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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-10-26 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, October 26, 2006 — 11:30 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT V. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT VI. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT VII. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT A. TEXAS SOCIETY OF ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES B. GRAPEFEST FAM C. TEXAS TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. 2006-2007 MEETING CALENDAR B. PUBLIC ART UPDATE IX. NEW BUSINESS A. KEELING HOUSE MUSEUM X. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION LIAISON B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LIAISON XI. ADJOURNMENT L State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, October 26, 2006 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Philip Cloud Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison Mike Lease Chamber Liaison Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Ross Bannister Director of Heritage Programs & Preservation George Kakos Assistant Executive Director tior ABSENT John Imaizumi Board Member Mark Wasiak Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Mr. McCallum introduced new staff member, Donna Love. She is filling a new position as assistant executive director— local promotions. Mr. Bigbie welcomed Donna on behalf of the board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the September 21st meeting was made by Ev Barnes and seconded by Phil Cloud. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT • Mr. McCallum reported the need for every board member to complete Open Meetings training. Board of Directors Meeting Cr October 26, 2006 Page 2 of 5 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • Jack Bateman is the new general manager of Great Wolf Lodge. He will come on site in the spring and is working out of their corporate office at present. He was most recently the Vice President of Marketing for Six Flags in Houston. He will be in Grapevine Monday for a site visit. • Hampton Inn & Suites will complete their renovations of new carpeting and furnishings by end of this month. • Homewood Suites has a new management company, ARCON. They are putting in new flat screen TVs and will promote a new look. • Hyatt Regency DFW will begin guestroom renovations the end of November working on 3 floors at a time. • ICE will once again take place at the Gaylord starting in November. • New copy of Grapevine Today is out. • Ashlins currently on Jenkins behind the Gazebo, is moving into where Blue Agave was located on Main Street. • "Go The Games" and "The Disney Store" have opened at Grapevine Mills. • Biscuits Café, a new restaurant has opened on S. Park Blvd. serving breakfast and lunch only. • Main Street Blues Room is now open for lunch Monday— Friday from 11:30 — 2:30. They will have a modified lunch menu. • Butterfly Flutterby Last weekend approximately 4,000 people came out to enjoy Butterfly Flutterby. The event kicked off with a parade of butterflies, children, parents, and pets down Main Street. At the Heritage Center there were arts and crafts for the kids, a bounce house, entertainment, butterfly displays, face painting and 580 butterflies were tagged and released during three releases. • Joey Wilkins Foundation Golf Benefit is on Monday November 20th. The golf tournament starts at noon followed by the evening event at Delaney Vineyards. The Foundation has helped two persons this year: Board of Directors Meeting October 26, 2006 Page 3 of 5 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. 1. Gabe Garcia who fell last year while putting up Christmas lights. He has returned to his family home here in Grapevine and the Foundation did a remodel of the bathroom and filled in a sunken living room for him to be able to navigate. 2. John Dixon was in a motorcycle accident in August. John was on his last ride as he was about to become a father when the accident occurred on 635 in Dallas. The Foundation has done a renovation of the Dixon home in Bedford widening doorways, upgrading the bathroom, and also filling in a sunken living room. John's daughter was born in September and he is expected to go home from Baylor today. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. Kakos reported that the railroad carried 4,370 passengers for the month compared to 3,883 last year. There were 16 promotional runs with 1,490 passengers; one charter and 14 field trips and groups. The North Pole Express sales include 66 schools with 5,841 children and 2,371 public tickets sold. $1,000 worth of tickets were sold at Butterfly Flutterby on Saturday. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT Ross Bannister reported that Ray Wylie Hubbard concert was a good show. On November 3`d the Dinner and a Movie will be "The Music Man." On the first three Sundays in December there will be classic holiday movies at the Palace. This year will also be a decorating promotion in the township. Staff will be conducting a site visit to the Nash Farm for the folks from the King Foundation. We are seeking a $30,000 grant for a learning center. David Klempin is leading a delegation to the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference in Pittsburgh. Annette Campbell, who is moving to Arizona, resigned from the Historic Preservation Commission. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of September that the convention sales division produced 28 leads representing 29,644 potential room nights. The team assisted with seven definite groups representing 6,540 room nights. Staff conducted five site inspections. Staff participated in the Texas Society of Association Executives annual convention. They visited with 23 association executives at the conference. The GrapeFest Fam had 15 planners and generated four leads to date. We are co- sponsoring the MPI conference at Embassy Suites. Texas Travel Industry Association held its annual meeting at the Gaylord Texan. Industry representatives from throughout the state met with the co-sponsors of the Night in Texas event for the January American Bus Association convention. Board of Directors Meeting October 26, 2006 Page 4 of 5 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Tourism sales staff generated three leads representing 84 attendees. They assisted with four definites representing 180 room nights and 424 attendees. They conducted 19 site inspections and participated in the Oklahoma City Group Leaders Conference. Destination Services provided registration services to eleven convention groups representing 12,056 attendees. 90,538 brochures were distributed and 13,332 visitors were assisted through the Visitor Information Center. The Convention Center hosted 514 groups with 100,928 attendees last year. They booked 36 future events during the month representing 9,731 attendees. Visits to the Grapevine Vintage Railroad website totaled 24,135 unique visitors and visits to the general site totaled 82,758 unique visitors. Public Relations generated $47,731 in print and $132,238 in electronic media coverage. Mr. Kakos shared the IFEA (International Festivals and Events Association) awards with the board. The Star Report tracks hotel occupancy. Some of the area's occupancy is down. Grapevine maintained a 72% occupancy with and ADR of $145 for September. Dallas is not doing as well so it will be a competitive year in 2007. OLD BUSINESS 2006-07 Meeting Calendar Mr. Bigbie presented the meeting calendar as printed. It was approved by consent. Public Art Update Mr. McCallum shared photos of the Sunday Skaters created by our artist in residence, Archie St. Clair. He reported that the Public Art Committee met recently and they are planning to move forward with a piece of art that was originally presented in 2000 as part of the wayfinding signage program. The location will be the island at the intersection of Main Street and Northwest Highway. The piece under consideration consists of a buck, doe, fawn and black bear and will be approximately 120% of life- size. It will go before council next month. NEW BUSINESS Keeling House Museum Mr. McCallum reported that the city acquired the Keeling House in 2000. The history of the home includes the establishment of the Grapevine Sun in 1896 and the incorporation of the city of Grapevine in 1907. The original aldermen met there, making it the first city hall. Renovations were begun on the house and were halted after 9/11. The project has been brought back to life as a FY 2007 capital project. The plan is to finish out the inside of the home and create a political museum on the life of Grapevine through static displays, with a target finish date of February 12. Board of Directors Meeting October 26, 2006 Page 5 of 5 REPORTS Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported that the Nash Farm Festival was a great event with lots of first time visitors from all across the Metroplex. There were approximately 3,000 people in attendance. They used 900 pumpkins in two hours and had a lot of coverage on channel 8. Pat welcomed Donna Love on behalf of the Heritage Foundation Board. Chamber of Commerce Mike Lease reported that the Chamber will recognize the Leadership Grapevine class at the November Luncheon at the Convention enter. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board Kathee Livengood made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Phil Cloud. Motion carried. tibv ATTEST: DATE: