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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 04-22-1998 Board Mtg Minutes Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board April 22, 1998 The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board met Wednesday, April 22, 1998 at 8:00 a.m. at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens 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. Creston Woods Rick Strunk Nancy Davis Pat Evans Catherine Martin Catharine Callaway Steve Halkiotis Board Members Absent: Diana McDuffee Guests: Sandy Roberts Greg Payne Glenn O'Neil Staff Present: Shelly Green, Director Betty Davis, Administrative Assistant Joe Blake, Director of Sales INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Mr. Pavao welcomed everyone to the board meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Pavao requested the approval of the minutes. Ms. Pat Evans made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Mr. Moses Carey seconded the motion. With all members being in agreement the minutes were approved. BUDGET AND FINANCE The treasurer, Mr. Moses Carey, reported that after reviewing the financial statement that all appeared to be in order. Mr. Carey stated that the proposed 1998-1999 budget for the visitors bureau seemed adequate. In the proposed budget the county commissioners at a budget hearing approved the two new positions. The next step in the budget process is the adoption of the approved budget. All monies remaining in the bureau's account will remain in the account. After a brief discussion, Mr. Carey made a motion to accept the proposed budget, and Dr. Halkiotis seconded the motion. With all board members in agreement the motion was passed. MARKETING COMMITTEE Mr. Joe Blake, Director of Sales, presented a brief overview of the proposed marketing plan. The board members discussed the marketing plan and questions were answered. After minor changes to the marketing plan a revised copy will be presented to the board for final approval for printing and distribution. BY-LAWS COMMITTEE Mr. Rick Strunk reported that changes to the by-laws were being made to conform to county government specifications. Other minor changes are to be made to the document. After a brief discussion the board members approved the tentative changes. Ms. Green stated she would make all suggested changes and forwarding the draft copy to Geoff Gledhill, county attorney, for his review and approval. Should additional changes be made to the by-laws board members will be notified. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Prior to Ms. Green presented the director's report; Chairman Pavao acknowledged Ms. Green's resignation as executive director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, effective June 30, 1998. The board members accepted Ms. Green's resignation with regrets. Board members expressed their gratitude to Ms. Green for her outstanding job performance and for the success of the bureau under her leadership. All wished Ms. Green success in her new position as executive director of the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Ms. Shelly Green updated the board members on the progress of the new visitors guide, the meeting planning guide, and the filming of the video. The visitors guide is expected to be printed and available for distribution in early July. The meeting planning guide will go to press the week of July 22nd. The video shoot is underway and all is going well. It is anticipated that the script for the video will not be completed until the upcoming year. Ms. Green reported that she has been conferring with the D.K. Shifflet Marketing firm regarding tourism market research in the Chapel Hill/Orange County area. She concluded that the marketing firm had a market research plan in place, which would result in a more economical and expedient way to obtain data for area tourism. Ms. Green recommended using D. K. Shifflet Marketing for the bureau's market research. 2 Ms. Green called attention to the occupancy trends in the proposed marketing report (presented earlier in the meeting by Mr. Blake). Ms. Green's explanation for the decline in growth was the fact that Durham and Raleigh were developing several hotels nearby and the new facilities were drawing business from Chapel Hill. She stressed the importance of marketing Chapel Hill/Orange County as a destination to combat the dipping occupancy in local accommodations. OLD BUSINESS Ms. Green reported that she met with a representative of the North Carolina Department of Transportation regarding the highway signs. Ms. Green stated she would be sending our requests for proposals (RFP) for the signs prior to her departure. The Orange County seal will be sent to a designer prior to being placed on the highway signs. It is estimated that the price continues to be in line with the $15,000 budgeted for the project with the anticipated date for completion of the project to be in the fall of this year. NEW BUSINESS The nominating committee: Mr. Carey, Ms. Nancy Davis, and Ms. Evans presented a slate of officers for the 1998-99 year. The proposed officers were Mr. Lee Pavao, chairman; Mr. Creston Woods, vice chairman; and Mr. Moses Carey, Jr., treasurer. Mr. Pavao asked for nominations from the floor with no response. With no nominations, Dr. Halkiotis made a motion to accept the slate of officers stated for 1998-99. Ms. Pat Evans seconded the motion. With all members in agreement, the motion was passed. Mr. Greg Payne, Economic Development Director, explained Orange County's process for the search for a new director for the visitors bureau. It was announced that Joe Blake would be acting director until a new director of the bureau was hired. Board members approved the dates for the 1998-99 board meetings with a correction to the last meeting date. The date should be June 16th, 1999. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to be discussed Dr. Halkiotis made a motion to adjourn and Ms. Evans seconded the motion. With all members in favor of the motion the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 a.m. 3 Minutes Drafted by: Minutes Accepted by: Shelly A. Green, Executive Director Lee Pavao, Chairman Date Date c:my document/Board/April 22,1998 Board Meeting Minutes 4