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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCH-OCVB minutes 041801Minutes Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board April 18, 2001 The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board met at 8 A.M. at Ayr Mount in Hillsborough. Board Members Present: Creston Woods Nancy Davis Rick Strunk Frances Dancy Anne Loeb Kevin Callaghan Pat Evans Lawrence Walters Missy Julian-Fox Board Members Absent: Moses Cary, Jr. Staff Present: Joe Blake Betty Davis Guests: Dianne Reid Cathleen Turner John Link Lee Pavao CALL TO ORDER Chairman Creston Woods called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Mr. Woods welcomed all board members and guests to the meeting. Mr. Bill Crowther, overseer of Ayr Mount, gave an update report on the historical Orange County attraction. Mr. Crowther also provided a brief summary of an initiative to have the old Orange County (Occoneechee) Speedway placed on the national historical register. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Woods asked for approval of the minutes of the February 21, 2001 meeting as presented. Ms. Frances Dancy made the motion to accept the minutes as presented. Mr. Rick Strunk seconded the motion. With all Board Members being in agreement the minutes were approved as presented. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance In the absence of Budget and Finance Chair Mr. Carey, Mr. Blake furnished Board Members with copies of the proposed 2001-2002 FY budget. Mr. Blake presented an overview of the proposed budget with discussion from the Board Members. Proposed increases in the new budget would include a move to larger office space, and an expanded media program for 2002. Marketing Mr. Rick Strunk, Marketing Committee Chair, reported to the Board Members that Sheer Associates would continue to be the marketing agency for the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau. Mr. Strunk shared with Board Members that industry partners had received forms to update/correct listings in the official visitors guide. The updated guide will be printed mid- to late- summer. Also, the target date for the printing the updated lure brochure is the first week in May. Also announced was the completion of the commercial for the CNN News Network broadcast at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The commercial was produced from script and footage from the existing promotional video. The airport authority and CNN has approved the 60-second spot and it will start running at RDU every couple of hours for a six-month rotation. The commercial was played for the Board. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Joe Blake reported that he and Patty Griffin, Communications Director, attended the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Asheville. The economic impact statistics for Orange County have not been completed. The information will be shared with Board Members as it becomes available. Mr. Blake reported to Board Members that the hotel occupancy for the month of March was down approximately 2.5% versus same month last year. The decrease was attributed primarily to cuts in individual business and corporate group travel due to economic conditions. However, it was pointed out that the average daily hotel rate continued to grow. For the fiscal year-to-date through February, occupancy tax receipts were more than 5% higher than the previous year. The photo contest sponsored by the Visitors Bureau and the Chapel Hill Herald was a success. There were 126 entries. The judges for the photo contest were faculty members from the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Mr. Blake stated the winning photos would run for three consecutive weeks in the Chapel Hill Herald. The Visitors Bureau staff will conduct the spring hospitality bus tour on May 24th. Mr. Blake encouraged Board Members interested in participating to notify him to reserve a space for the hospitality training. A report was given regarding the template for multi-city events in the Triangle. The Bureaus and Chambers had recently completed the document, which outlines the process when a promoter or organizing body comes forward requesting to bid on events that would utilize facilities in more than one Triangle community. OLD BUSINESS The Board had no outstanding matters to take action on. NEW BUSINESS Ms. Cathleen Turner of the Hillsborough Tourism Board presented an update and overview of the Hillsborough Downtown Streetscape project highlighting the improvement plans for the downtown area. Ms. Turner also announced that the Hillsborough Spring Garden Tour would be Saturday, May 19th. Mr. Woods asked Board Members to indicate their agreement to continue to meet on the same meeting schedule for the next fiscal year. The members agreed to continue to meet the third Wednesday of every other month. Other Matters of the Board The next meeting of the Visitors Bureau Board will be held June 20th at 8:30 a.m. at the Century Center in Carrboro. ADJOURNMENT With all business of the Board completed, Mr. Woods asked for a motion to adjourn. Ms. Evans made a motion to adjourn. Ms. Dancy seconded the motion. With all Board Members in agreement, the meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m. ________________________________ _________________________________ Minutes Drafted by: Minutes Accepted by: Joseph Blake, Executive Director Creston Woods, Chairman ________________________________ _________________________________ Date Date