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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 02-18-1998 Board Mtg Minutes Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board February 18, 1998 The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board met Wednesday, February 18, 1998 at 8:00 a.m. at Memorial Hall on UNC-CH campus in Chapel Hill. Chairman Lee Pavao called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Board Members Present: Lee Pavao, Chairman Moses Carey, Jr. Margaret Skinner Rick Strunk Nancy Davis Pat Evans Diana McDuffee Board Members Absent: Steve Halkiotis Catharine Callaway Staff Present: Shelly Green, Director Betty Davis, Administrative Assistant Patty Griffin, Communications Manager Guests: Greg Payne, Orange County EDC Creston Woods, Carolina Inn Don Luce, Carolina Union Peter Stubbs, Memorial Hall Renee Alexander, Memorial Hall Jonathan Howes, Community Relations, UNC-CH Pricilla Bratcher, UNC Development Office INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Mr. Pavao welcomed members and guests to the board meeting. He noted that Diana McDuffee was a new member of the board replacing Hilliard Caldwell. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Pavao requested the approval of the minutes. Mr. Moses Carey made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Ms. Margaret Skinner seconded the motion. With all members being in agreement the minutes were approved. BUDGET AND FINANCE Mr. Moses Carey, treasurer, reported the revenues for the bureau were up and all expenditures appeared to be in line. The budget report was based on the adjusted budget, which will be reviewed by county commissioners next month. With no questions regarding the financial report, Mr. Carey turned the meeting over to the chair. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Ms. Shelly Green introduced Ms. Patty Griffin to the board. Ms. Griffin began work with the bureau on January 5, 1998 and will serve as Communications Manager for the bureau. Ms. Green updated the board members on the 2007 Pan Am Games, and apprised the board that she had been asked to serve on the Pan Am Games Board of Directors. She noted that UNC officials had not made a decision on the use of their athletic facilities for the event yet. The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau will not participate in the bid if the University decides not to pledge their involvement. Ms. Green reported that she and Reyn Bowman of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau met recently with representatives from the athletic departments of UNC-CH, NCCU, and Duke. They discussed the formation of a Triangle Sports Consortium to review requests for mega sporting events to be held in the Triangle. It is anticipated that the 3 CVB's, the major universities, as well as representatives from NC Amateur Sports and the Sports Division of the NC Department of Commerce will be involved. It is hoped that having this type of review process in place would prevent problems (such as we experienced with the Pan Am Games) in the future. Ms. Green advised board members about a co-op advertising campaign that was being conducted with the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. The Alliance will allocate $6,000 for placement and the bureau will provide $2,500 for design and production. Ads will run between now and June 30th, after which time the two organizations will assess the effectiveness of the program. NC Heritage Inc. is offering a statewide training session next month on the software program for the collection of data for Heritage Tourism. Ms. Green noted that the Visitors Bureau is participating in the training, and that the collection of this information will be a long process, involving many individuals in our community. Data entry of our heritage resources will be on going. Ms. Green reported that she met with Brent Pierce, General Manager of the Orange County Speedway. Mr. Pierce requested a sponsorship of$7,000 from the bureau. The sponsorship would entitle the bureau to a billboard at the racetrack, among other things. After a brief discussion and review of the board's policy on sponsorship, the request was denied. The board wishes to maintain its current policy that the Visitors Bureau does not 2 offer sponsorships or grants. In the event that funding for the Visitors Bureau changes significantly in the future, the board will likely revisit this policy. Ms. Green announced that the Chapel Hill Museum is now open two days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum board is now trying to find funding and volunteers which would enable the museum to be open on Sundays. The current exhibit is the Thomas Day furniture exhibit that will go through February 28th. Ms. Green gave an update of the enhanced listings for the new version of the visitors guide. The enhanced listing concept was presented at a meeting of the Orange County Lodging Association. The association was in favor of offering enhanced listings in the accommodations section of the guide. As soon as an approval of the listing forms has been received from Geoff Glehill, county attorney, the project will move forward. Ms. Green discussed the possibility that the Visitors Bureau would not be able to maintain the type of editorial control of the publication that had been envisioned. Mr. Gledhill will provide more details after he finishes his review. Ms. Green briefed the board about the marketing research project they were about to undertake. She stated she had met with a consultant and the project should begin in April. The total cost will be $30,000. Half of that will be paid this year and half will be paid in 1998-99. The results of the research will be made available to industry partners and will benefit area businesses and services in Chapel Hill/Orange County. OLD BUSINESS Rick Strunk of the NC High School Athletic Association reported that the football championship held in December had a record attendance for the event with 35,000 for the first day of games and 15,000 for the Sunday championship game. Mr. Strunk expressed appreciation to the visitors bureau for their support and assistance during this event. Mr. Strunk also stated that the FOX television station would feature a 13-week session on high school sports. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Jonathan Howes and Mr. Don Luce from UNC-CH gave an overview of the renovations anticipated for Memorial Hall. It is estimated that the renovations will take approximately two years at a cost of 9.8 million with funding from the state and private donations. Project bids will be solicited when appropriations are approved by the General Assembly. Mr. Pavao reviewed the board terms that were expiring. Nancy Davis, Lee Pavao, and Margaret Skinner were serving terms that expired in December of 1997. As Margaret Skinner was not eligible to serve a third term, Mr. Pavao thanked her for her service and dedication over the past five years. Ms. Skinner announced that Creston Woods had been elected as President of the Orange County Lodging Association. She stated that he was 3 nominated to fill her seat on this board, and that his name had been forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for their approval. Ms. Green added that she had received a letter from the Town of Hillsborough stating they would like Catherine Martin to serve as their representative to this board. Ms. Green announced to the board that Ted Abernathy had resigned his position with Orange County Economic Development. Greg Payne had been named Acting Director. Mr. Pavao asked Rick Strunk, Pat Evans, and Catharine Callaway to serve on a committee to review the by-laws of the board. He added that Ms. Green will contact them to set a meeting and would provide staff support to the committee. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to be discussed Mr. Carey made a motion to adjourn and Ms. Evans seconded the motion. With all members in favor of the motion the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 a.m. Minutes Drafted by: Minutes Accepted by: Shelly A. Green, Executive Director Lee Pavao, Chairman Date Date c:my document/Board/October 15 1997 Board Meeting Minutes 4