Bremen Area Chamber of Commerce
Minutes of the April 23, 2026, meeting
Accessible text version of the official minutes. The text is reproduced verbatim from the signed record; only page footers and layout artifacts have been removed. The original PDF is also available.
Attendance
Those present: Chad Belville, Samantha Betts, Marilyn Boyd, Brenda Carney, Lydia Carter, Toni Harper, Sue Henwood, Mary Hoffman, Rich Lines, Jessica Martinez, Ray Meese, Dee Mowry, Billy Robinette, Sue Schmitz, Heather Yontz, and speaker Dean Hatem.
Program
President Rich Lines welcomed the group and led them in the Pledge of Allegiance; Dee Mowry gave the invocation. The ladies of the church served lunch, and Rich introduced Dean Hatem, the vice president of service for Maverick Environmental Equipment. This company was founded in 2016 by four local men who had been working in a similar business and decided to work for themselves. The four have grown to 18 local employees and over 10,000 in five locations, looking to do $72 million in business this year. Bremen does all of the accounting, although Alma, Michigan is the headquarters as a result of a “non-compete” clause on the founders. Maverick does sales, parts, service and product support, as well as some rentals and lots of repairs on specialty equipment like pavement crushers and wood grinders - one of the latter is needing over one million dollars in repairs. Although many of their mechanics are self taught or come with training, the newer equipment has electronic systems requiring a $400,000 investment in further training just this year. Currently there are few competitors in this field, and Maverick expects to grow 30% in 2026.
Business meeting
In the business meeting, the secretary’s report was accepted on a motion by Marilyn Boyd, seconded by Heather Yontz. The treasurer reported that taxes have been filed and we now have 40 members. It was noted that the newest business to join was attracted by the employee insurance plans available to members. She reported the following account balances:
| checking: | $4 113.90 |
|---|---|
| money market | 7 116.28 |
| CD | 13 607.96 |
| CD | 15 059.18 |
| CD | 5 553.64 |
Two of the CD’s matured and rolled over for 7 months at 3.65% interest. The third CD will mature in November of this year. Toni Harper moved to receive the report; it was seconded by Ray Meese and carried.
There was no further business brought forward. Members were reminded of the free business spotlight ads available quarterly in the Towne Crier.
Billy Robinette shared that since the Pleasantville Police Department with which Bremen shared coverage has been dissolved, we are back to relying on the county Sheriff’s Department. The village is considering adding a department of its own if the budget permits.
Other announcements
- April 23 - Rushville Lions celebration of their 75th anniversary.
- April 24 - Arbor Day tree planting in Howell Park at noon.
- May 1 - Diaper drive at the bank kicks off for the month.
- America’s 250th birthday celebration events can be followed on the Rushcreek Township facebook page; although the parade is set for noon on July 5th, there will be special activities all week.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn at 12:36 by Dee Mowry, seconded by Heather Yontz.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Schmitz, secretary