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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Convention & Visitor Bureau - 09/21/1993 4e) ire • • • THE ISLES OF TEXAS CCACVB BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1993 3:00 PM CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU, 2ND FLOOR BOARD ROOM 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:06PM by Chairman Jones. It Roll Call Directors attending: Al Jones (Chairman), presiding Marco Arredondo, Rosario Chapa Carrizo, David Coggins, Cathy Harrison, Rex Kinnison, Lillian Murray, E.J. Schenfarber, Barbara Sheppard, Jean Titus, Eugene Urban and Erich Wendl. Absent: Ralph Ehrlich, Bill Pruet and Ricardo Sanchez. Attending Staff: Keith E. Arnold, Chuck Bradley, Jerry Chipman, Susan Doss (on loan from Peat Marwick), Marilyn Pierce, Dana Stephens, and Dottie Sylvester. Guests: Channel 3, Fred Dotts (MDL) and Holly Osborn (MDLI. III. Motion to approve Minutes of August 19, 1993 Board of Directors Annual Mtg. On a motion made by David Coggins which was seconded by Cathy Harrison, the Board approved the above minutes. IV. Approval of Lexington Budget FY 94 Lu Jerry Chipman, Acting Executive Director for the USS Lexington,presented the above. Mr. Chipman noted that the Lexington's fiscal year runs from August 1st through July 31st. He opened the floor for any questions. Lillian Murray asked if the Board could receive the budget in a larger format. The response was that request would be met. C...) It was clarified by Mr. Chipman that the revenue figures shown were based on CO expected admittance figures and a $5 a head per cap. It was stressed that the Board for the Lexington wanted a conservative approach to revenue. The budget submitted was based on a 400,000 visitorship for 12 months. Store revenue was basedIPMB $1.53 per cap. . CORPUS CHRISTI AREA CONVENTION SE VISITORS BUREAU 1201 N.SHORELINE.P.O.Box 2664,CORPUS CHRISTI,TEXAS 78403-2664 USA • 512.8882.5603 • 1800-678-0CEANI6232) • FAX 512-882-4256 V 2 It was noted by Gene Urban that generally speaking all of the major attractions have experienced a second year slump. He asked if the budget reflected that. The response was that that had been taken into consideration in the budget submitted. It was reiterated that the numbers presented were conservative. Although there were 475,000 admissions during the first year, only 400,000 were projected in the second year budget. A question arose regarding the curatorial line item-- whether or not it included opening up new sections of the ship. The response was no. The money set aside would be used partly for maintenance of the ship as well as development of what it already has. Painting was identified as being a part of the curatorial line item as the entire ship is a museum. A motion was made by Mr. Urban to accept the submitted budget which was seconded by Lillian Murray. Chairman Jones interjected that a lot of time had been spent on the budget and that the "spirit of it" was not a license to "go spend it before we collect". Steering points have been setup throughout the year to safeguard was has been conjectured. Mr. Chipman added that the budget is reviewed monthly. At this point, the entire Board voted in favor of accepting the budget. V. Approval of Appointment of Billy Sullivan to Lexington Board A question was asked regarding the above as to whether Mr. Sullivan would be replacing someone currently on the Board for the USS Lexington or whether he would be an addition to the Board. The response was the latter. On a motion made by Ms. Murray which was seconded by Barbara Sheppard, Mr. Sullivan's nomination was approved by the CVB Board. VI. CCACVB Financial Report Mr. Arnold began by stating that as of a week and a half ago the Bureau had been without a Finance Department. Peat Marwick has temporarily offered the services of one of their audit paraprofessionals, Susan Doss, to fill in until the Finance Department is restaffed. It was explained that a variance report had not been submitted to the Board as the budget for FY94 had not been input into the computer by previous finance personnel. A full charge bookkeeper, Mary E. Brundidge, has been hired by the Bureau. She will begin work on October 4th. After careful evaluation it was decided that the Bureau did not need a finance person on a VP level nor did they need a manager for accounting. Rather, what was needed was a full charge bookkeeper. As a result, the CVB will be able to conserve on dollars spent on financial management. In addition, it is expected that Diana Otton will be able to be on retainer with the Bureau for systems information services. Mrs. Otton is a "strong computer person" with experience in Novell and local area networking. She also teaches computer classes at Del Mar College. Between the use of a full charge bookkeeper and a retainership for systems information assistance, the Bureau will be able to save approximately 540,000 yet still have what it needs for controls. _ 3 At this time, E.J. Schenfarber went over the financial report with the Board explaining the larger variances. The line item for Salary reflected accrued benefits for Pat Rousseau and Crystal Revell. The Bureau is currently trying to determine which code Pat Rousseau had used for Directors Expenses in the budget. Regarding Equipment Repair, it was explained that a year's payment of maintenance on the mail machine had been done. Event Hosting reflected a full year's supply of name badges which had been purchased. It was also pointed out that the van would show up as a variance each month. The Telephone line item ran high due to marketing efforts. $23,000 of computer supplies is on order which will be incurred during future months of actual purchase. Mr. Arnold added that the Bureau had to buy a year's supply of maps plus new letterhead which are in line with the budget. Also, in October the Board will be given a revised schedule of payment from the City to the Bureau. On a motion made by Ms. Harrison, seconded by Mr. Urban, the Board approved the submitted financial report. VII. Departmental Reports Mr. Arnold distributed a copy of his "Executive Summary" report to the Board (ATTACHMENT A). A quarterly CVB staff get together is one of the Bureau's goals in order to strengthen morale. Since the presentation to City Council, action has been taken by the Mayor and City Manager to improve signage in the area. A task force has already been established which will meet again on September 28th at 8AM at the Best Western-Sandy Shores. The Board was invited to participate if they so desired. Uniformity will be sought in the signage produced. It is envisioned that a "Seaside Trail" will be established which would conceivably be enhanced by large boards showing the attractions as well as brochures that could be given out to visitors. The Task Force will determine who will be in charge of designing the signs, etc. A liaison from the State Highway Department, Ray Mims, has already been assigned to the project. After ten months of trying to win the Gulf of Mexico Symposium, it was announced that the Executive Committee for the group has chosen Corpus Christi. It was noted that Angela Farrias of Gary Mauro's office is the liaison for the Symposium. The Symposium is a national meeting which will bring top level EPA and research personnel. On October 6th at noon, Stan Hodge of the Texas State Division of Tourism will meet in Corpus Christi to explain how analysis is done for their "Destination Study" for 1993. Corpus Christi is ranked as the number two vacation travel destination in this year's study. Mr. Hodge will be addressing the CCACVB Board of Directors. Mr. Arnold asked that the Board send him any recommendations for people to be included in the October 6th meeting. The ranking will not be released to the press until the Bureau sees the figures backing it up. Ms. Murray suggested that the hospitality groups that had given input for the Marketing Plan be invited. Mr. Arnold stressed that a Research Subcommittee was a need for the Board. 4 At this point, Marilyn Pierce presented the marketing report (ATTACHMENT B). She introduced new CVB communications staff member, Chuck Bradley, who has recently come from Channel 10 where he was their morning news person. He is also a graduate of Syracuse University. The Convention Sales Department has had 72 site tours over the past month which brought meeting planners to our area. In October, the Sales team will do a telephone sales blitz targeting corporate business in San Antonio. The phone blitz will occur in the Bureau's Board room October 12-14 from 8:00AM - 5:00PM. Ann Neese and Jan Zook have recently been named Co-Directors of the Visitor Information Centers. The new look and format of "Tidings" was brought to the Board's attention. They were asked to check with Dana Stephens if they felt people should be added to the circulation list for the newsletter. This weekend color inserts will be distributed to 405,000 households in San Antonio, Houston and Austin. Radio coverage will done beginning Thursday which will direct listeners who did not receive the insert in their Sunday newspaper to call the Bureau's OCEAN number. $5,000 was contributed for radio advertising from both the HMCA and the Restaurant Association. HMCA has pledged to contribute another $5,000 when the Bureau does its Spring advertising campaign. 30,000 overruns of the insert were printed for distribution to people phoning in from San Antonio and Houston (for radio coverage). Magazines containing Corpus Christi advertisements ("Midwest Living" and "Home and Away") were passed around for the Board to look at. Ms. Murray remarked that she had recently received two complimentary phone calls regarding speeches given by the Bureau's President (for the Editorial Board and Friday Morning Club). She noted that the Editorial Board had stated "the CVB has their act together" and that they are now "very professional". VIII. Old Business Dave Coggins brought an advertising supplement placed in "Texas Monthly"on South Padre Island to the Board's attention. He asked if the Bureau has ever done anything like that in the magazine before. It was explained that South Padre Island had a "windfall" this year garnering the majority of taxes received in their area. In the Springtime the CCACVB will explore the costs of putting an ad in "Texas Monthly" vs. standard newspapers. It was also pointed out that the distribution of the magazine is lighter than the ad campaign launched by the Bureau. Thanks was given to MDL for their fob of turning the insert around"in a short amount of time. 40 5 Mr. Coggins a/so brought a letter to the Board's attention from Carl Krueger of Key Allegro, an individual housing subdivision. Mr. Krueger was not advised about the opportunity to advertise in the new "Beach and Bay Guide"although he had advertised in the previous publication. It was determined that Mr. Arnold wou/d write a response letter to Mr. Krueger. IX. New Business Chairman Jones brought up a few issues which he stated would not be acted on as they were not on the agenda. The first dealt with a water bond election which would take place on November 2nd. At the last Interagency Task Force, Mayor Rhodes emphasized that she wanted to get an "educated vote" on the issue. A meeting will be held on Friday at 2PM. Chairman Jones welcomed the Board to attend and added that he would especially like Gene Urban to participate on the Board's behalf. He felt it was a "significant issue" which would bear on tourism business. The second issue regarded the Consolidation Task Force Study. The completed study has been presented to the Executive Committees of the CCACVB, Chamber and EDC who have endorsed the concept. The next step will be a joint meeting on October 7th at 4PM at the Art Museum Auditorium to present the study to the CCACVB Board, Chamber Board, EDC, County Commissioner, Port, RTA, City Council and others. This will also be an open meeting with the media. The intent of the meeting is basically informational and to determine where to go from there. Hopefully, an endorsement of the concept will be achieved at the meeting. A task force would then be put together from each of the three groups targeted in the study who would work out details and present them to the Board for approval. The first phase is envisioned being accomplished by the first of the year up until March or April of next year. A letter is being drafted which will invite peop/e to the October 7th meeting. It should go out by the latter part of this week. Staff was invited to attend the meeting as well. The presentation will be handled by 12-13 members of the task force. Ms. Stephens asked what her response should be to the media. The response was that a press release would be done to coincide with the release of the invitational letters. X. Adjournment On a motion made by Chairman Jones which was seconded by Mr. Urban, the meeting was adjourned at 4:03PM. Dottie Sylvester Recording Secretary • V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY O THE MORALE AND TEAMWORK-BOOSTING COMMITTEE OF THE CVB SCHEDULED A STAFF ACTIVITY LAST WEEK AT PLAYLAND ON THE BEACH AND SURFSIDE RESTAURANT FOR 46 PEOPLE (STAFF AND FAMILY MEMBERS) IN RECOGNITION OF A SUCCESSFUL SUMMER OF SELLING AND HOSTING VISITORS. O AS A RESULT OF THE PRESENTATION TO CITY COUNCIL, LIAISON HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE CITY TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, THE ATTRACTIONS AND THE CVB TO WORK ON A "TRAILBLAZER" SET OF SIGNAGE. ANY BOARD MEMBERS WISHING TO PARTICIPATE MAY JOIN THE TASK FORCE AT THE BEST WESTERN-SANDY SHORES AT 8AM ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH (PLEASE NOTE NEW SIGNAGE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CITY OFF OF 37 INTERSECTING CHAPARRAL). a 0 GULF OF MEXICO SYMPOSIUM HAS BOOKED CORPUS CHRISTI FOR MARCH OF 1995. THIS IS A HIGH PROFILE FEDERAL AND REGIONAL GROUP OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CONCERNED PROFESSIONALS (APPROXIMATELY 2500 PEOPLE). OUR THANKS TO QUENTON DOKKEN AT THE CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES (TAMUCC) FOR FURNISHING US WITH THE LEAD. O THE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF THE TEXAS STATE DIVISION OF TOURISM IS IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING ITS 'DESTINATION STUDY" FOR 1993. STAN HODGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT WILL BE HERE TO DISCUSS THE ANALYSIS OF CORPUS CHRISTI AT NOON ON OCTOBER 6TH. ACCORDING TO STAN AND HIS STAFF, CORPUS CHRISTI IS NOW THE NUMBER TWO LEISURE TRAVEL DESTINATION IN THE STATE OF TEXAS ONLY BEHIND SAN ANTONIO. PLEASE NOTIFY DOTTIE OF YOUR ABILITY TO ATTEND FOR THE SAKE OF UNDERSTANDING THE STATISTICS AND METHODOLOGY THAT HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN THE STUDY. (THE SITE IS TO BE DETERMINED --WE WILL NOTIFY YOU LATER THIS WEEK.) ATTACHMENT A-1 V O THE COLUMBUS FLEET STORY WILL APPEAR ON THE COVER OF THE FALL FLIGHT SCHEDULES FOR ALL OF MEXICO PUBLISHED BY CONTINENTAL AIRLINES. THIS WAS FACILITATED BY OUR NEW REPRESENTATIVE WITH MBM MARKETING. CONTINENTAL HAS SERVICE TO TEN CITIES IN MEXICO. (PLEASE NOTE THE ARTICLE ENCLOSED ABOUT PROTOCOL FOR DOING BUSINESS IN MEXICO.) O PREFERRED DESTINATIONS, OUR WASHINGTON BASED REPRESENTATIVE FIRM, HAS GIVEN US SIX POTENTIAL PIECES OF BUSINESS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON CURRENTLY RANGING FROM NASA MEETINGS TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE. LEADS ON SEVERAL OF THESE PIECES OF BUSINESS WILL BE FORTHCOMING IN THE NEXT 14 DAYS. O CCACVB HAS SUBMITTED AN INTENT TO BID LETTER FOR THE AMERICAN BOWLING CONGRESS TOURNAMENT FOR EITHER 1999 OR 2000. BID PRESENTATION WILL TAKE PLACE IN FEBRUARY/MARCH 1994. ATTACHMENT A-2 V MARKETING DEPARTMENT REPORT CVB BOARD MEETING SEPTEMBER 20, 1993 The past month has been busy in the marketing department. We've had 5 people traveling for sales purposes and had 12 site tours. I. Shows Keith Arnold, Ed Persall and Rosie Muguerza attended Affordable Meetings in Chicago. They made 107 contacts, identified 28 hot prospects and booked 1 site inspection. The leads will be processed for distribution to the hotels and to our staff this week. II. Sales Missions Kim Lemley, Sandi McNorton and Laurie Murray, of the Quality Hotel Bayfront, participated in a sales mission to Vera Cruz & Xalapa, Mexico with Continental Airlines, TDOC and sales reps from 8 other cities in Texas. The 4 teams made 32 sales calls and put on 2 mini trade shows in each city with a total of 350 ppl in attendance. The leads should be in from TDOC this week and we'll distribute to the hotels as soon as they get here. The sales teams noted a number of calls with interest in conventions. IZI. Sales Trips Jill Borelli spent week in Austin for State Assn sales calls She made 34 calls, found 10 hot prospects, set up 2 site tours for this week and met 6 new clients who have never used Corpus Christi. She also visited 5 sites as potential locations for our Christmas event. IV. DOS Meeting Our first 1st DOS meeting was held on August 24th. It was attended by 9 DOS's, 1 DOM & 2 GM's. It was a good meeting. Our new Wash. DC reps joined and were introduced. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 23rd. V. DC Reps Dano Christensen and Dave Bambrick spent 3 days here for a whirlwind tour our hotels and attractions. They have 5 pieces of business working now for a total of 6550 rn. Most are for 1994. ATTACHMENT B-1 4 ri VI. Sales Blitz Meeting Tues am with committee: Debbie Griffin, Peggy Moloney, Kathy Sparks. Io Phone blitz Tues-Thurs. mr/12-14/93. We plan to field 6-8 teams for the blitz in San Antonio on 10/26-28/93. We plan 3 days of blitzing with a reception on Thurs. We're checking with Wyndham regarding rooms and the reception. I'll also check the She aton Gunter. .A. VII. Product Profile We have invested another 30+ hours over this past month working on greater detail on the Product Profile. The profile is back in typing now. We've probably added another 30-35 pages of information. The second draft should be ready at end of this week. VIII.Visitor Centers Ann Neese and Jan Zook were names as Co-directors of the Vis. Info. Centers. The I-37 center is getting ready for renovations to include painting, landscaping, bathrooms, floors and sprucing up the inside with flags, posters, etc. The city is bearing most of the cost. SPID will spruce up their interior with framed maps, etc. Shoreline has taken over the Quick Response part of our fulfillment program to get the info out quicker. The change was made 2 weeks ago and we've already fulfilled 105 requests for info. We have 30,000 inserts on hand ready to respond to the radio promotion of the newspaper insert later this week. IX. Group Sales You have the tourism and convention sales EOM reports in your packet for more detailed information, but to recap: RECAP: Tourism 3 leads 2 def. in August Convention 19 leads 14 def. in August We produced 17, 879 def rn. monthly goal 12, 667 (152,000/12) XI. Coming up in next 30 days Travel Summit KA, SMcN - Houston Ar64ra Silen9rt( DOM/DOS Meeting Thurs. , 9/23 - here 010 SATOTRAVEL FAM Fri.-Sat. , 9/23-24 8 agents - Kelly, Lack- land and Randolph AFBs in SA. I0//5 --/I0 LGLule trgde( gjents . Lone Star Travel Exchange KL, MP - San Antonio 10/3-6 SMcN/Lex, SB/TSA jjt VI rexgs LSTE Fam Wed-Fri, 10/6-8 ATTACHMENT B-2