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November 9th 2011
Attendance: Jerri Barkley, Sally Brawley, Debe' Brazil, Dawn Collings, Debbie Gallaher, Don Gurnard, Charlotte Mayo, Caryl Morrell, Freyda Stephens, Roger Clute.
President, Don Gurnard called the November board of directors meeting to order at 5:35 PM in Springhill Suites meeting room.
The month of October board meeting minutes were reviewed. Jerri Barkley noted an error in the last paragraph in the minutes. Roger Clute said he would correct the typo. Sally Brawley moved to approve the October minutes with correction and Debbie Gallaher seconded. The minutes from October were then approved by the board.
There was discussion of board member categories. Since Dawn Collings changed job positions and the board recognizes her expertise and interest in tourism her position on the board will be retained as an "at large" position as stated in the new by-laws pending adoption by the board of directors.
Jerri Barkley talked about the success of the Seattle and Portland ski shows she participated in. She stated the Seattle ski show had 17,000 and Portland 22,000 attendees respectively. Jerri said both shows provided positive interest for Mission Ridge. Jerri thanked all the marketing partners who participated during the shows and also helped with financial support.
Roger noted a contract for services with the City of Wenatchee was signed by Mayor Johnson. While the contract revenue amount was reduced by about $70,000 Roger said WVVB operations could go forward without substantial loss of services. Sally Brawley moved to approve the City of Wenatchee contract and Debbie Gallaher seconded. The board approved the contract and President Don Gurnard signed the agreement. Don also stated the City budget negations were a key element getting the new WVVB contract in place and he is happy the visitor bureau budget has been approved.
Sally Brawley asked Roger to clarify the term "incubation" as used in line #6 of 2 A in the contract with the City of Wenatchee. The line states: "New event incubation/conventions booked.
The board reviewed October fulfillment, the downtown Visitor Center had 388 guests compared to 185 the year before. There were 9,440 unique visits to www.wenatcheevalley.org compared to 5,030 during 2010. Roger stated fulfillment and distribution in all categories totaled 10,845 for the month. The Social Media category had 531 Facebook Fans, 491 Twitter followers and 2,850 e-newsletter subscribers.
The board reviewed the September Smith Travel Research Report. It reflected higher Average Daily Hotel Rates up 3.3% at $80.65. Room Occupancy was higher by 7.9% at 64% and Hotel Revenue increased by 12% ($2,066,189) compared to last year ($1,884,061) at least in part due to several sports and conventions in the area. Roger noted Yakima Room Revenue was down by 1.1% and Tri-Cities up by 7.8% in September compared to 2010.
The board reviewed the October profit and loss statement. Roger noted October income was $50,025 and total expenses were $23,017. In reviewing accounts payable Roger stated the bills were comprised of payroll and taxes. In addition there were payments to advertisers. Sally Brawley made a motion to pay October bills, Caryl Morrell seconded and the motion was approved.
There was a brief discussion on Tourism Impacts and how to depict them in easy to understand terms. Roger noted the City of Wenatchee collects about $6.5 million in retail sales tax and 20% of that amount is attributed to tourism or $1.3 million. The city contracts destination marketing services with the WVVB for approximately $300,000/year. Based on those figures the WVVB returns to the city over four times the cost of the contract in tax generation alone.
Dawn Collings moved for adjournment at 6:45 PM; Sally Brawley seconded the motion and the November meeting was concluded by unanimous consent.
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