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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Convention & Visitor Bureau - 03/02/2000 MINUTES CORPUS CHRISTI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, March 2,2000 12:00 p.m. Museum of Science & History—Water Garden Room PRESENT Bill Pruet—Chair, Bert Quintanilla, Linda Routh, Berney Seal, Vangie Chapa, Rosario Carrizo, Cristina Garza,Bill Goin, Victor Gonzalez, Yolanda Olivarez, John Trice,Jim Snow, Jody Patel, Govind Nadkarni, Mayor Loyd Neal ABSENT Brad Lomax, David Garcia STAFF Char Beltran, Alexandra Ballard,Terry Morales, Mary Etta Brundidge, Melynda Moore,Joey Jarreau ` I. CALL TO ORDER Bill Pruet called the meeting to order at 12:08 p.m. Mr. Pruet stated that he was pleased to see so many interested people from the industry. He especially recognized Bob Conwell for his many years of support and involvement in tourism. Mr. Pruet noted that Joey Jarreau is new on the CVB staff as the Director of Sales and Marketing. U. INTRODUCTON OF CVB STAFF: Mr. Pruet introduced the CVB staff to the new board. He also noted that the staff has remained focused and in a productive mode despite all of the changes that have taken place in the past months. He informed the board that 3 staff members,the director of convention sales and 2 sales managers, will be leaving the CVB for other positions in the local community. He reported that Char Beltran and Joey Jarreau are working very diligently to reconstruct the convention sales staff. Char will update the board at their next meeting. Char reported that they have resumes for strong candidates for the senior sales manager and hopefully can fill the position by next month. She also reported that they also have several qualified candidates for sales manager. She stated that she has received input from the hoteliers on what they want in a sales team and she and Joey will look at candidates with that in mind. Bill informed the board that the eco-tourism position was newly created due to the fact that eco-tourism is a strong and fast growing segment of the tourism industry. Char has +�I been working with the city staff to get grants and federal funding to help with eco-tourism promotion. `°"°ti°" SCANNED har Page 2 Board of Directors Mtg. March 2, 2000 III. ELECT BOARD CHAIRMAN: Mr. Pruet asked the board for any nominations for chairman. Berney Seal nominated Bill Pruet, it was seconded. Cristina Garza requested that we wait on electing a chairman until she had time to read the by-laws. She was informed that the first order of business was to elect a chairman. Char told her she would make sure she got a copy of the by-laws. Bemey Seal, once again nominated Bill Pruet, it was seconded. Mr. Pruet asked if there were any other nominations. Victor Gonzalez moved to accept the nomination of Bill Pruet for chairman, motion passed. Mr. Pruet reminded that council that the entire 15- member board would make any and all decisions regarding the CVB. It was agreed to wait until the next board meeting to elect officers to give the board a chance to review the by-laws. The board members introduced themselves and the industry they represent. Mr. Pruet reminded the board that there had been a motion made to wait until the next board meeting to elect officers, it was seconded, motion passed IV. DISCUSSION OF DRAFT FOR3-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN: Mr. Pruet reviewed the contents of a packet handed out to the board, which contained a `r 3-year strategic plan that Char developed so that the board will have a working guideline of her plans. He asked the board to review it and make comments or suggestions. Jim Snow asked if there was a detailed action plan to go with the strategic plan. Char suggested that they review the 3-year plan at the board retreat. V. DISCUSSION OF BOARD RETREAT: Mr. Pruet stated that they need to take some time to thoroughly study, discuss and evaluate the 3-year plan and other factors affecting the policies of the CVB. Char told the board that there is a resume and client list in their packet for Joe Lathrop with the Orlando Consulting Group,who will be the retreat facilitator. He comes highly recommended by the International Association of Convention&Visitors Bureaus. The board requested that during the retreat they be educated on funding and other policies of the CVB. VI. STRATEGIC PLANNING SURVEY: Bill Pruet asked the board to fill out the strategic plan survey that was included in their packet and fax to Joe Lathrop. John Trice inquired about the cost and the timeline for the retreat. Char reported that for the facilitator and retreat the cost would be between $3,500.00 and$6,000.00. She stated that the retreat would be for one day from 8:00 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. Mr. Pruet said that they would have to decide on a day that is convenient for everyone. The board asked for a couple of choices for dates and made a preference for a Friday. Page 3 Board of Directors Mtg. 1116, March 2, 2000 The board had a lengthy discussion regarding the date for the regular monthly meetings. It was agreed to the meetings on the third Thursday of each month. Mr. Pruet asked the board if they wanted to have another meeting for this month on the third Thursday. They agreed to meet on March 23rd. VII. NEW BUSINESS: Jim Snow expressed a concern regarding the convention sales department staff all leaving and what will happen to all the tentative business accounts. He suggested that the hoteliers provide temporary staff to assist until the CVB has hired new staff and are up and running. Char reported that she has a plan in place to take care of those accounts. She is bringing in our Austin based representative to help work those accounts along with Joey Jarreau. There was a lengthy discussion regarding staff turn-around and what will be done during the time sales positions are vacant. Jim also wanted to know what incentives and salaries are being offered to keep staff in place. The board asked for a list of staff salaries. Jim also expressed a concern regarding the Director of Sales not having convention sales experience. Char reported that they wanted someone who has knowledge in several markets with priority on convention sales and she has complete confidence in Joey to be able to run the operation. She asked the board to allow him 6 to 8 months to see and experience what kind job he can do. Mayor Loyd Neal reported that a needs assessment team has been hired for the convention center expansion as well as a current assessment for the arena if the bond passes in November. He informed the board that the 2-cent additional hotel/motel tax would be inadequate to do the kind of expansion we need to do in this community. The needs assessment should be completed by July. He and the city staff are concerned that they will face certain financial challenges and stressed the importance of passing the bond issue on the arena to allow us to utilize those resources to build a first class facility to attract major conventions. If the bond passes, 1/8 of the resources will be used to repair the seawall, 1/8 for the arena and 1/8 for future economic development. VI. PUBLIC COMMENT David Prewitt gave the board a preview of events for"National Tourism Week"which includes a cruise on the Flagship and a hospitality-training workshop. Barbara Shepard commented that this is the first time there hasn't been anyone representing the Coastal Bend Regional Tourism Council on the board and she would like to request a 16th member be added to the board. She asked that they add Ann Vaughn of Port Aransas. Racie Sicilia requested that we post the agenda on the intemet or fax to her and Barbara Balmer. Page 4 Board of Directors Mtg. lir March 2,2000 VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Pruet made a motion to approve the February 3, 2000 CVB Interim Board meeting minutes. The motion was seconded. Motion passed. VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. ADJOURN There being no further business to discuss, the meeting of the Board meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.