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Home My WebLink About2007-03-22 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, March 22, 2007 — 11:30 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF IV. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT V. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT VI. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT VII. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT A. SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE B. MPI — DALLAS C. CONFERENCE DIRECT D. TACVB OSCAR PARTY / CO-CITY MARKETING BLITZ E. AUSTIN SALES MISSION F. BANK TRAVEL G. AUSTIN HOME & GARDEN SHOW VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON FESTIVAL PRICING AND HOURS B. UPDATE ON CVB OFFICE SPACE IX. NEW BUSINESS A. APPOINTMENT OF MARKETING COMMITTEE B. APRIL BOARD MEETING TIME CHANGE C. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST X. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION LIAISON B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LIAISON XI. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Mark Wasiak Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Mike Lease Chamber Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Ross Bannister Director of Heritage Programs & Preservation George Kakos Assistant Executive Director ( ABSENT Don Bigbie Chairman Philip Cloud Board Member John Imaizumi Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison CALL TO ORDER Kathee Livengood called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the February 15th meeting was made by Bill Brink and seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Mr. McCallum introduced new staff member, Steve Fotovich, Set Up Worker. Ms. Livengood welcomed him on behalf of the board. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum reported • Great Wolf Lodge has moved their opening to December 2007. • Uncle Julio's is planned to be open for business by April 30th • Confetti, a Little Bit of Happy (behind Bermuda Gold) is changing its name to All LAbout Me, Pajama and Bath Shop as of May 1St • Burrito's Loco's has opened in the former Chicken Express location. They serve authentic northern Mexico food. • Stained Glass & Gifts has opened on Jenkins Street. Board of Directors Meeting March 22, 2007 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • We received a letter from the Joint Commission on Sports Medicine & Science. Mr. McCallum recognized Steve Stinson and Bruce Dalton for their work with this group. • City Council adopted a resolution Tuesday night supporting the bid for the 2011 Super Bowl. • Kathee Livengood reported that there are 24 restaurants participating in tonight's Great Taste event. It has been promoted on five radio stations, in area newspapers and through the hotel concierges. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. Kakos reported that the railroad carried 1,632 passengers during February. Restoration of car #1818 was completed. Last week over spring break 2,246 passengers road the train. Day Out With Thomas will run this weekend and next. Total tickets sold to date is 18,000 on 65 runs. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT Ross Bannister thanked the board for their participation in the Preserve America Recognition ceremony held at Nash Farm. Staff is researching the possibility of obtaining additional Preserve America signs. Nash Farm Capital Campaign is over $657,000. Staff is working on a strategy to return to the Meadows Foundation for a grant. There is a letter coming from the state that will give us the go ahead for the construction at Nash Farm. Kathee Livengood reported that the Women's Division of the Chamber voted recently to purchase the front door at the farm. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of February that the convention sales division produced 28 leads representing 21,886 potential room nights. The team assisted with three definite groups representing 961 room nights and conducted one site inspection. Staff Hosted a fam trip for the Joint Commission on Sports Medicine which included representatives from 60 sports oriented organization who plan and host their own conventions. Staff attended the Southwest Showcase in Austin and had 49 visitors to the booth producing 11 leads. Staff attended the DFW Chapter of Meeting Planners International Supplier Showcase with 34 visitors to the booth. Staff also participated in Texas Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus annual Oscar Party. Staff attended Conference Direct meeting in Chicago with 56 third party meeting planners. Tourism sales staff generated 13 leads representing 785 potential room nights and assisted with 12 definite bookings with 682 room nights. Staff participated in Bank Travel Conference in Jacksonville, Florida and conducted 40 business appointments. Staff participated in the Austin Home & Garden Show. Destination Services staff provided registration assistance to eleven groups representing 132,080 attendees. 35,404 brochures were distributed during the month and 6,282 visitors were assisted through the Visitor Information Center. Board of Directors Meeting March 22, 2007 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. The Convention and Palace Arts Centers booked 37 future events representing 13,831 attendees with an economic impact of$497,916. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad website had 21,000 unique visitors and the general site had 47,143 unique visitors. Public Relations generated $24,622 in print and $102,845 in electronic media coverage. OLD BUSINESS Update on Festival Pricing and Hours Mr. McCallum reported that the festival pricing and hours were adopted by the City Council as recommended by the board. Update on CVB Office Space Mr. McCallum shared that we have been considering options for new CVB office space for the past three years. An opportunity came along to purchase property on Main and Hudgins Streets that would allow us to create a museum district and office space for all divisions of the CVB. We took it to council on March 6th and now have contracts in hand. Mr. McCallum shared the initial plans to demonstrate how Hudgins Street would be extended to College Street and Nash Farm. Staff closed on the ARPCO property yesterday. The initial plan is to turn the Wallis building into a boutique hotel with a small restaurant. It is expected to be two years before we would have the building constructed. NEW BUSINESS Appointment of Marketing Committee Mr. McCallum reported that the marketing committee is made up of representatives from hotels, attractions, merchants, etc. After review of last year's committee, staff recommended Kathee Livengood to chair and Bill Brink and Paul Slechta to serve. The three agreed to serve. April Board Meeting Time Change April 19th is the final luncheon for the Texas Travel Counselors Conference. Staff requested that the board meeting be moved to 9:30 a.m. on the 19th. There was a general consensus from the board to move the time of the meeting. Grants-in Air Request Ms. Livengood had two grant requests to come before the board. The first was for Ohlook Performing Arts for a spring performance at the Palace. Staff supports the request. Ev Barnes made a motion to approve the grant request in the amount of $5,000. Steve Stinson seconded. Motion carried. The second request was from the Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers. Staff supports the request. Ev Barnes made a motion to approve the grant request in the amount of $1,500. Bill Brink seconded. Motion carried. Board of Directors Meeting tw March 22, 2007 Page 4 of 4 REPORTS Chamber of Commerce Mike Lease reported this would be his last meeting as the Chamber liaison. The Chamber Awards Banquet is March 29th. The Chamber has grown to 835 members. He thanked the board for their support. ADJOURNMENT Kathee Livengood thanked Mike for his service to the CVB Board. In conclusion, Mr. McCallum mentioned the overwhelming success of the 3rd Annual Chocolate Festival, which benefits Travelers Aid. There being no further business to come before the board Ev Barnes made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Steve Stinson. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: