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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-18 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, May 18, 2023 — 8:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters Boardroom 636 S. Main Street Grapevine, Texas AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Citizen Comments Any person who is not scheduled on the agenda may address the Convention & Visitors Bureau Board under Citizen Comments or on any other agenda item by completing a Citizen Appearance Request form with staff. A member of the public may address the CVBB regarding an item on the agenda either before or during the Board's consideration of the item, upon being recognized by the Board Chair or upon consent of the CVBB. In accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, the CVBB is restricted in discussing or taking action during Citizen Comments. 3. New Employee Introduction 4. Approval of Minutes 5. Sales & Marketing Report A. HelmsBriscoe Annual Business Conference Trade Show B. Sports ETA Trade Show C. International Tourism and Leisure Monthly Overview 6. Ongoing Business A. Sister City Mission Report B. Main Street Fest Update 7. New Business A. Consider Fireworks Summer Schedule B. 19t' Century Studebaker Farm Wagon Donation C. Grant -In -Aid 8. Hotels / Attractions / Activities 9. Adjournment If you plan to attend this special public meeting and 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 12th day of May, 2023 by 5:00 p.m. Becky Roberson Executive Assistant County of Tarrant City of Grapevine State of Texas MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. at the Stephen W. Stinson Boardroom of the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Mark Terpening Dan Weinberger Cynthia Blankenship Debi Meek Corinna Wenks Mike Oakley Board Vice Chairman Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Leigh Lyons Managing Director of Sales, Marketing & Communications Becky Roberson Assistant to the Executive Director Sharron Rogers Council Liaison Absent: Joe Szymaszek, Chuck Pacioni and lain Scouller CALL TO ORDER Board Vice Chairman, Terpening called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Mike Oakley and seconded by Cynthia Blankenship, the minutes from the April 20, 2023 meeting were approved. NEW EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTION Paul W. McCallum, Executive Director introduced Dana Fairbanks and Elizabeth Schrack. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mrs. Lyons shared that in April the Sales Team sourced 134 group leads for 176,000 room nights. Year to date team lead production is up 63% for the fiscal year from 2022. Two large tradeshows were attended by staff members; Helms Briscoe Annual Business Conference and Tradeshow and Sports ETA Symposium Marketplace Tradeshow. Helms Briscoe offered the opportunity to host 64 one-on-one appointments. From this, there has been one site visit and spurred one RFP for June 2024 for 115 peak rooms and 265 total room nights. Staff had 25 one-on-one appointments at the Sports ETA Symposium Marketplace Tradeshow. Grapevine also partnered with 18 Texas CVBs to host an event with 133 sports planner attendees. One RFP consisting of 400 room nights and 800 hundred attendees has been requested. An overview of the ten FAMs hosted by our Leisure and International Sales Director was reported. Tour operators from Scotland, Germany and New Zealand, along with domestic tour operators were highlighted. ONGOING BUSINESS Mr. McCallum reported on the recent Barossa Valley Australia Mission. Mr. McCallum, the City Manager, Mayor Pro Tem, and the Sister City Program Manager visited the Barossa Valley at the invitation of Barossa Mayor Bim Lange. He shared that Barossa is made up of 300 square miles and boasts the oldest wine region in Australia with vines dating back to the 1880s. Nine towns make up the Barossa Council with a shared population of 30,000. The Grapevine delegation experienced the Barossa Vintage Festival which shares some similarities with GrapeFest. The delegation was treated to authentic aboriginal heritage at the Welcome Reception. Daily, the delegation met with a wide variety of government officials in various community locals. Education -centered meetings and tours included school leaders and students alike. A detailed tour was given of a local school's STEM, mechanics, technology, livestock and wine making programs. Mr. McCallum also shared that in 1996, Austin, Texas and Adelaide, South Australia established a Sister City relationship and that relationship is currently experiencing a rekindling of sorts. Australia now has a consulate in Houston. While Australia has a population of 27 million, a large percentage of that population travels internationally. With the recent addition of direct flights to and from Australia to DFW International Airport, he shared that the timing of this mission and the establishment of the Sister City relationship between Grapevine and Barossa is ideal. Mr. McCallum then shared a brief update about the 39th Annual Main Street Fest -a Craft Brew Experience presented by Bank of the West. It was reported that the Craft Brew Experience, sponsored by Karbach Brewing Company, is moving to the Cotton Belt Depot District to accommodate larger guest numbers. This activation has all new gables that will inform and welcome patrons. The Craft Brew Experience will highlight fifty breweries with one hundred individual brews. Liberty Park Plaza is set to host Taste of Texas, sponsored by Gaylord Texan Resort. This ticketed event will host twenty Texas breweries and will be the site of a VIP area. Hop and Sting Brewery is sponsoring the Gazebo Stage. The Main Stage will showcase musical acts and has a new sponsor this year, Arca Continental Coca Cola Southwest Beverages. There will be a Brews and Bites workshop, sponsored by Shannon Brewery and supported by Main Street Bakery, in the Grand Hall of the CVB Headquarters and will teach patrons how to pair signature brews with a variety of foods. In addition, a well -established cicerone and writer from the United Kingdom will be in attendance, make media appearances and have opportunities to share her love of craft brews with patrons of the festival. In a strategic effort to engage families, Chicken N Pickle will operate an installation of pickle ball courts just outside of the CVB on Hudgins Street and will host games for festival guests. Another exciting addition is a rock climbing wall at Wall Street and Main Street. Merlin Entertainment will support an activation in Kid Zone featuring a water touch pool by Sea Life Aquarium and activities by Legoland and Peppa Pig. There will be trained circus performers that interact with audiences and teach children to circus tricks. NEW BUSINESS Mr. McCallum spoke to the Summer Blast campaign of 2017. That summer fireworks were showcased every Friday night. The intent had been that convention goers would stay beyond the workweek of the convention to enjoy the weekend firework and other activities. It was also believed that the weekly firework displays would increase select and limited stays for out of town guests and increase full service weekend stays for DFW locals. The displays were a considerable undertaking as they pulled staff from various city departments, including Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Police, Fire and Convention and Visitors Bureau. After two summers, research showed that there was no measurable increase in weekend hotel occupancy nor stakeholder business sales. The displays were a considerable undertaking as they pulled staff from various city departments, including Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Police, Fire and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. The summer of 2020 was greatly impacted by Covid 19 and the summer fireworks were halted. Fireworks became difficult to source. Between the various challenges and the research, the firework campaign was discontinued. Discussion was then had about complaints the summer fireworks brought about; increased traffic around the neighborhoods near the lake and upset family pets as fireworks are known to be anxiety triggering for dog in particular. Fast forward to 2022 and Grapevine had the opportunity to host an outdoor ice rink as a component to the Christmas Capital of Texas. The Christmas Capital of Texas has proven profitable to many aspects of Grapevine. The research has proven measurable and impactful. Further discussion supported that strictly from a hotel standpoint, fireworks alone do not fill rooms. There was a general consensus that a better use of funding towards Fourth of July fireworks display and Christmas Capital of Texas as opposed to bringing back weekly summer fireworks. Vice Chair Mark Terpening called for a motion to direct funds to a stand-alone July 41h Fireworks Show. Motion: Cynthia Blankenship Second: Mike Oakley Approved 6-0 A 191h Century Studebaker farm wagon has been donated to Nash Farm and will be used to educate visitors. This new addition along with the 1932 Grain Truck, the 1910 Case Steam Traction Engine and other pieces of farm machinery play an important role in the education component of Nash Farm as a living history museum. Donations like the Studebaker wagon are an integral part of preserving Grapevine's agricultural heritage. Allowing residents and other guests to get a closer look at the machinery that helped build and sustain Grapevine farms from yesteryear is greatly valued. Mr. McCallum then shared that the Southwest Bluegrass Club had applied for a grant-in-aid of $2,000. If approved, the group intends to use the funds to bring musicians to Grapevine and to aid with the cost of marketing and promotion. The group brought in other musical acts and played three shows last summer. They experienced an increase in attendance with each performance as word spread about their performances. It was reported that guests that came for the performances at Ted Ware Plaza remained in the Historic District for shopping, dining and some stayed in local hotels. This grant entails two performances, one at the Gazebo on July 4th and a second on September 3011, location to be determined. The monies would go towards marketing and funding performers. After confirming that funds were available, Vice Chair Mark Terpening called for a motion to fund the grant-in-aid for the Southwest Bluegrass Club in the amount of $2,000. Motion: Dan Weinberger Second: Corrina Wenks Approved 5-0 Mike Oakley left the meeting early H OTELSIATTRACTI ONSIACTIVITI ES Mrs. Lyons shared the press release from Meow Wolf that announced the Grand Opening for Friday, July 14tn A glimpse of the marketing campaign for the 39th Annual Main Street Fest -a Craft Brew Experience presented by Bank of the West was presented. Video of live segments from various outlets and markets were shared. The planned pre-recorded and live broadcast scheduled was shared. ADJOURNMENT Vice Chairman Terpening called for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:24 a.m. Motion: Debi Meek Second: Corrina Wenks Approved 4-0 Cynthia Blankenship left early ATTEST: Becky; oberson Executive Assistant APPROVED: Joe Szymas k Chairman