HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-10-16 CHOCVB Minutes Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau
Advisory Board Meeting
Innovate Carolina Junction
October 16, 2024
8:00—9:15 AM
Board Members Present: Tanya Moore, Karen DeHart- Chair, Heidi Werner Dawson, Jon Hartman-Brown,
Wendy Smith, Anna Richards, Jeri Lynn Schulke, Matt Hughes, Paris Miller-Foushee, Randee Haven-
O'Donnell, Steve Peck, DR Bryan-Vice Chair, Meredith Saybe
Not Present: Sam Vadgama
Staff Attendance: Laurie Paolicelli, Marlene Barbera, Hannah Hemphill, Pix Walsh, Katie Murray
Guests: Jerry Jones, David Putnam—TOCH Economic Development
Call to Order
Karen DeHart called the meeting to order at 8:08 AM.
Round Table Introductions
Joined by Pix Walsh, new Welcome Center Front Desk Manager, and Jerry Jones, Executive Director of
Workforce Development at Durham Tech
Approval of Minutes
Karen DeHart requested a motion to approve the minutes from August 21, 2024 and September 25, 2024
board meetings. DR Bryan made a motion to approve the minutes for both meetings and Meredith Saybe
seconded the motion. With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted.
Welcome to the Junction
• Durham Tech's Small Business Center now has space at the Junction in addition to their main location
at the Chesterfield Building, allowing for more collaboration with UNC.
Arts Economic Prosperity—Katie Murray, Orange County Arts Commission
The State of the Arts of Orange County—Arts & Economic Prosperity 6
A. Overview of Arts & Economic Prosperity 6
• Survey Overview: Conducted by Americans for the Arts, covering 373 study regions across all
50 states and Puerto Rico.
• Local Partnerships: Collaborations with Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and
Hillsborough.
• Economic Modeling Tool: Utilized IMPLAN to analyze two data sets:
o Nonprofit arts spending
o Audience spending
• Findings:
o Total annual spending: $107 million
■ Audience spending: $22.4 million
■ Organizational spending: $84.6 million
For Approval November 20, 2024
o Noted that overnight lodging represents a lesser area of spending from arts attendees,
which could improve by hosting more large-scale projects.
B. Current Challenges in the Arts Community
• Limited availability of spaces for artists to learn, work, live, and create.
• Insufficient venues for performance, teaching, or sales of artistic work.
• Artists are relocating from Orange County due to high living costs.
C. Support and Preserving Our Creative Community
• Recommendations for support include:
o Paying a living wage to artists.
o Involving artists in community planning.
o Supporting agencies that employ artists.
• Noted a national decrease in private support for the arts.
• Arts initiatives receive bipartisan support in the NC State Legislature.
• Emphasis on supporting initiatives that enhance the community, such as creative spaces and
artist-led initiatives.
• Upcoming event: Raffle for the Arts.
Executive Director's Report
A. Logo Update
• A survey has been distributed at the request of Wendy Smith to assess the need for greater
representation in the logo design. This survey will be resent for additional feedback.
B. Branding Strategy
• Discussion on maintaining the branding of"small town charm"while accommodating growth
in the area.
• Continued promotion of outdoor activities to attract visitors looking for alternatives to
mountain hiking.
Budget Report
Hannah Hemphill reported on the budget with the following key points:
• The Visitors Bureau has requested to appropriate $201,842.00 from the fund reserve to offset the
increase in advertising spending due to the opportunity to sponsor Sonark Media's PBS Special and
increased meeting advertising costs.
• Occupancy tax reports have shown that they are tracking with the revenue we expect to see, and
occupancy rates are staying on par with last year.
• We are continuing to monitor budget line items that were cut during the budget cycle, including travel.
Next meeting: Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at the Carolina Inn
The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 AM.
21 Page CHOCVB BOD Meeting October 16 , 2024