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Home My WebLink About2006-11-16 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, November 16, 2006 — 11:30 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT IV. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT V. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT VI. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT A. DFWAE TRADESHOW B. HIGO C. OVERSEAS BRATS D. HOUSTON SALES MISSION E. ARKANSAS SALES MISSION F. ALBUQUERQUE BALLOON FIESTA G. MIDLAND AIR SHOW VII. OLD BUSINESS A. SISTER CITY UPDATE VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS IN AID REQUEST IX. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION LIAISON B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LIAISON X. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, November 16, 2006 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 John Imaizumi Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Mark Wasiak Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Ross Bannister Director of Heritage Programs & Preservation George Kakos Assistant Executive Director ABSENT Paul Slechta Board Member Mike Lease Chamber Liaison CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the October 26th meeting was made by Phil Cloud and seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT • Mr. McCallum reported that Ice opens tonight at the Gaylord Texan. • The AmeriSuites by the mall will be operated by Hyatt as a Hyatt Place property. • A conditional use request has been made by Fireside Pies (pizza pie) for a restaurant next to Bob's Steak and Chop House on South Main. • Certificates of Occupancy have been issued for: • The Harvest Moon, a retail shop at 530 S. Main • Great American Cookie at Grapevine Mills • Cancun Market at Grapevine Mills Board of Directors Meeting November 16, 2006 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • The traffic island at the intersection of Wall and Ball Street was dedicated as the site of the Blue Star Memorial honoring veterans that have served in the military. • The Convention Center is reworking some drainage, parking, and landscaping around the building. • The brick pavers at the Depot are being reset to take care of some safety issues. • The train loading platform has been extended in order to be able to load an additional coach. • The Christmas Carol of Lights is Monday, November 27th at 7 p.m. • The Parade of Lights is Thursday, November 30th at 7 p.m. • Grapevine is the center of Christmas for north Texas with the increase in Christmas decoration inventory and the expansion of Christmas programs. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT George Kakos reported that the railroad carried 3,865 passengers for the month and hosted 12 field trips and three charters. To date the North Pole Express has sold to 72 schools with 6,526 children for the school runs and 6,012 for the public runs. Ticket sales for the public runs are averaging 50 a day. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT Ross Bannister reported that the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will perform at the Palace on Friday evening and over 200 seats have been sold for the event. A delegation of five, led by David Klempin, attended the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference in Pittsburg. Mr. Bannister shared the rack card for the Holiday Double Features that will be shown at the Palace on the first three Sundays in December. He also shared the tent card for the Dinner and a Movie Program and the mailer for the Holiday Decorating Contest. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of October that the convention sales division produced 17 leads representing 8,701 potential room nights. The team assisted with four definite groups representing 3,277 room nights. Staff conducted three site inspections. Staff participated in the Dallas Fort Worth Association Executives annual meeting and trade show where 21 organizations visited our booth. They also attended Hospitality Industry Golf Organization where attendees are female meeting planners and there were 120 industry professionals and 49 planners in attendance. Staff participated in Overseas Brats Reunion which is an organization of volunteer planners representing members who were schooled overseas as their parents were government employees. There were 12 visitors to the booth and the show generated two potential leads totaling 250 room nights. This program is booked next year at the Board of Directors Meeting November 16, 2006 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Hyatt Regency DFW in August with a total of 700 room nights. Staff conducted a Houston Sales Mission led by Janet Williams and representatives from the Hyatt, Gaylord, Hilton and Embassy. They conducted nine presentations to corporations and associations, most of which were attended by multiple company representatives. A major presentation was made to Helms Briscoe, a third party meeting planner. Staff also co-hosted the DFW Chapter meeting of Meeting Planners International at the Embassy Suites. Tourism sales staff generated four leads representing 100 room nights and 125 attendees. They assisted with one definite representing 50 room nights. Staff participated in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, a co-op booth with the DFW Area Tourism Council and distributed 200 Grapevine Today magazines. They participated in the Midland Air Show with distribution of another 200 Grapevine Todays. Staff conducted an Arkansas Sales Mission that produced eight appointments and 2 leads and a Houston Sales Mission the produced 15 appointments. Staff also participated in Group Leaders of America shows and a Travel Information Center Blitz with visits to five of the state welcome centers. Destination Services provided registration assistance to 11 groups representing 13,415 attendees. 110,717 brochures were distributed during the month and 13,089 visitors were assisted through the Visitor Information Center. The Convention Center booked 25 future groups representing 11,696 attendees. It was a strong month with room rental of$41,760 and $29,482 in food sales. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad website had 25,615 unique visitors and the general site had 46,904 unique visitors. Public Relations generated $47,731 in print and $4,509 in electronic media coverage. Mr. Kakos shared several recent news articles and ad placements for the Christmas activities. OLD BUSINESS Sister City Update Mr. McCallum reported on a recent visit to Scotland and England to research a potential Sister City community. Linlithgow, Scotland is midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The community had just recently won funding for a rail link to Edinburgh. Mr. McCallum shared literature from the community with the board. Linlithgow does lots of small festivals and parades. There is some industrialization and tourism plays an important role. The next step would be to invite some of their representatives to attend one of our festivals and meet with city officials and for us in turn to take a delegation to their community. It takes 2-3 years to develop a Sister City relationship. Board of Directors Meeting November 16, 2006 Page 4 of 4 OLD BUSINESS cont. Sister City Update cont. Mr. McCallum also reported potential existed with some of the communities in southern England, however, we should proceed with only one community at a time. NEW BUSINESS Grants In Aid Request Mr. McCallum presented the Grants In Aid Request from the End of the Runway Players, stating that they are an all-volunteer group and very involved in the community. Staff recommends approval. Discussion followed. Kathee Livengood made a motion to award the grant in the amount of$10,000. Phil Cloud seconded. Motion carried. REPORTS Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported that the Heritage Foundation received agrant of$30,000 last week from the Texas Historical Commission for Nash Farm. The 3rd Annual Jubilee will be held at Austin Ranch celebrating a century of community. They will be sending out the save the date cards in the near future. Chamber of Commerce Phil Cloud reported that the Chamber Christmas Mixer will be on December 14th at Bank of the West and the Women's Division Anniversary Ball will be December 2nd at the Embassy Suites. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board Bill Brink made a motion to adjourn, seconded by John Imaizumi. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: