HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-03-14 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, March 14, 2019— 8:00 a.m.
CVB Headquarters
636 S. Main Street
Grapevine, Texas
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
2. NEW EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTIONS
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
4. LIAISON UPDATES
A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES
B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES
5. SALES & MARKETING REPORT
6. OLD BUSINESS
A. BLEVINS HOUSE UPDATE
B. MCPHERSON BARN UPDATE
C. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD UPDATE
7. NEW BUSINESS
A. 2019 CHRISTMAS CAPITAL CONTRACTS
8. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS /ACTIVITIES
9. 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 et seq, ACTS OF THE 1993
TEXAS LEGISLATURE, THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ADVISORY BOARD
MEETING AGENDA WAS PREPARED AND POSTED ON THIS THE 8TH DAY OF MARCH, 2019 BY 5:00
P.M.
Bell
Assistant tot xecutive 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, March 14, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention and Visitors
Bureau, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance:
Joe Szymaszek
Cynthia Blankenship
Mark Terpening
Debi Meek
Iain Scouller
Board Chairman
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present:
Steve Brown
Chamber of Commerce Liaison
Sharron Rogers
Council Liaison
Paul W. McCallum
Executive Director
Brady Closson
Managing Director, Sales/Marketing
Lindy Bell
Assistant to the Executive Director
Absent: Keith Spinden, Board Member
Dan Weinberger, Board Member
Melva Stanfield, Heritage Foundation Liaison
CALL TO ORDER
Board Chair Joe Szymaszek, called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
NEW EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTIONS
Mr. McCallum introduced new employees Abbey Morales, Jamie Clark and Noah
Graham.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Iain Scouller, seconded by Mark Terpening approved the minutes from the
February 14, 2019 meeting and prevailed by the following vote:
Ayes: Szymaszek, Blankenship, Terpening, Meek, and Scouller
Nays: None
Board of Directors Meeting
March 14, 2019
Page 2 of 6
LIAISON UPDATES
Chamber of Commerce
Steve Brown provided the monthly up -date for the Chamber of Commerce. The
monthly membership luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, March 21St. Johnny Quinn, a
motivational speaker and a former Olympic bobsledder, is the speaker. Caterer is Zoe's
Kitchen and Buttermilk Pie Shop is providing desserts. There is no sponsor as of yet.
Emily Nelson has started at the Chamber and will be introduced to the Board at the
March 22"d Board meeting
The Chamber building project is progressing nicely. Interior and exterior finishes were
selected and finalized last week. Sponsorship levels and campaign captains have been
identified. In lieu of a speaker, a big kick off is planned for the April membership
luncheon when all information regarding the building will be presented to the
membership.
Heritage Foundation Activities
In the absence of Heritage Foundation Liaison Melva Stanfield, Chairman Szymaszek
presented the report. The Heritage Foundation Preservation Advocacy nominations for
2019 are due by Friday, March 29. These awards are a serious evaluation of an
individual, group or organization committed to saving important landmarks of
Grapevine's heritage.
Nash Farm
Nash Farm's First Friday program, "Gardening: Plan & Plant a Kitchen Garden" on
March 1, had 58 gardeners. The 19th Century Farm Meal Workshop on Saturday,
March 9th, was sold out. Some openings in sponsorship areas are still available.
The Foundation's March 20th meeting will cover the Spring Into Nash event scheduled
for Saturday, April 13 with a building theme. Staff and the Foundation are planning
activities to celebrate the 150th birthday of the Nash Farmhouse during the Spring Into
Nash event.
Heritage Preservation Programs staff received word that Grapevine obtained Main
Street America accreditation for 2019 as a National Main Street City. The
announcement was received with applause by Board members.
SALES AND MARKETING REPORT
Mr. Closson reported that for February, the Convention and Leisure Sales team had 98
sales leads sourced to stakeholder hotels with 90,500 potential room nights and a
potential economic impact of approximately $44.2 million of which two are "In The Year
For The Year" (ITYFTY) representing 205 room nights and $346,000 in potential
economic impact. Sales team assisted with 25 definite bookings representing 11,600
Board of Directors Meeting
March 14, 2019
Page 3 of 6
room nights and an economic impact of $6.4 million, three of which are ITYFTY. Sales
team conducted 26 sales appointments and hosted nine site inspections representing
approximately 7,400 potential room nights and $4.2 million in potential economic
impact. Sales team representatives participated in a Kansas City sales mission and a
New York City sales mission. The St. Patrick's Day Sales mission is underway with
strong numbers indicating they will be attending at least one of the three events
planned. Three stakeholder hotels are participating in the sales mission including Hilton
DFW Lakes, Gaylord Texan and Hyatt Regency DFW. Also, a Valentine -themed direct
mail piece was sent showcasing Grapevine hotels' "Hot Dates." For Leisure Sales, the
team participated in Visit USA Australian sales mission which encompassed Melbourne,
Brisbane and Sydney with over 900 potential leisure and tour leads.
Mr. Closson reported that room night leads in Grapevine are up 49% to what they were
last year and leads sourced to stakeholder hotels are up 37%. Smith Travel Research
(STR) tracking matrix shows that year to date, Grapevine hotels are up on occupancy
at 74% and relatively flat on revenue compared to last year which is significant with the
addition of the Vineyard Tower at the Gaylord Texan. As stated in the report, Grapevine
leads Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin in REVPAR (revenue per available
room).
The Visitor Information Center, Settlement to City and Depot welcomed almost 6,000
guests in February with almost 5,000 coming from Texas, 756 domestic visitors and 255
international visitors. Brochure distribution for the month of January was 60,000.
Destination Services assisted 14 groups representing 17,400 attendees with potential
economic impact of $12.7 million.
The Convention Center, Palace Arts Center and Concourse hosted a combined 69
events with almost 15,000 in attendance and an anticipated economic impact of almost
$260,000. 43 future events were booked during the month.
Grapevine Vintage Railroad was closed in February for maintenance.
The website welcomed approximately 65,900 unique visitors in February with a total
website visitation over 84,000. Top referring sites included M.facebook.com,
Facebook.com, Texashillcountry.com and VisitDFW.com. Online (GROUP) had 40,000
impressions.
Print consumer publications had three insertions with a circulation of 86,900 including
Community Impact, Texas Star Dinner Playbill and Fort Worth Key.
On-line Consumer Advertising had 3.2 million impressions. Shop Across Texas 2.7
million, Simpleview PPC almost 100,000 impressions and TourTexas.com (leaderboard
web banner) 100,000.
Board of Directors Meeting
March 14 2019
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Three media releases were distributed. Print ad value was almost $332,000 with a
circulation of almost 818,000.
Print publicity ad value for February had an ad value of $332,000 with a circulation of
over 818,000. TV/radio ad value for February was a little less than $20,000 with an
audience of a little over 689,000. Peppa Pig World at Play coverage was on all three
networks with over 131,000 viewers on WFAA-ABC, over 114,000 on KXAS-NBC and
almost 114,000 on KXAS-NBC.
No action was taken by the Board.
OLD BUSINESS
Blevins House Update
Mr. McCallum reported that the sale of the Blevins house, a wonderful example of an
118 -year old farmhouse, to the corner of Dooley and Wall, was approved at the March
5th Council meeting. The house will be sold under a sealed bid with a minimum bid of
$358,000. The house was advertised March 7th and 14th in the Fort Worth Star
Telegram and via social media ads. There are currently two potentially strong inquiries.
Bids are due by 2:00 p.m., Thursday, March 28th Bids will be opened the following day
on March 29th. Proceeds from the house will be reinvested in the Grapevine Township
Revitalization Program.
No Action was taken by the Board.
McPherson Barn Up -Date
Mr. McCallum reported that City Council approved the bid from Marquis Restoration at
the March 5th City Council meeting to restore the McPherson 4 -crib log barn. Mr.
Marquis has already visited the site to start the project and will return in approximately
four to six weeks to begin on-site work after gathering needed materials. A September
completion date is anticipated in the hopes of a dedication taking place in conjunction
with GrapeFest. The barn is the oldest structure in Tarrant County, one of four crib
barns west of the Mississippi, two of those four barns being in Texas. Restoration costs
will be funded by monies raised during festivals and events.
Grapevine Vintage Railroad Update
Mr. McCallum reported that Grapevine Vintage Railroad resumed operations March 2"d,
Texas Independence Day, with one-hour Grapevine excursion and excursions to the
Historic Fort Worth Stockyards. Ridership has been strong and everything is working
well with after a complete shutdown for maintenance and repair during January and
February. The train ran without passengers the first two weeks in February to
determine how operations with TEXRail might affect scheduling and by the second run,
all was working well. The railroad will be conducting daily excursions to the Stockyards
during Spring Break with Kiss Me I'm Irish Express and Jazz Wine trains scheduled.
Board of Directors Meeting
March 14, 2019
Page 5 of 6
Work is commencing well at the shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming on the firebox with
additional pieces being taken next week for the work to continue. It is all coming
together nicely.
Mr. McCallum also reported that the two FL -9's are now sitting in Grapevine Vintage
Railroad's parking lot.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. McCallum reported that multiple entertainment contracts have been confirmed for
the upcoming 2019 Christmas Capital of Texas and include the following: Kraig Parker,
Cowboy Bill, Ricki Derek, The Texas Tenors and Rocky Gribble. Mr. McCallum also
announced that the theme for Gaylord's ICE! for 2019 is going to be Charlie Brown.
The theme will not be publicly announced until July.
Mr. McCallum provided information to the Board regarding Sister City programs as well
as the Sister City annual meeting held last week with 87 attendees. The annual
meeting also featured a performance by 11 Grapevine High School students. While
attending the Visit USA expo in Australia, Mr. McCallum also visited the Barossa Valley
where he met with city leadership to discuss a potential Sister City relationship between
Barossa Valley and Grapevine. A visit to Grapevine by Barossa Valley's Mayor and
City Manager is being discussed for September 2020 to coincide with GrapFest with a
reciprocal visit anticipated for Grapevine City officials to travel to Barossa in 2021.
In addition, a virtual relationship has been established between Grapevine students and
students in Kashiwara, Japan thanks to efforts put forth by the Kubota Corporation.
HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES
Mr. Closson reported that Peppa Pig, World of Play's grand opening at Grapevine Mills
has met with great success with Grapevine's opening outperforming their location in
Shanghai. Board Member Iain Scouller reported the numbers have been higher than
anticipated and staff is working to achieve the balance of numbers for optimum
enjoyment. It is anticipated Peppa Pig will temporarily close sometime before summer
to rebuild areas with the heaviest use.
Mr. Closson provided Board members with samples of new collateral with the top two
pieces being the Main Street Fest rack card and New Vintage brochure. Collateral
distribution is provided by Certified Folder Service to locations in Dallas, Fort Worth,
Arlington, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Other delivery points include: 43 AAA
locations, 59 Convention and Visitors Bureaus in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, 12
Texas Travel Information Centers and location distribution to hotels, restaurants,
attractions and apartment complexes.
Board of Directors Meeting
March 14, 2019
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Mr. Closson also reported on multiple upcoming local events that have or will be
happening over the spring break week.
There being no further business to come before the Board a motion by Debi Meek,
seconded by Mark Terpening to adjourn the meeting at 9:17 a.m. prevailed by the
following vote:
Ayes: Szymaszek, Blankenship, Terpening, Meek and Scouller
Nays: None
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS
BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS
18th DAY OF APRIL, 2019.
ATTEST:
Lindy B611
Assistant to th Executive Director