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Home My WebLink About2011-04-21 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS (kw GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, April 21, 2011 — 8:00 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF IV. BOARD MEMBER INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS V. OLD BUSINESS A. CV B HEADQUARTERS UPDATE B. APRIL 4 COUNCIL WORKSHOP REPORT ON MUSEUM DISTRICT try VI. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST B. MAIN STREET DAYS VII. SALES & MARKETING REPORT A. FORT WORTH HOME & GARDEN SHOW B. AA ARGENTINA FAM VIII. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES IX. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT X. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES XI. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Steve Stinson Chairman Tom Cherry Board Member Andrew Davidson Board Member LuAnn Chapman Gatts Board Member Gracie Vega for board member John Imaizumi Peggy Weaver Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Sue Franks Heritage Foundation liaison Angela Mitcham Chamber liaison Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Paul Slechta Board Member Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager CALL TO ORDER Chairman Stinson called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the March 24, 2011 meeting was made by LuAnn Chapman Gatts and seconded by Dan Weinberger. Motion carried. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Mr. McCallum introduced Frank Dale to the board. Frank has been promoted to the Festivals and Events Manager position in the festivals division. Ryan Miller has joined the team as a contract sales person for sponsorship sales. This frees up a sales position. Deb Perry, part time accounting assistant, retired two weeks ago. Roy James, food and beverage coordinator for the Convention Center will retire on May 5th after 13 years of service. Tom Wayne will retire in September with 23 years of service. Rebeka Cook will leave in May to be a stay-at-home mother. Board of Directors Meeting April 21, 2011 Page 2 of 4 BOARD MEMBER INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS • Relay for Life will be held on April 29 at Cross Timbers Middle School. LuAnn asked board members to walk/run the first lap in honor of Chairman Stinson. OLD BUSINESS CVB Headquarters Update Mr. McCallum reported that more of the facades are now visible. The goal to appear as five separate building has been accomplished. Construction is at 85% completion. A set of glass doors have been designed for the southeast facing front entrance. April 5 Council Workshop Report on Museum District Mr. McCallum shared the information from a presentation to council on the impact of the new headquarter building. The headquarters will act as an incubator for improvements to that part of town. Facilities included are the Settlement to City Museum, Midtown, Museum/CVB Headquarters, Nash Farm, Railroad district and Foundry. East Hudgins Street will be taken through to Ball Street with a wide pedestrian path, road and trolley track. The trolley will run between Nash Farm and Main Street. Railroad hotels typically had a tower structure to be seen from a distance. The gunfighters in the tower will be a draw that will bring folks into Grapevine. It is an icon and an attraction at the same time. The Heritage Center will become the viewing area for the gunfighters. The Founders building will become individual suites. The Depot will become a functioning railroad museum. When commuter rail comes online, the loading platform will move and the train will load through the Depot. It is expected to take two years to bring all this online. NEW BUSINESS Grants-In-Aid Request A grants-in-aid request was presented from the Italian Car Club of the Southwest in the amount of$3,700. It is to promote their car show at Nash Farm which brings visitors from outside the area. Staff recommended approval. A motion was made by LuAnn Chapman Gatts to grant the request in the amount of$3,700 and seconded by Tom Cherry. Motion carried. Main Street Days Board member Dan Weinberger, chairman of Main Street Days shared information on this year's festival. The highlight will be the Pizza Piazza which will feature many different kinds of pizza along with craft beers, wine and music. The area of Liberty Park to Weems Ally will be transformed into Little Italy. L, Board of Directors Meeting April 21, 2011 Page 3 of 4 SALES & MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported that during the month of March the convention sales team produced 45 leads representing 64,802 potential room nights. Staff assisted with 20 definite bookings representing 12,780 room nights, 15 of which are for 2011. Staff conducted 17 site inspections and made a bid presentation to the National Federation of Republican Women. Tourism sales produced 19 leads representing 455 room nights and 1,038 attendees. Staff assisted with 11 definite bookings with 385 room nights and 628 attendees. They participated in the Fort Worth Home & Garden Show and hosted an American Airlines sales fam from Argentina. The Visitor Information Center staff distributed 82,810 brochures and welcomed 10,219 guests to the Visitor Information Center. Destination Services provided information and registration assistance to eight groups representing 7,895 delegates. The Convention Center booked 29 future groups representing 9,895 attendees and had $41,626 in total sales. The Palace Arts Center booked 29 future groups representing 4,520 attendees and had $10,071 in total sales. The Concourse booked four future groups representing 440 attendees and had $10,911 in total sales. The website had 192,507 unique visitors, a 37% increase over last year. There were 7,723,473 hits, a 54% over last year. The total advertising investment was $50,748 including 42 consumer print insertions, 300 TV/radio runs and 74 online insertions. Print publicity was $152,330 and electronic publicity was $160,695 for a total of $313,025. HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES Mr. Kakos reported: • Nash Farm was featured in the Medallion publication of the Texas Historic Commission. • Many of the Cowboy players and coaches united for a fund raiser, "The Ultimate Tailgate Party" at the Glass Cactus. • DFW International Airport has been approved as a gateway airport to Cuba. Initially it will be primarily charters. • The UCA Pavilion at Great Wolf Lodge has opened. • The outdoor pool complex at Gaylord is scheduled to open Memorial Day Weekend. • Legoland Discovery Center in Grapevine set a record for one-day retail sales for the entire company. • Grand Hyatt's rooms renovation will begin shortly GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that March ridership was 18,852. Day Out With Thomas had 25,872 riders in 41 runs. Easter weekend will have special runs with the Easter bunny onboard Saturday and Sunday. L Board of Directors Meeting April 21, 2011 Page 4 of 4 GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT cont. The diesel engine has a new $7,000 battery. The platform benches have been restored. The windows have been removed from the open-air coaches. All coaches have been cleaned. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Sue Franks reported for the Heritage Foundation and invited everyone to join the Heritage Foundation. Nash Farm is developing and is great for families. For the recent Easter egg hunt there were five hunts with 3,000 children at the farm. Kite flying will be May 6th at the farm. Chamber of Commerce Activities Angela Mitcham reported that the Chamber is focused on Leadership, Membership, Stewardship. The new website will launch in about two weeks. Research indicates that the number of Chambers that an average business joins is down from six to three and is based on how much support the business receives from the chamber. Leadership of the Chamber is working to become an award-winning chamber. This is based on membership retention, clear goals and a fiscally responsible board. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, LuAnn Chapman Gatts made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Tom Cherry. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: Cy