HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-18 Regular MeetingState of Texas
County of Tarrant
City of Grapevine
MINUTES
The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session
on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau
Headquarters, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in
attendance:
Paul Slechta
John Imaizumi
Lance Marrin
Dennis Roberts
Joe Szymaszek
Dan Weinberger
Tom Cherry
Chairman
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Alternate Board Member
Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present:
Sharron Spencer
Perry Leonard
Rick Lawlis
Paul W. McCallum
Michael Woody
Eloise Koehn
Shawna Barnes
Absent: LuAnn Chapman Gatts
Council Liaison
Chamber Liaison
Heritage Foundation Liaison
Executive Director
Assistant Executive Director
Director of Finance & Administration
Assistant to the Executive Director
Board Member
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Slechta called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Dan Weinberger, seconded by Tom Cherry to approve the minutes from the
March 21, 2013 meeting prevailed by the following vote:
Ayes: Slechta, Imaizumi, Marrin, Roberts, Szymaszek, Weinberger, Cherry
Nays: None
LIAISON UPDATES
Heritage Foundation Activities
Rick Lawlis reported that events at the Palace include the movie, Grand Prix, on April
19th; Country Music Showcase on April 20th; movie Singing in the Rain, on May 3`d; and
during Main Street Days, the Grapevine Opry.
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2013
Page 2 of 4
LIAISON UPDATES cont.
Heritage Foundation Activities cont.
This weekend at Nash Farm will be Spring Into Nash. At 10:30 Saturday morning there
will be a ribbon cutting for the Soil Conservation Building. In May the Preservation
Advocacy Awards will be announced at the May 21 st Council meeting.
No action taken by the Board
Chamber of Commerce Activities
Perry Leonard reported that the Young Entrepreneurs program winner will go on to
compete in Rochester, New York in July. The winning idea is called, "OMG Hail
Covers". It is a car cover to withstand baseball size hail. The Young Entrepreneurs
group will host a tradeshow at Grapevine Mills mall on May 11th displaying their ideas.
The 2012 — 2013 Leadership Grapevine class will graduate at the May Chamber
Luncheon. The Chamber will participate in Main Street Days with their dog wagon and
the Women's Division will be working in the beer booths. They are looking for
volunteers.
No action taken by the Board
OLD BUSINESS
New York Sales Mission Update
Mr. McCallum reviewed the activities of the 25th Annual St. Patrick's Day Sales Mission.
There were 1,600 potential clients that were touched five to six times prior to the event.
Over 100 qualified meeting planners plus families participated. Sales calls were made
on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday prior to the event. To date the leads generated
include 14,896 room nights and have an economic impact of $5,088,896. One lead,
National Hemophilia Foundation has turned definite with 4,645 room nights and an
economic impact of $1,437,000.
No action taken by the Board
GVRR Rolling Stock Update
Mr. McCallum reported that we have purchased the three articulated lounge cars and
we expect to move them and the mail car within the next 30 days. The plan is to have
the lounge cars in service by the Christmas season.
We have lost the bid on three locomotives due to the time it takes once we locate one,
to get the approval to purchase. We would like to request a "not to exceed" approval
from Council so that we can move quickly once an engine is located.
No action taken by the Board
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2013
Page 3 of 4
NEW BUSINESS
Connector Project Marketing Report
Mr. McCallum reported that we have a need to let folks know that the project is
completed. It is scheduled to be completed in July and the marketing campaign will
start in June and run through the summer. The Wood Agency will tie onto existing
marketing through events such as Summer Blast and SummerFest. The approximately
$300,000 marketing campaign will include newspaper, radio, television and online
media. Mr. McCallum shared some of the idea boards with the group.
No action taken by the Board
SALES AND MARKETING REPORT
Mr. Woody reported that during the month of March, Convention Sales produced 35
leads representing 39,654 potential room nights; 25 of which are for 2013. They
assisted with 18 definites representing 21,259 room nights; 15 of which are for 2013.
The sales team conducted four site inspections, including Blackbaud, 1st Global
Communities, Jehovah's Witness and Caterpillar, Inc. The sales team hosted the 25tH
Annual St. Patrick's Day promotion in New York and participated in the Conference
Direct Annual Partner Conference in California and the DFWAE Association Day.
Tourism Sales assisted with one definite representing 60 room nights and an economic
impact of $25,000. Staff attended and exhibited at the Great Big Texas Home Show,
three travel trade shows in Brazil and Active America China Symposium. They
participated in the State of Texas Brazil Sales Mission. 79,986 brochures were
distributed and 4,592 tickets were sold at the Visitor Information Center. A little over
2,000 visitors were welcomed at the Center. Destination Services provided registration
and information assistance to ten groups representing over 11,000 delegates.
Grapevine Shuttle ridership was 4,914, a 27% increase over last year.
The Convention Center had 27 future bookings representing over 7,500 attendees and
total sales of $30.048. The Palace Arts Center had 21 future bookings representing
2,685 attendees and total sales of $26,797. The Concourse had four future bookings
representing 450 attendees and total sales of $6,308.
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad had total ridership of 7,164. There were 122,623
unique visitors to the website of which 26% used a mobile device to access it. There
were 27 print trade publications and online group insertions, 41 print consumer
publications insertions, 31 TV/radio insertions and 48 online advertising insertions.
Public relations generated $140,228 in print and $10,395 in electronic for a total public
relations value of $150,623. Mr. Woody shared the current issue of Texas Highways
where Grapevine was recognized in 12 Great Ways to Beat the Heat.
No action taken by the Board
Board of Directors Meeting
April 18, 2013
Page 4 of 4
HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES
• The Fairfield Inn will close on April 29th due to the expansion of Highway 121.
• Tim Dant is the new general manager of the Hyatt Regency DFW.
• Ronnie Price is the new CEO of Experience Arlington (Arlington CVB).
• Mark Loebs is the new general manager of Vineyards Steakhouse.
• Recently completed construction at Grapevine Mills includes; The Nike Store
remodel, I Tech Phone and Magic Maze.
• Stores under construction at Grapevine Mills include; Michael Kors, Famous
Footwear, Body Central, Saks Off Fifth, Crocs and Styles for Less. There are 17
construction projects scheduled over the next few months.
• Grapevine Market kicked off their season on April 11th. They are open Thursdays
and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Liberty Park.
• Grapevine Farmers Market kicked off the season on April 11th at the Gazebo. They
are open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
• Blessing of the Vines & New Vintage Wine and Gallery Trail was a huge success
welcoming approximately 1,100 guests.
• Day Out With Thomas will continue this weekend for the second week.
No action taken by the Board
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the board a motion by Tom Cherry,
seconded by Lance Marrin to adjourn the meeting at 9:17 a.m. The motion prevailed by
the following vote:
Ayes: Slechta, Imaizumi, Marrin, Roberts, Szymaszek, Weinberger, Cherry
Nays: None
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS
BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
on this the 16th day of MAY, 2013.
APPROV -- e, D:
P I to
/-'
Chairman
ATTEST:
Eloise Koehn
Director of Finance & Administration
CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, April 18, 2013 — 8:00 a.m.
CVB Headquarters
636 S. Main Street
Grapevine, Texas
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
III. LIAISON UPDATES
A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES
B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES
IV. OLD BUSINESS
A. NEW YORK SALES MISSION UPDATE
B. GVRR ROLLING STOCK UPDATE
V. NEW BUSINESS
A. CONNECTOR PROJECT MARKETING REPORT
VI. SALES & MARKETING REPORT
VII. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THIS SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING AND YOU 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 APRIL, 2013 AT 5:00
P.M.
7 �
Eloise Koehn
Director of Finance and Administration