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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCH-OCVB minutes 081512` MINUTES Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting August 15, 2012 The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau met at The Residence Inn, Chapel Hill Board Members Present: Dave Gephart, Karen DeHart, Mike Gering, Gene Pease, Greg Overbeck, Meg McGurk, Laura Morgan, Annette Stone, Anthony Carey, Jim Parker, Gordon Jameson, Valerie Foushee Members Absent: Mark Sherburne, Lydia Lavelle, Lee Pavao Staff Present: Laurie Paolicelli, Linda Ekeland, Martha Shannon, and Tina Fuller Others Present: Jack Schmidt and Bob Ward, guests, Vision Point staff- Diane Kuehn, Diana Tong and Erik Olson, presented CALL TO ORDER Chair Gephart called the meeting to order at 8:05 am Announcements Council member, Gene Pease is now representing the Town of Chapel Hill on the Visitors Bureau board, replacing Donna Bell. Current board member Mark Sherburne will be filling the vacant seat representing Orange County Economic Development Commission. Upon approval of the BOCC, Jack Schmidt with Carolina Inn will fill the Orange County Lodging Assoc. seat vacated by Mr. Sherburne. November will be Commissioner Foushee’s last meeting with the Bureau’s board. The Commissioners will appoint a new board member in January or February; however, Ms. Foushee may be able to get the process on the agenda at an earlier date. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Gephart requested a motion to approve the minutes. Mike Gering motioned, with Jim Parker seconding. All members were in favor and the minutes were approved as written. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Orange County Advisory Board By-Laws/Elections of Officers In the last meeting, the election of officers was postponed until the department’s advisory board by-laws were approved by the BOCC, which at this time was still in the approval process. For the sake of electing board officers, the Board of County Commissioners Advisory Board policy was followed. The motion to re-elect Dave Gephart for Chair, Anthony Carey for Vice Chair and Mike Gering for Financial Chair for second terms, was seconded by Jim Parker and passed with all members in favor. NEW BUSINESS Diane Kuehn, CEO Vision Point and staff presented their strategy and design concepts (following the recent brand transformation) for the Bureau’s website redesign and development. Key points presented: the 2014 trend in websites is moving to viewing via mobile devices, search engines will be more personalized, the Bureau’s website design will be adaptable to currently available mobile devices providing an immersive experience. Discussion points: the ‘Edge’ would be used interchangeably with the ‘Alternative Southern platform, suggestions were to possibly add more social media outlets, look into using larger fonts. Concluding the presentation, discussion turned to the use of mobile apps for tourism destinations in which Diane Kuehn informed that the user would have to want the destinations information enough to want to download it and use it frequently; she stated that there are other ways to offer that experience to the user. Reports Marketing Anthony Carey notified members that the new [Chapel Hill] logo has created a competitive feel among the other towns collateral, which prompted the marketing committee to reconvene and discuss the issue. Mr. Carey reported that the committed has agreed, from a marketing standpoint, a logo that includes all three towns would not detract from the original initiative. Discussion: Annette Stone endorsed the decision, stating that it would be easier to get communities to embrace the campaign. Mike Gering commented that the [3-town] logo is a good idea, but asked if the tag line would remain the same. Laurie Paolicelli replied that the three brands would not transfer easily to certain marketing materials, for instance, merchandise. Ms. Paolicelli stated both initiatives would be used, determined by the message given. Mr. Carey gave an example that a major campaign would use the 3-town logo. Concluding the discussion, Mr. Carey motioned to adopt the 3-town logo in addition to the stand-alone Chapel Hill logo. Mike Gering seconded. All members were in favor and the motion passed. Mr. Carey suggested staff to come back with a plan on how these logos would be used. Arts Commission Gordon Jameson announced that Torey Mishoe would begin her position as Gallery Manager in September Budget Mike Gering gave a brief report with respect to finances in 2012-2013 budget-year. Mr. Gering pointed out that occupancy revenue is budgeted higher than the previous year and the $150,000 appropriation request from fund balance to the current budget was approved. Town reports The floor was given to Gene Pease for business from the Town of Chapel Hill. Mr. Pease and board members discussed towing ordinances and cell phone usage while driving. Annette Stone gave an update on Carrboro, reporting that they are currently going through a brand change, on the upcoming Carrboro Music Fest in September that is free to the public. Jim Parker reported on the happenings in Hillsborough; Vice President Biden was in town, the Chamber of Commerce has moved to space across from the SportsPlex, outcomes from the post Hog Day meeting and upcoming events. Mike Gering reported that the DOT gave money to Hillsborough that will be used to improve Churton Street; work slated for next year is wider sidewalks and the possibility of laying conduit for streetlights and removing overhead power lines. Meg McGurk reported that Missy Julian-Fox has organized a downtown ambassador program for this weekend for new students and their families. Ambassadors will be wearing specially identifying aprons filled with visitor information and be strategically placed along Franklin Street to help visitors. Other Business Jack Schmidt reported that the Carolina Inn will be remodeling the other 2/3 of rooms (about 100) beginning November 29th with a completion date forecasted for April 20th. Mr. Schmidt stated that the Rizzo Center might see overflow from those rooms offline, however he has been working with competitors in Orange County as well. Mr. Schmidt also reported that the steam tunnel is near completion, possibly by the end of September. The topic of the CVB relocating was briefly discussed. Laurie Paolicelli gave a follow up report on the proposed GLBT campaign stating that she met with Mayor Kleinschmidt and showed him the proposed advertisements (sample ads were passed around for viewing). Mayor Kleinschmidt commented that GLBT visitors do not want to come to a destination where there are college students; the preferred age group is 35-40. Mayor Kleinschmidt suggested rather than those ads, gathering local GLBT community members for a photo shoot and that could be sent to their associates. Linda Ekeland gave a quick overview of group sales progress and upcoming events. Next meeting venue Siena Hotel, Chapel Hill In conclusion and with no other business to discuss, Dave Gephart adjourn the meeting 9:35 am. ______________________________________Minutes reviewed by: Laurie Paolicelli, Executive Director Date ____________________________________ Minutes accepted by: Dave Gephart, Chairman Date