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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_CVB_05.04.20054:41M TEXASEST.1s48 GEORGETOWN Convention & Visitors Bureau Board Meeting Minutes May 4, 2005 Present: Kent Huntsman, Martha Lawler, Ellen Weimer, Bill Banks, Gaz Green, Randy Lesseps, Margie Ranc, Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Holly Bresser, Linda Rainsdon Absent: R.C. Lumpkin City Staff: Shelly Hargrove, Cari Miller, Marcy Renneberg Guests: Lucas Adams 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Kent Huntsman at 6:32 p.m. 2. Minutes Minutes from the April 6, 2005 meeting were reviewed. A MOTION was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. (Banc/Lawlor) Motion carried. 3. Introduction of CVB Staff CVB Staff members were introduced to the Board. They are: ❖ Marcy Renneberg - CVB Staff Assistant who interfaces with volunteer staff in the Visitors Center and handles all the 800 # calls. ❖ Cari Miller - CVB Coordinator who manages City sponsored events including Red Poppy Fest and Fiddlin' Fair and supervises the volunteers who staff the Visitors Center. • Nikki Dugas - CVB Summer intern will be joining the staff on May 11`h. She is a Southwestern University student and will be working 3 mornings a week, assisting in event planning. J:1CVB4FSoard Commission\Mcc1ings105-5-4 M.de c While the Board was certainly excited that Nikki would be joining the staff for the summer, they encouraged City Staff to investigate the possibility of bringing in a paid intern year round. It was suggested that, as the new Task Forces are working through their responsibilities, they look for ways to build justification for the position. Their messages should then be carried to the City Manager and Assistant City Manager through Kent. However, the real priority is to add an additional staff member whose responsibilities would include overseeing the two Visitors Centers and the volunteer pool used to staff them 4. Visitors Center Kiosk Presentation Lucas Adams has developed a computer program that would offer a wider focus of Georgetown and would be used in the Visitors Center. This program would include information on virtually everything that is offered in Georgetown including all the information currently appearing in the Visitor's Guide. And because it is on the computer, the CVB would be able to update the content on a regular basis (quarterly) and keep information current. The hope is that proceeds from the advertising sold to local business would help fund the CVB budget. Hardware to support the program will cost $1,200-$1,600. It will be a wall -mounted touch screen. Lucas will provide the system for the Visitors Center on the Square and the City can choose what it would like to do for the Wolf Ranch office. The system is portable and could be used for off -site programs such as Parents Weekend at Southwestern. If the city wanted to provide this capability at multiple locations throughout the community, what would the costs be? Initial costs would be approximately $1,200 plus the cost of the furniture needed to house the computer. The Board was excited with Lucas' proposal and wished him well on the project. 5. Cooperative Advertising Application No applications were presented this month. 6. Review of the HOT Cooperative Advertising Application Shelly and Ellen have reviewed the current application form and have suggested some changes that may make the form easier to understand and complete. Specifically, a map showing cities within and beyond a 100 miles radius of Georgetown is now included in the packet. Since the funding is derived from taxes paid through the hotel industry (heads in beds), organizations requesting funding are strongly encouraged to target their advertising dollar in communities beyond the 100 mile mark. It is generally assumed that anyone traveling less than 100 miles to take part in a Georgetown event will most likely return home at the end of the day and not spend an overnight. In addition, wording was tweaked, redundancies on the application were eliminated and the reimbursement process was explained more thoroughly. J:'.CVB\Board Comm ission Meetings105-5-4 M.dnc 7. Task Force Updates Reports from the individual Task Force groups are as follows: Visitors Center / Volunteers Betty Ann is chairing this group. They have met and have begun reviewing the existing Volunteer Manual. This document is out -dated and needs revision. The intent of the group is to develop a new handbook to be used by City Staff and Volunteers alike, develop a training program and develop a plan to attract more volunteers to staff both Visitor Center locations. It was suggested that all CVB Board members volunteer twice a year in the Visitor Center. Market Data / Information Services Randy is chairing this group. Their first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 126, Their charge is to determine what data to collect, how to collect it and what to do with the data when they get it. Tourism Industry Partners / Communication Bill is chairing this group. They have not met as yet but will schedule to meet prior to the next CVB Board meeting. Tourism Events / Consumer Marketing / Tourism Packages Margie is chairing this group. An initial meeting was held to transition the information on the tourism packages that have been developed. The second element of this task force addresses Consumer Marketing. Margie has volunteered to develop a press kit and suggests that the city consider subscribing to a clipping service. That would help measure how much exposure the city is receiving. A MOTION was made to consider contracting with a Public Relations person/firm and to establish a vehicle that would allow the city to measure its exposure. The contract is not to exceed $5,000. (Ranc/Green) The discussion that followed suggested the task force needed to quantify this request and be very specific in how to accomplish this. The motion was tabled. Cari Miller and Shelly Hargrove brought information concerning the Fiddlin' Fair, scheduled for October 1 and 2, to the Board. Their concern is that this event takes an extreme amount of staff time to put together. They have suggested that either the event be dropped or the Board help to find another group to take over the event. The Board felt that staff needed to contact the Downtown Georgetown Association to determine if they would be interested in managing this event. Cari will contact Bob Weimer in the morning. Conference Center / External Funding Kent is chairing this group. No activity this month. Website Review Bill is chairing this group. The group is working with Erin McDonald, webmaster for the City. Erin has asked that we all really work through the new website (www.visitgeorgetown.com) and get back to her with feedback. J:ICV131130ard Commission\Meelings\O5-5-4 M.doC S. Staff Report Highlights included: + New flooring is to be installed in the Visitors Center and the CUB office on 5/17-18. Exterior signage is next. ❖ Media exposure for the month included the Austin Official Visitors Guide (Spring/Summer 2005), the May issue of Texas Highways and the Summer issue of Texas Events Calendar At 8:36 p.m. a MOTION was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. (Weimer/Bresser) Motion carried. Approved and attested to by: Kentuntman Board Chair Elgin Weimer Board Secretary Date Date J ICV$ISoard ConvnissionlMeelings105-5-4 M doc