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Home My WebLink About2002-05-23 Regular Meeting (lor CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, May 23, 2002 -- 11:30 am 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. MAIN STREET DAYS RECAP B. 309 MAIN STREET VI. NEW BUSINESS A. CVB BUDGET PROCESS B. FORMATION OF MARKETING COMMITTEE C. HOSPITALITY & TOURISM TRAINING PROGRAM D. BUSINESS CARDS VII. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VIII. ADJOURNMENT (ire STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF TARRANT CITY OF GRAPEVINE MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, May 23, 2002 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 Paul Jennings Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Phil Parker Board Member Tom Smith Board Member Robert Thrailkill Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Roger Nelson City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Darlene Freed Council Liaison Sue Franks Grapevine Chamber CALL TO ORDER Don Bigbie called the meeting to order and welcomed Javier Rodriguez, Tourism Director, to the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the April 25, 2002 meeting was made by Bill Brink and seconded by Kathee Livengood. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum recognized Javier Rodriquez for receiving the Gene Phillips Tourism Award as well as the Partners in Excellence Award from GCISD. Mr. McCallum presented the mementos from the Mayor's Recognition Breakfast to the Board Members. There was a great turnout by the sponsors at the Recognition Breakfast along with the recognition of the AMBUCS, Izak & Joe Gregory, Darlene Freed and SBC-Southwestern Bell, the presenting sponsor. Mr. McCallum thanked the Cor board for their support and participation. New Vintage was a very successful promotion and publicity event that drew focus to Grapevine. The Blessing of the Vines, Jazz Wine Train and other individual events (kw The Board of Directors Meeting May 23, 2002 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. went very well. The upgrade of the event to the convention center looked good. The attendance was off. Staff discussed this extensively with the consensus that we were impacted by Main Street Arts Festival in Fort Worth. Sponsorship funds kept us in the black. Staff will retool this event. Kathee Livengood reported that Allen's Liberty House is under contract and the new owners intend to maintain it as a bed and breakfast. Roger Nelson reported that there should be more workers on site at Gaylord Opryland Texas in the next three weeks. The plans for the inside atrium have changed. The governor's mansion has been replaced by a depot and narrow gage train. The train is one that was at Opryland's theme park in Nashville. They are still planning to open in 2004. Mr. McCallum shared the new Grapevine Steam Railroad brochure. It is a cooperative effort by Grapevine & Fort Worth CVB's, Stockyards Station, the Stockyards Business Association and Fort Worth and Western Railroad. It will be used in the outer markets to drive tourism. George Kakos coordinated this project for the Corridor Committee. Mr. McCallum shared the new all-inclusive piece. We have driven additional revenues into this piece through advertising and have printed one million, a ten-month supply. CIF SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos shared highlights from the month of April. The convention sales team produced 5 leads representing 4,331 potential roomnights and conducted 3 site inspections. Three groups went definite representing 480 roomnights. Convention Services worked with six groups with a total of 2,960 delegates. Tourism division generated 4 leads representing 171 participants and had 1 definite with 80 roomnights. The tourism division participated in the Texas Travel Counselors Conference and had 1 site inspection. 20,055 visitors were assisted through the visitor information centers and 158,550 brochures were distributed. The Grapevine Steam Excursion Train had 3,875 passengers during the month. Communications generated $311,928 in electronic and print coverage. The Main Street Days FAM had 8 planners and 6 guests with a potential of 8 leads representing 20,750 roomnights. Sales staff will participate in the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives' Springtime in the Park in Washington D.C. in June. Hyatt will be the host hotel for the National Bowling Association's annual convention in 2004 and Grapevine is a contender for the 2005 Regional gathering. Grapevine held the first Destination Grapevine Training meeting with 24 in attendance. This program was developed on recommendation from the hotel directors of sales of the Grapevine properties. Mr. Kakos shared the tab sections for Main Street Days from the Fort Worth Star Telegram and the Grapevine Sun. Cr' The Board of Directors Meeting May 23, 2002 Page 3 of 4 OLD BUSINESS Main Street Days Recap Mr. McCallum related that Shirley Cohen, this year's chair, did a great job. An attendance record was set at 101,364 and we expect the festival to generate over $100,000 for the Palace Restoration Fund once all the bills have been paid. A professional research company conducted an exit survey and we are looking forward to seeing the tabulated results of this survey. There was success in the sponsor area. The train sampler to Colleyville had over 1,000 riders during the weekend. Representatives from Foley, Alabama attended the festival. Foley will be here for Main Street Days next year participating in a cultural exchange. They will bring a shrimp boat that will be on Lake Grapevine the week prior to the festival. This year we opened up the footprint of the festival by moving back the stages and opening up the Children's area. The entertainment was excellent and we experienced the largest Sunday crowd we have ever had. 309 Main Street Three meetings ago the board authorized Mr. McCallum to put a second contract on the building at 309 Main Street. About ten days ago we put a back up offer on the property. Cor The initial buyers have until May 31St to activate their contract. NEW BUSINESS CVB Budget Process City Manager, Roger Nelson, drives the budget process. The proposed CVB budget goes to the city manager's office and then becomes a part of the city's budget. Meetings with council are followed by a public hearing and the final budget is adopted in mid-September. This year's CVB budget will be without the revenue from the 600 rooms at Hyatt. It will be a reduced budget when it is presented. Formation of Marketing Committee Mr. Bigbie stated the Marketing Committee would include the director of sales from Hilton, Hyatt, Embassy and Gaylord and a representative from one of the limited service properties. Mr. Bigbie appointed Phil Cloud to chair the committee and appointed Kathee Livengood and Ev Barnes to serve on the committee. Hospitality & Tourism Training Program Mr. McCallum reported that this program is scheduled to be canceled at the conclusion of this school term. Margie Horn, instructor, is retiring and the cancellation is seen as a cost saving measure. After board discussion, it was decided that Mr. McCallum would take our concerns to the city manager so that they can be presented to GCISD from the city manager's office. Kathee Livengood stated that the new superintendent has expressed interest to the Chamber leadership about being a part of the business community. try The Board of Directors Meeting May 23, 2002 Page 4 of 4 NEW BUSINESS cont. Business Cards Mr. McCallum offered CVB business cards to any interested board members. REPORTS Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported that the Foundation is very happy over the success of Main Street Days and that the Palace has become very visible during that weekend. The education program, under the leadership of Sarah Cloud, has been very successful. They will again have the community garden at the Nash Farm. Chamber of Commerce The Chamber did well at Main Street Days. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Bigbie thanked all for coming and again expressed appreciation to Javier Rodriguez (rf for the job he has done and the honors he has received. Mr. Jennings stated that the 500 attendees at the Band Banquet at the Hyatt received excellent service from the Hyatt staff. There being no further business to come before the Board, Phil Cloud made a motion to adjourn seconded by Ev Barnes. ATTEST: DATE: