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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCH-OCVB minutes 031704Minutes Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board March 17, 2004 The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board met at the Carrboro Century Center, 200 North Greensboro Street, Carrboro on March 17, 2004. Board Members Present: Lawrence Walters Rick Strunk Frances Dancy Bill Crowther Creston Woods Lee Pavao Mark Sherburne Edith Wiggins Board Members Absent: Sam Hobgood Moses Carey Kevin Callaghan Staff Present: Linda Ekeland Betty Davis Guests: Dianne Reid Linda Convissor C ALL TO ORDER Chair Lawrence Walters called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Mr. Walters welcomed Board Members and guests. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Walters asked for approval of the minutes of the December 17, 2003 meeting. Mr. Bill Crowther made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Mr. Lee Pavao seconded the motion. With all Board Members in agreement, the motion was carried unanimously. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance Mr. Moses Carey, Budget and Finance Chair, was unable to attend the Board Meeting. In Mr. Carey’s absence Ms. Linda Ekeland reported on the finances of the Bureau. Ms. Ekeland reported that revenue collections were slightly up over this same time last year and all the expenditures were in line with the budgetary projections. Marketing Mr. Rick Strunk, Marketing Chair, reported that the bureau continues to execute the current marketing plan. The website has been updated to promote the “Great Summer Getaways” promotional. Advertisements will be placed in Our State Magazine, AAA Go Carolina Magazine, AAA World and various newspapers promoting the “GSG”. The Bureau has also placed an advertisement in the publication Convention South 2004, promoting Chapel Hill/Orange County. Mr. Strunk also reported that the promotional advertisements “Everything is Closer in North Carolina,” a joint effort of Time Warner Cable and the North Carolina Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus members, were aired on cable stations. The Bureau has again co-partnered with Time Warner and NCACVB to advertise with the “Everything is Closer in North Carolina” campaign. On the cable station, Turner South, the weekly program, “Three-Day Weekend” featured Chapel Hill as a visitor destination. The program featured the Carolina Inn and Crooks Corner Restaurant and other attraction in Orange County. The 2002-2003 Annual Reports were distributed to 92 town, county officials and industry partners. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Ms. Linda Ekeland, Interim Director, reported that the 2004-2005 budget preparation was underway at this time. The Bureau is working closely with the Orange County Budget and Finance Departments to assure that the 2004-05 budget is in line with anticipated projections for the upcoming budget year. The National Hockey League draft will meet in the Triangle in 2005. The event is expected to draw approximately 10,000 to 15,000 people to the area. The Carolina Inn will house some of the teams and the NHL Staff. To accommodate all questions about the NHL draft, links on the Chapel Hill/Orange County website will be placed on our website to the NHL website. NEW BUSINESS Ms. Dianne Reid provided an update on the recruitment process for the position of Executive Director for the Visitors Bureau. Ms. Reid stated that the position was advertised internal (Orange County) and externally simultaneously. External advertisements included local newspapers, IACVB and NCACVB websites. The assessment panel for applicants is: Moses Carey, John Link, Creston Woods, Mark Sherburne and Dianne Reid. 67 applications were received and the assessment panel reviewed 38 of those applications. The candidates for the position was narrowed to seven, two candidates withdrew, and five candidates were interviewed. The final selection of top candidates for the position will be determined after a meeting of the assessment panel on March 19th. It is anticipated that a new director will be hired within the month of March and perhaps be on-board by the end of April. Mr. Walters updated Board Members on the presentation to the Town of Chapel Hill regarding the continued funding of the additional 15% received from the Town of Chapel Hill for the daily operation of the Bureau. Mr. Walters, Ms. Reid and Ms. Ekeland will make the presentation to the Chapel Hill Town Council on March 30th in the Council Chambers. The presentation will be approximately fifteen minutes with fifteen minutes for questions from the Council Members. Mr. Walters provided information to the Board Members regarding the Franklin Project, a new boutique hotel to be built at the old bus station on W. Franklin Street. Mr. Walters advised that the financing was in place and the Chapel Hill Town Council had approved the project. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer. OLD BUSINESS Ms. Betty Davis reported to the Board Members that two new Board Members had been appointed by the Orange County Board of Commissioners: Mr. Mark Sherburne, General Manager of The Siena Hotel representing the Orange County Lodging Association (Seat 1); and Ms. Edith Wiggins, representing the Town of Chapel Hill. Mr. Walters, Chair and also the General Manager of the Chapel Hill Sheraton Hotel, representing the Orange County Lodging Association (Seat 2) was reappointed to the Board for another two year term. Ms. Linda Convissor, Director of Local Relations, representing UNC-CH, is on the Commissioners’ agenda for appointment on April 1st. Other Matters of the Board and Announcements No other matters or announcements were presented to the Board for consideration. ADJOURNMENT With all business of the Board completed, Mr. Lee Pavao made the motion to adjourn the meeting with a second to the motion by Ms. Frances Dancy. With all Board Members in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 a.m. ________________________________ _________________________________ Minutes Drafted by: Minutes Accepted by: Linda Ekeland, Interim Director Lawrence Walters, Chairman ________________________________ _________________________________ Date Date