HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-18 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, April 18, 2019 — 8:00 a.m.
CVB Headquarters
636 S. Main Street
Grapevine, Texas
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
2. OATH OF OFFICE
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
4. LIAISON UPDATES
A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES
B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES
5. SALES & MARKETING REPORT
A. ST. PATRICK'S DAY SALES MISSION
B. CONVENTION SOUTH — HOUSTON MISSION
C. AUSTIN SALES MISSION
6. OLD BUSINESS
A. BLEVINS HOUSE UPDATE
B. RUBY MOORE HOME UPDATE
C. GVRR UPDATE
7. NEW BUSINESS
A. GRAPEVINE SHUTTLE — TEXRAIL INTEGRATION
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 THE12TH DAY OF APRIL, 2019 BY 5:00
P.M.
4
f t:i �dy'Be1I
Assistant to 0.i 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 18, 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
Keith Spinden
Dan Weinberger
Board Chairman
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present:
Janet Perkins
Steve Brown
Sharron Rogers
Paul W. McCallum
Brady Closson
Lindy Bell
Absent:
Heritage Foundation Liaison
Chamber of Commerce Liaison
Council Liaison
Executive Director
Managing Director, Sales/Marketing
Assistant to the Executive Director
None
CALL TO ORDER
Board Chair Joe Szymaszek, called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m.
OATH OF OFFICE
Mr. Chuck Pacioni was sworn in as a member of the Grapevine Convention & Visitors
Bureau Board of Directors.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Iain Scouller, seconded by Cynthia Blankenship approved the minutes from
the March 14, 2019 meeting and prevailed by the following vote:
Ayes: Szymaszek, Blankenship, Terpening, Meek, Scouller, Spinden and Weinberger
Nays: None
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 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, April 18th, when the building
program for the Chamber of Commerce will be introduced. Caterer is Feedstore
Barbecue and the sponsor is Frost Bank. The luncheon's program will be the financial
goals and timing of the Chamber offices construction plan. $140,000 has already been
confirmed for this six-month construction project to begin in June.
Heritage Foundation Activities
Heritage Foundation Liaison Janet Perkins presented the report. The Heritage
Foundation met Wednesday, April 17, for their regular meeting. Consideration was
made by the Board for the 2019 Preservation Advocacy awards and their recipients
determined. Honorees will be recognized at the May 7 City Council meeting by Mayor
Tate and Chairman Ratliff. Criteria and nomination forms for 2020 are on the
GrapevineTexasUSA website.
Nash Farm
Nash Farm's Spring Into Nash program was held Saturday with rain showers but a good
time was had by all. The Farm to Fork Supper will be Friday, April 26th. A few tickets
remain. A Cheese Making Workshop is scheduled for Friday May 3rd, along with a
second Cheese Making Workshop on Saturday, May 4. The 1860s Baseball game is
scheduled for Saturday, May 11th, at 6:00 p.m. Board members were told to check with
Cody if they would like to play.
SALES AND MARKETING REPORT
Mr. Closson reported that for March, the Convention and Leisure Sales team had 129
sales leads sourced to stakeholder hotels with 147,500 potential room nights and a
potential economic impact of approximately $76 million of which 46 are "In The Year For
The Year" (ITYFTY) representing 13,848 room nights and $9.8 million in potential
economic impact. Sales team assisted with 22 definite bookings representing 13,000
room nights and an economic impact of $10 million, 11 of which are ITYFTY. Sales
team hosted ten site inspections representing approximately 22,600 potential room
nights and $10.7 million in potential economic impact. Sales team representatives
participated in ConferenceDirect annual partner meeting in Atlanta; the 31St annual St.
Patrick's Day sales mission to New York City and Conventions South Rendezvous
The Visitor Information Center welcomed over 10,000 visitors while Settlement to City
welcomed over 820 guests and the Depot welcomed over 4,300 guests. Brochure
distribution for the month of March was 77,000.
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2019
Page 3 of 6
Destination Services assisted 11 groups representing 20,000 delegates with potential
economic impact of $12.8 million.
The Convention Center, Palace Arts Center and Concourse hosted a combined 69
events with almost 12,500 in attendance and an anticipated economic impact of almost
$405,000. 51 future events were booked during the month.
Grapevine Vintage Railroad had 28 excursions representing 5,300 riders including the
Kiss Me I'm Irish Express and two sold out Jazz Wine trains.
The website welcomed approximately 87,350 unique visitors in March with a total
website visitation over 115,000. Top referring sites included M.facebook.com,
Facebook.com, GrapevineTexasUSA.gov, visitDFW.com and FaceBook.
Online Trade (GROUP) received 40,000 impressions with two insertions including
Associations-Forum.org and CVENT. Print Trade (GROUP) had three insertions with a
circulation of 75,800.
Print consumer publications had ten insertions with a circulation of 364,000.
On-line Consumer Advertising had almost 2.9 million impressions with five insertions.
Six media releases were distributed. Print ad value was almost $137,000 with a
circulation of almost 546,000. On-line ad value for March was almost $3,000 which
totals 37 placements.
TV/radio are finalizing Main Street Fest spots which will begin airing in outer markets
starting April 22nd including Oklahoma City, Shreveport, Abilene, Waco -Temple -Bryan,
Midland -Odessa, Wichita Falls, Tyler and Longview. Core market TV/radio will begin
April 29th and run through the Festival.
St. Patrick's Day Sales Mission
The 31St Annual St. Patrick's Day sales mission in New York City featured three events
resulting in an attendance of 76 planners. The IEEE group has invited Codi Missimo to
make a presentation to their planners which is very positive. Three planners are also
confirmed to attend the Main Street Fest Sales Fam.
Convention South
Contact was made with 34 planners during 15 minute on -on -one conversations. Three
RFP's have been received resulting in a possible economic impact of $1 million.
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2019
Page 4 of 6
Austin Sales Mission
An independent mission that had nine appointments with 14 planners heavily involved in
state association markets. Two planners will be participating in the Main Street Sales
Fam.
No action was taken by the Board.
OLD BUSINESS
Blevins House Update
Mr. McCallum reported that the sale of the Blevins house is progressing with advertising
placed in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Dallas Morning News, online advertising, and
web page. An open house was held Saturday, April 13th from 2:00 — 4:00 p.m. where
15 separate parties toured the house. Three to four expressed interest and another
eight are possibilities as well. Bids will be opened Tuesday, April 301h at 2:00 p.m.
The process will continue until the house sells.
Ruby Moore Home Up -Date
Mr. McCallum reported that the purchase of the Ruby Moore home was completed April
11 and the home is in the process of being cleaned. Renovation will soon begin to
make it a one -room structure used for Grapevine's international outreach. Ideally, it will
be positioned for dedication at GrapeFest
Grapevine Vintage Railroad Update
Mr. McCallum reported that Grapevine Vintage Railroad had two sold out Jazz Wine
trains, the Kiss Me I'm Irish was five seats short of being sold out and the two Easter
Bunny trains for the upcoming weekend are sold out. The two weekends for Day Out
with Thomas presented weather challenges. A reduction in ridership was noted with out
of town ridership remaining strong. Mr. McCallum will be meeting with other railroads
who has Day Out With Thomas events to discuss meeting with Mattel to encourage
them to resume the television programming featuring Thomas the Train.
No Action was taken by the Board.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. McCallum reported that efforts are underway with TEXRail/Trinity Metro to install
their fare boxes on Grapevine shuttles so riders can use cards purchased through
TEXRail to ride Grapevine shuttles. A financial arrangement is being discussed where
Trinity Metro will reimburse Grapevine a negotiated rate for shuttle riders using the
TEXRail card. This will enable all Tarrant County riders to use one card for all mass
transportation. It is projected to be in operation by early summer. TEXRail will begin
running every half hour on peak starting in July. This will initially impact train excursion
events but will be re -assessed once things settle to see if events can be added back.
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2019
Page 5 of 6
A second consist is being planned that will include three cars and will be joined together
for special event business. A theme will be used for each car and will be Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. Plans are for the ticket price to include a night's
stay in a Grapevine hotel before boarding the train for a special event.
HOTELVATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES
Mr. Closson introduced new sales presentation folders to the Board. A sample of the
old presentation folder was shown for comparison.
Mr. Closson reported that the Texas Shooting Gallery is under construction. Progress
has been slowed due to engineering opportunities but construction is expected to
resume in the near future.
A Hilton Garden Inn is being added as a third component to the dual brand of Courtyard
and Towne Place Suites. Construction is expected to begin by mid -summer and an 18 -
month build out is anticipated. It will bring an additional 9,000 square feet of meeting
space and 150 more rooms.
Hotel Vin within the Grapevine Main complex is steadily going up. A General Manager
for the hotel has been hired who is expected to start May 1St. The hotel's goal is to start
pre -selling for social events in mid-June and open prior to Main Street Fest 2020.
Paycom held its groundbreaking April 10th for its 150,000 square foot facility on a 14 -
acre campus. All Texas Paycom transactions will go through the Grapevine location
and it is anticipated to bring approximately 1,000 jobs to Grapevine.
The Economic Development team is currently working on four potential projects
The City of Krems will have a 12 -person delegation at GrapeFest led by the
Burgermeister to celebrate the 20 -year anniversary relationship between Grapevine and
Krems.
Mr. Closson showed Board Members a sample of the Main Street Fest poster included
as a part of their bag of credentials ready for their pick up at the conclusion of the
meetina.
Mr. Closson reported on various events happening around Grapevine in the coming
days including the Great Taste of Grapevine to be held this evening. The Farmers
Market is now open and Earth Day will be celebrated Saturday 9:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.
in the Town Square Gazebo. Texas Star Dinner Theater's production is "Bush
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2019
Page 6 of 6
Whacked at Bronco Bob's." Giddens Art Gallery exhibit "The Labyrinth of My Mind"
concludes Saturday, April 20th. Vetro Glass Blowing Studio will host an "Egg Stravanza"
on Saturday, April 27th, The Palace Arts Center is showing "Lawrence of Arabia and
there are two Easter Bunny trains scheduled for Easter Sunday, both are sold out. The
Farm to Fork Supper is scheduled for Friday, April 26th. The Metroplex Doll Show is
scheduled for the Convention Center on Saturday. April 27th, and the Settlement to City
museums are hosting a Traditional Tea Experience on Saturday, April 27th
Mr. Closson played for the Board that Main Street Fest TV advertisement and
highlighted the 75 brews representing 35 breweries that will be in the Craft Brew
Experience in Liberty Park Plaza sponsored by the Gaylord Texan. There will be Doc
Brown, Marty McFly and MaDonna look-alikes roaming the grounds during the festival.
One of the DeLoreans used to film the "Back to the Future" movie will be on the grounds
and available for photos. Proceeds paid for use of the car will benefit the Michael J. Fox
Foundation.
There being no further business to come before the Board a motion by Mark Terpening,
seconded by Debi Meek to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 a.m. prevailed by the following
vote:
Ayes: Szymaszek, Blankenship, Terpening, Meek, Scouller, Weinberger, Spinden and
Pacioni
Nays: None
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS
BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS
17th DAY OF MAY, 2019.
APPROVED:.
r
?
Joe Szymaszek.
Chairman
ATTEST:
Lindy Bell
Assistant to the Executive Director