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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 06-16-1999 Board Mtg Minutes Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board June 16th, 1999 The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board met on Wednesday June 16th, 1999, 8:00 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express located at 202 Cardinal Drive, Hillsborough. Board Members Present: Lee Pavao Moses Carey, Jr. Rick Strunk Nancy Davis Catharine Callaway Creston Woods Board Members Absent: Mike Nelson Glenn O'Neil Catherine Martin Pat Evans Staff Present: Joe Blake, Executive Director Betty Davis, Administrative Assistant Linda Ekeland, Director of Sales Guests: Sandy Roberts Dianne Reid Chairman Lee Pavao called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Mr. Pavao welcomed board members and guests to the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Pavao announced that due to the lack of a quorum of Board Members present the approval of minutes for the April meeting would be delayed until the August 18th, 1999 meeting. SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance Committee Mr. Moses Carey, treasurer, reported that his review of the April financial report indicated all things were in order. There were no questions regarding the April financial report from Board Members. Mr. Carey gave a brief overview of the Bureau's proposed budget for the 1999-2000 fiscal year, which had been submitted to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The floor was opened for questions and discussion. Marketing Committee Mr. Creston Woods, Marketing Committee Chair, thanked the marketing committee for their work with staff to prepare the 1999-2000 Marketing Plan for the Visitors Bureau. An overview of new projects was given including improvements to the website, completion of visitor profile analysis and roll-out of holiday promotion campaign focused on increasing visitation during the lowest demand period from November through January. Mr. Woods recommended adoption of the marketing plan by the board. The board will act on the recommendation of the marketing committee at the next scheduled board meeting. DIRECTORS REPORT Mr. Blake reported to Board Members the schedule for the US Open Familiarization Tour (FAM Tour) June 17th—June 21st, 1999. The FAM tour is being sponsored by the North Carolina Travel and Tourism, Film and Sports Development in conjunction with the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau and the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. The CEO of the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Joe Freddoso, attended the Triangle Area Hotel/Motel Association meeting on Tuesday, June 15th, 1999, to address concerns by the hotel community about room pickups for the event. Mr. Freddoso announced that booking expectations for family hotel accommodations had been surpassed. However, pickup numbers for honored guest and sponsor hotels had not met expectations, due primarily to over-estimation of needs. Additionally, the Games staff segmented participating hotels by type of need, i.e. sponsor hotels, family hotels, honored guest hotels, against the advice of the three Triangle CVBs, which recommended non- segmented assignments on a first-come, first-served basis. Freddoso thanked the three CVBs for running the event's first-ever housing bureau. Mr. Blake reported that the Chapel Hill/Orange County video filming had been completed and the script had been written. Mr. Blake advised Board Members that a copy of the video script would be mailed for their review. He requested feedback be sent to the Bureau prior to July 30th. Mr. Blake reported that average hotel occupancy for the Triangle area was down approximately 10% due largely to the continuing addition of new rooms available in the area. He also stated that the new Hampton Inn (Durham County) at Hwy. 54 and Farrington Rd. was scheduled to open in August, which could impact the occupancy of 2 Orange County accommodations, especially those in the limited service and mid-tier full- service segments. OLD BUSINESS Mr. Pavao reported that the courts ruled against the Town of Chapel Hill on the Meadowmont Project. The Town has not made a decision at this time regarding an appeal. Questions remain about other aspects of the project (parking, etc.). Mr. Pavao will keep the Board Members abreast of any new information of the Meadowmont projects. NEW BUSINESS The nominating committee chair, Mr. Moses Carey, presented a proposed slate of officers for the 1999-2000 Board. They are as follows: Lee Pavao, Chair; Ms. Nancy Davis, Vice Chair; Mr. Moses Carey, Jr., Budget Committee Chair; and Creston Woods, Marketing Chair. The floor was opened for nominations. With no nominations from the floor, Mr. Carey made a motion to accept the proposed slate. Due to the absence of a quorum, the Board Members will vote on the officers at the next board meeting. Mr. Pavao announced the Chapel Hill Town Council approved the continuation of funding to the Visitors Bureau for the 1999-2000 fiscal year. The Bureau will receive 15% of the Chapel Hill hotel and motel occupancy taxes collected. The Board Members reviewed the list of proposed meeting sites and they were tentatively approved. The Bureau will confirm the dates with the venues. The Board Members present reviewed "A RESOLUTION REGARDING CIVIL DISCOURSE IN ORANGE COUNTY" adopted by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The Commissioners requested that all advisory boards consider the adoption of a similar resolution. The item was tabled until the next meeting so that Commissioner Carey could provide the group with background on the Resolution. Mr. Pavao announced to the group that Pat Evans would rotate off the Visitors Bureau's board after serving for almost four years. He thanked Pat in-absentia for her dedication and numerous contributions to the organization. Mr. Rick Strunk pointed out to the group that a quorum of members had not been present for two board meetings during the current year. He requested proxies be accepted to allow Board members to assign their vote to another member. The Board Members present acknowledged proxy votes would be acceptable to them. The proxy vote system will be brought forth for consideration at a future meeting. Staff was directed to issue a fax ballot to board members requesting their votes on the marketing plan and the slate of officers. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members 3 will result in the automatic adoption of these items to allow staff to move forward with the work plan for the 1999-2000 fiscal year. Adjournment Mr. Pavao adjourned the meeting at 8:40 a.m. Minutes Drafted by: Minutes Accepted by: Joe Blake, Executive Director Lee Pavao, Chairman Date Date board/meetings/6 16 1999 Board Meeting Minutes.doc 4