December 2025 Meeting Minutes

December 15^th LIFE5b Meeting

6:00pm at Junction Café in Bedford

Attendees: Jessa Bears, Shad Swanson, Laura Ferguson, Janine Johnson, Matt Johnson, Casey Gathje (guest)

Call to Order at 6:07 pm.

Farm to Table Meal

Majority of the meeting was spent discussing the Farm to Table fundraiser dinner planned for July 2026. Julie Wagner had sent email with a lot of information in it, after she had a conversation with Phil from the Five One 8 in Red Oak. There are a lot of considerations LIFE5b would need to take into account if the meal is held at the Five One 8, including if alcohol is being served, wait staff, liquor license, kitchen size, meal transportation and storage, etc.

LIFE5b members decided that the Five One 8 would not be an ideal location for this meal. Discussion was had on other locations in Red Oak, but ultimately decided it might be the best option to have the meal at Primrose in Corning. This would reduce many of the concerns about food transportation and alcohol licensing. Shad will follow-up with Joel and see if it would be a possibility to host at Primrose, what the costs would be, and discuss the menu.

Discussion was had about what LIFE5b would like to serve for the meal, how many tickets to sell, and what ticket prices should be. A lot of this will depend on what Primrose’s fees would be for renting the restaurant for a private event, and what Chef Joel would charge for his services and staff. LIFE5b is currently thinking to cap the ticket number at 50, and aiming to charge around $50 per ticket. Chicken or pork were two options – one chicken would feed about 4 people, so approximately 13 chickens would be needed for this meal. It would be more economical to order a ½ hog. Shad will check with Joel and see if he would be willing to work with a half hog provided by LIFE5b.

LIFE5b is also planning to hold a raffle or silent auction during the fundraising meal. Members will reach out to local businesses to see if they are willing to donate items for the raffle.

If more help at the meal is needed, it might be a good idea to reach out to a local FFA chapter to see if any students would like to volunteer.

Women Land and Legacy Conference

Casey Gathje provided more details about the WLL conference in Malvern on March 7^th. LIFE5b will present from 10:45 – 11:45 am. Jessa and Shad will have the opportunity to talk about their individual businesses and how they work with LIFE5b, and then we will provide an overview of LIFE5b, how to get involved, and its impact on the local community.

Meeting adjourned at 7:10 pm

Next meeting January 19^th in Red Oak.