Our Team
Sean Quigley
President
Todd Drunagel
Vice President
Mark Stickley
Treasurer
Keighley Gore
Secretary
Our History
The Small Business Freedom Alliance began with three local business owners feeling very frustrated about the responses to the Covid 19 Virus from our local, state, and federal governments. Jared Mounts, Patti Solenberger and Josh Phelps had dealt with keeping their “essential” businesses open from the time the virus was announced and through each phase of the government’s ever-changing responses. Every business was caught off guard by the virus and the related impacts. Fifteen days to slow the spread turned into many businesses being closed for two months or permanently. Once the government started issuing executive orders and mandates that impacted the local business community, this group knew it had to organize and connect with other like-minded businesses in order to resist government overreach. Once it was clear that local elected bodies were not going to do anything to help protect their businesses and taxpayers, they knew they needed to find other local businesses who believed the same way and needed to learn how to use a collective voice.
The first meeting was in January 2021. Jared, Josh and Patti met together at Shenandoah Refrigeration and decided that the time was right to pursue action. They met again in February and added David Kent and Kevin McKannan, both veterans and business owners who were concerned about how our government was using mandates to divide and control our community. In April, Cary Claytor Nelson joined and shared how the mandates and government policy were affecting her local family owned business. By this time many more local businesses were joining the meetings. In May was the first meeting at West Oaks Farm Market and it became the official meeting location. The Small Business Freedom Alliance meets on the second Wednesday of every month at the West Oaks Farm Market. The SBFA Meeting begins with networking at 7:30am. The meeting starts at 8am and ends promptly at 9am. We share the tenets of the SBFA: All businesses are essential all the time. We will stand up to government overreach into our businesses and lives. We will educate our members about their rights and freedoms so they can make informed choices for their businesses and families. Every meeting includes a speaker who educates us on topics important to our businesses as well as a local business owner who shares how current government policies are affecting his or her business. The Small Business Freedom Alliance welcomes new members who see the need to actively pursue ways to organize, learn about our rights and freedoms, and stand up to government overreach.
Our Committees
Finance
Fundraising and fiscal responsibility. The Small Business Freedom Alliance Finance/Fundraising Committee is responsible for securing the financial health of the Small Business Freedom Alliance. Members have a fiduciary duty to ensure that the financial matters of the organizations are in line with the mission of our organization by: maintaining accurate and complete financial records, presenting accurate and timely financial statements to the board, helping the board understand our finances, budgeting and anticipating financial problems, safeguarding the organizations assets and complying with federal, state and other reporting requirements. The current chair of the SBFA Finance Committee is Cary Claytor Nelson.
Education
Informed personal choice and freedom. The Small Business Freedom Alliance Education Committee recognizes personal choice and freedom, both for the individual and small business, require safeguarding by means of an informed and educated public. The primary focus of the Committee is to secure education and knowledge resources in line with the mission of the Small Business Freedom Alliance. The Education Committee is dedicated to equipping small business leaders by facilitating the professional learning and provision of resources, linkages and information that they need to grow and develop their unique business. The committee curates and provides resources to inform and engage leaders in understanding their rights and freedoms to make informed decisions for their businesses and families. The current chair of the SBFA Education Committee is Jared Mounts.
Marketing
Communication and events. The Small Business Freedom Alliance Public Relations Committee will be responsible for communicating with the membership about the Small Business Freedom Alliance Freedom Meetings and any special events that promote the SBFA. The public relations committee will promote the SBFA and the tenets of the SBFA through social media, the SBFA website, press releases and interactions with the local press and media. The current chair of the SBFA Public Relations Committee is Stacie Haaga.
Join a Committee
If you are interested in joining any of our committees, contact us at info@smallbusinessfreedomalliance.org