Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-19 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, April 19, 2018 — 8:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters 636 S. Main Street Grapevine, Texas AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES 4. SALES & MARKETING REPORT 5. OLD BUSINESS A. NEW YORK SALES MISSION REPORT B. STORAGE BUILDING UP -DATE C. MAIN STREET SPONSOR REPORT 6. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS -IN AID REQUEST B. FOLKLORIC GROUP/SISTER CITY GRANT C. COLLEGE OF HOTEL & RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT 7. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS/ACTIVITIES 8. ADJOURNMENT IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THIS SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING AND YOU HAVE A DISABILITY THAT REQUIRES SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS AT THE MEETING, PLEASE CONTACT THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU AT (817) 410-3185 AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE MADE TO ASSIST YOUR NEEDS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 551.001 at seq, ACTS OF THE 1993 TEXAS LEGISLATURE, THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AGENDA WAS PREPARED AND POSTED ON THIS THE 13TH DAY OF APRIL, 2018 BY 5:00 P.M. y Bell — Assistant to tIW Executive Director State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, 636 South Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Joe Szymaszek Mark Terpening Dan Weinberger Iain Scouller Keith Spinden Cynthia Blankenship Sharron Spencer Board Member - Chair Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Council Liaison Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Melva Stanfield Heritage Foundation Liaison Theresa Mason Chamber of Commerce Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Paula Newman Managing Director, Administration/Operations Brady Closson Managing Director, Sales/Marketing Lindy Bell Assistant to the Executive Director Absent: Jim Quinn Board Member Debi Meek Alternate Board Member CALL TO ORDER Board Chair, Joe Szymaszek, called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Mark Terpening, seconded by Keith Spinden to approve minutes from the March 15, 2018 meeting. Motion prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Szymaszek, Terpening, Weinberger, Scouller, Spinden, Blankenship Nays: None Board of Directors Meeting April 19, 2018 Page 2 of 7 LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Melva Stanfield reported that the Grapevine Heritage Foundation Speakers Bureau presented the Foundation's missions and goals at the March 20 AMBUCS meeting. The presentation was a great success with several new members signing up. The Foundation's Advisory Board meet Wednesday, April 18th, to determine the 2018 Preservation Advocacy Award nominees for recognition for their efforts in favor of preservation. Awards will be presented by Mayor Tate at the May 1st City Council meeting. The City of Grapevine has been recommended as one of 68 Texas cities in the 2018 Nationally Accredited Main Street Program. This is Grapevine's first inclusion on the list since 2006. Nash Farm Nash Farm had over 1800 visitors and six school tours in March. The Farm started April off with a family reunion of 80 guests and six school tours and groups. The First Friday Gardening program had a great turnout of 135. The Spring Into Nash annual event is scheduled for Saturday, April 21st and will feature heritage skills and trades and sheep shearing. The Nash Farm Supper, "Farm to Fork Experience," will be held Friday, April 27th featuring culinary delights using local farm products and music and dining in the meadow. Tickets are limited and currently on sale. Chamber of Commerce Theresa Mason reported on Chamber of Commerce activities and upcoming events. The Chamber job fair was a great success. Social media exposure was increased which may account for a larger attendance. The monthly Chamber membership luncheon is scheduled for noon this date featuring Lori Varnell, Assistant District Attorney for Tarrant County. She will discuss safeguarding senior citizens from fraud. The Great Taste of Grapevine is scheduled for this date and will be held at Embassy Suites. Over 20 Grapevine restaurants will participate. Ms. Mason reminded everyone of a membership survey that has been sent to Chamber members asking for input and comments on upcoming projects. Over 100 responses have been received so far. RaDonna Hessle and Theresa Mason represented the business community as guests at the Lead 2.0 conference hosted by Grapevine Colleyville Independent School District. Review was made of the seven years into the program with a projected look at the next ten years Board of Directors Meeting April 19, 2018 Page 3 of 7 SALES & MARKETING REPORT Mr. Closson reported that for March, the convention and leisure sales team had 84 sales leads sourced to Stakeholder hotels with 121,000 potential room nights and a potential economic impact of $56 million. 17 groups have been booked representing 13,000 room nights with an economic impact of $6.6 million. There were 9 site inspections representing approximately 10,700 potential room nights and $6.6 million potential economic impact. The team participated in the Dallas Fort Worth Association Executives (DFWAE) tradeshow in Arlington. Stakeholder hotel, Hyatt Regency DFW, participated in the conference. Over 80 attendees came by the Grapevine table. Tim Lamont, former executive with HelmsBriscoe, has launched his own company, and the team participated in the Lamont Associates annual trade show. To date, Lamont and Associates has sourced 18 leads through the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau consisting of 7,000 room nights and a potential economic impact of $4.8 million. Of the 18 leads, four have been converted to definites at stakeholder hotels consisting of 2,500 room nights and a potential economic impact of $2.1. Opportunities are anticipated to continue to grow. The Brand USA China mission was conducted visiting four Chinese cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shanghai. Each city had a VIP dinner with a minimum of 100 guests. Grapevine was presented as a `Beyond the Gateways" destination in two of the cities. 38 one-on-one meetings were conducted in Beijing, 36 in Guangzhou, 40 in Chengdu and 48 in Shanghai. 16 leisure group requests were received with travel planners. The Visitor Information Center and Settlement to City and Depot welcomed 14,000 guests. Approximately 34,000 brochures were distributed locally, statewide and nationally. Destination Services assisted 10 groups representing 13,000 attendees with an economic impact of over $10 million. Grapevine visitor shuttle ridership for February was approximately 4,609 riders. Shuttle ridership revenue was up 21.9% versus the same time in 2017. The Convention Center, Palace Arts Center and Concourse hosted a combined 68 events with 10,400 in attendance with an anticipated economic impact of $374,000. The website welcomed over 95,000 total visitors in March which is a 7.3% increase versus the same time in 2017. Board of Directors Meeting April 19, 2018 Page 4 of 7 For marketing, there were eleven print trade publication insertions resulting in 350,000 in circulation. Online (Trade) Advertising generated 30,000 impressions. Online consumer advertising generated 2.9 million impressions. Print ad value for March exceeded $270,000 representing 1.8 million circulation impressions. Board member Dan Weinberger reported that his March numbers were excellent with March typically being a gauge for the remainder of the year. Iain Scouller and Joe Szymaszek also reported excellent numbers in March. Mr. McCallum reported that marketing resources have been shifted to outer markets which may be the cause of increased traffic. Mr. Closson reported that current TV and radio thematic spots will convert in two weeks to Main Street Fest ads and after Main Street will be converted to Summer Blast advertising. No action was taken by the Board OLD BUSINESS 30th Annual St. Patrick's Day Sales Mission Mr. Closson extended congratulations to all for a very successful event and thanked the Board members who were able to participate. Thanks were also extended to Iain Scouller for providing the LEGO Master Builder and to Cynthia Blankenship for her efforts to come even though flight schedules would not allow. A total of 169 guests attended consisting of planners, meeting publications, travel planners and their guests. 42 guests and family members took part in the ice skating located directly outside the venue of the Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center. Multiple Requests for Proposal were received with many more anticipated. Many positive comments were shared from Board members who participated as well as stakeholder hotel participants. Mr. McCallum also reported that the media event held at the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Station prior to the St. Patrick's Day event was well attended with excellent media representatives from all aspects of the media. Several expressed interest in attending the GrapeFest FAM so follow up contact will be made. Board of Directors Meeting April 19, 2018 Page 5 of 7 Storage Building Up -Date Mr. McCallum reported on the storage building project which will house Christmas Capital of Texas and festival equipment, decorations and supplies. City Council approved the 14,000 square foot building at the April 17th meeting. The building will be located on the eastern edge of the property adjacent to the Convention Center and will include an 8' fence surrounding the perimeter. Nine Requests for Qualifications were submitted for a committee of seven to evaluate. Speed FacCrete was selected and will construct a tilt wall design building. Construction should begin the first part of June with completion by December 14th Main Street Sponsor Report Mr. Closson reported that Bank of Texas will once again be presenting sponsor for Main Street Fest and GrapeFest. Thanks and appreciation were expressed to Cynthia and Gary Blankenship for their ongoing commitment to Grapevine and its annual festivals. Returning sponsors include LEGOLand and the Gaylord Texan with thanks and appreciation expressed to Iain Scouller and Jim Quinn for their continued support and sponsorship participation. Three new sponsors have been obtained: Cooke Children's Hospital, Centerpoint Renovations and In & Out Burger. $172,000 has been confirmed as sponsorship revenue. Four verbal agreements have been received which exceeds what was obtained last year. The theme for this year's Main Street Fest is "Lone Star State of Mind." NEW BUSINESS Grants -In Aid Request Mr. McCallum presented a request from Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers for a grant in the amount of $1,110. They provide story tellers for most events held at Nash Farm and annually return any funds they do not use each year. After discussion, motion was made by Dan Weinberger and seconded by Iain Scouller to approve the $1,110 grant request. Ayes: Szymazek, Terpening, Scouller, Weinberger, Spinden, Blankenship Nayes: None Folkloric Group/Sister City Grant Mr. McCallum presented a request for a grant to fund a Mexican folkloric dancing group at Timberline Elementary. Mrs. Magdalena Malinowski, recent Teacher of the Year at Timberline, is coordinating the group. Over 50 children responded to the inquiry of interest. The Texas non-profit group assisting with the program is Alma y Corazon Tejano (Texan, Heart and Soul). Discussion was held regarding the benefits of Board of Directors Meeting March 15, 2018 Page 6 of 7 supporting a group that can be part of the cultural outreach of the Sister City program. Mr. McCallum requested a grant in the amount of $2,200 to come from the Sister City budget, with matching funds being provided by Grapevine/Colleyville ISD. Grant funds would be used for costumes, accessories and a choreographer. Motion was made by Keith Spinden and seconded by Mark Terpening to approve the $2,200 grant request. Ayes: Szymaszek, Terpening, Scouller, Weinberger, Spinden, Blankenship Nayes: None 9:00 a.m. Theresa Mason left the meeting. College of Hotel & Restaurant Management Mr. McCallum reported that after many years in pursuit of securing a hospitality and restaurant management university in Grapevine, the old police building has been identified and earmarked for that purpose. Mr. McCallum is in the process of talking to and working with identified college(s) of hotel and restaurant management to determine the possibilities of their establishing a campus in Grapevine with current discussions ongoing with Dean Dennis Reynolds of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. This will be a long-term project of at least two years. Efforts will be ongoing. No action was taken by the Board. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES Mr. Closson reported that recent statistics for 2016 from Texas from the Office of the Governor stated that $4.6 billion influenced travel spending from outside of Texas; $282 million were generated in state taxes and 45,600 travel industry jobs were supported. In addition, $69.1 billion resulted in total direct traffic spending and $6.4 billion were generated in state and local tax revenues. Texas has the third highest share of domestic travel days among United States cities with 78% domestic travel in Texas for leisure, $7.0 billion in international travel spending and 10.3 international arrivals in Texas. Mr. Closson also reported that the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport published statistics for 2017 and is ranked as the 12th busiest airport worldwide with over 67 million passengers annually, 4th in aircraft movements with 654,000. Dine to Donate is ongoing through April 22nd as a means for contributions to GRACE in lieu of the fire suffered a few weeks ago. Participating restaurants are Great Scott, Mason & Dixie, Craft Brewery and Boi Na Braza. The Corks, Canvas and Community is in the Tower Gallery through April 26th featuring local artists. The 15th annual Day Out with Thomas on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad will conclude this coming weekend. Board of Directors Meeting March 15, 2018 Page 7 of 7 The GRACE Drive -Into -the -Night golf tournament is scheduled for Thursday, April 19th. Spring Into Nash at the Historic Nash Farm will be Saturday, April 21st from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Also on April 21st, Habitat Builders will conduct "Grassland Restoration and Aggressive Plant Eradication" workshop from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. April 28th there will be a Shady Oaks work day to beautify the location. May 12th will be the Mommy & Me Tea, Adventure in Candyland at the REC from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The Hyatt Regency at DFW will be undergoing a full guestroom renovation in 2018 and The Hilton Garden Inn will begin a full renovation toward the end of this year. 9:30 a.m. Cynthia Blankenship left meeting. Councilmember Sharron Spencer suggested a litter pick-up and clean up along the train route east of Main Street before North Pole Express. It may be next year before all of construction is cleaned up but would be a good project to add to Keep Grapevine Beautiful. It might be necessary to use a locomotive to clean up as much as possible with a warrant to be on the tracks due to safety concerns. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting of the Board will be May 17th. There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Mark Terpening and seconded by Iain Scouller to adjourn the meeting at 9:35 a.m. Motion prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Szymaszek, Scouller, Weinberger, Terpening, Spinden Nays: None PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS 19TH DAY OF APRIL, 2018. as r �W_-- ATTEST: Lindy Bell Assistant to Executive Director