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Home My WebLink About2004-10-21 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS C GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, October 21, 2004 -- 11:30 a.m. WALLIS BUILDING ONE LIBERTY PARK PLAZA, GRAPEVINE, TEXAS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. 'HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT IV. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT V. OLD BUSINESS A. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE B. GRAPEVINE JUBILEE - 160 YEARS OF SETTLEMENT C. AVIATION MUSEUM VI. REPORTS A. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE B. HERITAGE FOUNDATION VII. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, October 21, 2004 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Philip Cloud Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Cliff Reynolds Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Tom Smith Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Martin Thompson Grapevine Chamber CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. Mr. McCallum introduced Pam Kinkema who joined the CVB staff on September 13 as Visitor Information Center Supervisor. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the September 16th meeting was made by Phil Cloud and seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum shared the following: • The Crestline Corporation is acquiring John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc. and the combined management entities will be renamed Barcelo Hammons Hotels and Resorts, Inc. John Q.'s personal properties are not included in the acquisition and we expect our property to continue as is. • At the Hilton the meeting room names have changed to winery names. The Boardroom bar has been renamed Bonnie & Clyde's Hideout. The indoor tennis courts are being turned into an additional 17,000 sq. feet of meeting space. The (irpurchase of Austin Ranch should be completed next year. • At the Hyatt Regency renovations have begun on the lower level and they have added some new sales managers. The Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2004 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • November 2004 will be the groundbreaking for the construction of 900 additional parking spaces at Gaylord. November 19 at 7 p.m. is the time for turning on the lights for Lone Star Gala. There is no charge for the event, however there is a fee for parking. • The Fairfield Inn and Suites has been open for two months. This is the former Ramada property; they report doing phenomenally. • Holiday Inn Express is updating new showerheads, etc. in the guestroom bathrooms. • The last restaurant on Crossroads Dr. will be a Boston Pizza. This restaurant is similar to a "Champs." • D'Vine Wine, a "make your own"wine winery, has received council approval on their zoning and will be located in the former Cap*Rock facility. • Target on Ira E. Woods has received council approval for off premise sale of beer and wine. • The 7th Annual Butterfly Flutterby was Saturday and was a great success. Over 1,000 people participated in the parade, which was led by Jessie from Toy Story 2. Liberty Park had 3,500 people participate in the arts/crafts, educational stations, entertainment and butterfly releases. • The Joey Wilkins Foundation Golf Benefit will be Monday, November 22"d. The golf tournament is a noon shotgun start with the event at Delaney's starting at 5:30 p.m. • A public presentation of the plans for Nash Farm will be held on November 9th at the Palace Theatre. • The Grapevine homecoming parade is tonight. • The bureau has purchased a mobile Grape Crusher Truck to be used in parades and to promote Grapevine. It will be our equivalent of the "Miss Foley" shrimp boat from Foley, AL. Dennis Slechta first located the vehicle, which comes with an original patent. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of September that the convention sales division produced 29 leads representing 30,195 potential room nights. The team assisted with 8 definite groups representing 8,338 room nights. The team conducted 5 site inspections and participated in a St. Louis sales mission, Texas Society of Association Executives annual meeting, Affordable Meetings in Washington, DC, and a southern California sales mission. Convention Services assisted 10 groups representing 8,825 attendees. Tourism division produced 4 leads representing 190 attendees and 128 room nights and assisted with 12 definite bookings representing 600 room nights and 700 attendees. Staff participated in an Albuquerque sales mission in conjunction with DFWATC at the fir Balloon Festival and conducted 2 site inspections. The Convention Center booked 23 events representing 7,706 attendees. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2004 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad carried 3,644 passengers and 1,185 during the GrapeFest Express runs. The Polar Express runs have 450 reservations to date and the school group reservations are just under 3,000.Web site traffic was 17,010 visits on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad site and 12,400 on the general site. Public Relations generated $140,160 in print and $226,388 in electronic media coverage. Mr. Kakos shared several positive notes received from TSAE members regarding their recent meeting in Grapevine. OLD BUSINESS Artist in Residence Mr. McCallum reported that a progressive council approved this position in the budget. Staff is working on a contract, which is modeled after the one used with the golf pro. Grapevine will receive two life-size pieces during the year. Part of the role is to work with the Heritage Foundation education program. Our foundry should be in place in the next six months. Grapevine Jubilee Mr. McCallum reported that the jubilee will celebrate160 years of settlement on the grape vine prairie. This is a kick-off fundraiser for Nash Farm. It is a two-part event with the first part being a program in the Palace with glimpses of the past 160 years through the eyes of Sam Houston, Standing Feather and Tom Nash; followed by a concert by Don Edwards. The second part is a banquet, barn dance and costume contest in the Lancaster. Aviation Museum Darlene Freed and Paul W. McCallum met with members of the Airport Board regarding the aviation museum. The project was moved in the direction of an Airport Interpretive Center to understand the workings of an airport from baggage handling to tower operations. The site has moved onto highway 114 and could include some observation areas and dining opportunities. Ms. Freed reported that this project has been "floating" and having it specialized is exciting. This would give the airport a public face with lots of educational opportunities. The next step is to bring in some consultants to determine how to implement some of the ideas. REPORTS Chamber of Commerce November 20 is the date for the 30th Anniversary Ball at Gaylord. Dove Road extension is open. The Grapevine Chamber is in charge of greeting the troops the last two weeks (100 of the year. Will be handing out water, calling cards etc. Interested participants can contact the Chamber office or Darlene Freed. Le The Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2004 Page 4 of 4 REPORTS cont. Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported that activities at Nash Farm this Saturday would include a scarecrow contest and petting zoo. At 11:30 a.m. there will be a dedication of the Ted Wilhoite plaque. On the 29th Hank Thompson will perform at the Palace. There will be a benefit to raise funds to help improve the acoustics in the Lancaster. The goal is $10,000. Chamber has earmarked the first $1,000 from Mardi Gras to go to the project. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Bigbie reported that Parras Nights at Cross Timbers raised $3;000 for the school in Parras. Looking at doing a Christmas in Parras in December. Kathee Livengood recognized the CVB staff for all their hard work, especially with festivals which was evidenced by the $325,840 check presented to the Heritage Foundation yesterday. There being no further business to come before the board; Bill Brink made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: