamber.
Seeden said it’s all about the community the group has made, which helps since the community of Argyle is so tight-knit.
“Every community has the same need,” she said. “People want to be together and feel like they belong to something important.”
That’s what the ABA has grown into – a safe place where members of the community can grow, learn and teach each other, she said.
“You’re going to come and give business, you’re going to get business, you’re going to give friendship, you’re going to get friendship,” said Seeden. “It is absolutely a two-way street there.”
The Town and the ABA are still in the process of finalizing the details of the agreement, but both sides are interested in keeping Argyle’s community on a path to success.
“This group has quickly turned into a family,” said Seeden. “And it has just been really fun.”
The ABA recently expanded its weekly meeting into two sessions. Every Friday, there are meetings at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. at The Seeden Club event center in the Settler’s Center, 306 Hwy 377. For more information on the ABA, visit the website or follow their Facebook page.