MINUTES

Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Attending

Board Members: Karen Christilles, Ron Desch, Derek Felch, Doug Holiday, David Horstman, Don Johnston, Kate Kelly, Brad Kemp, David Longhurst, Maria Martin, Lisa Patterson, Tom Rost, Constance Wolfe

Guest: Jeannie Hetrick, Holiday Inn Express

Staff: Judy Billings, Brandy Ernzen, Susan Henderson, Troy Roberts, Debbie White

The meeting was called to order by chairman Doug Holiday. The February minutes were approved.

Financial Report

Billings explained that there was still $4500 to collect from Visitor Guide advertisers, and that although the bed tax income appears low, there is still another quarter to collect for this fiscal year. She discussed specific line items and noted that 15% of the CVB budget now goes to overhead. During discussion, there seemed to be several discrepancies with the budget included in the new management plan. Billings will bring the corrected budget back to the board at next month’s meeting, along with the CVB’s 2004 working calendar.

Old Business

i. Year-end Numbers: Billings discussed the revised economic impact numbers, reflecting the three-year average that the board discussed last month. Discussion followed.

ii. Western Music Association Awards: Desch did not have any new information to report. He is waiting for Rob Phillips to get the requested information from the WMA.

iii. State Agri-tourism Initiative: Billings explained what agri-tourism is and noted that the state wants to further develop this tourism sector. She has been appointed to a state agri-tourism advisory committee, and the state is looking to Douglas County as a “poster child” for agri-tourism development and expansion, since this area already has many of these destinations and activities. Billings is starting to meet with the Extension Council and local farmers to get feedback and to assess where agri-tourism currently stands in the county.

New Business

There was no new business.

Staff Updates of Involvement

Kansas Chautauqua Planning: Henderson passed around a copy of the new Chautauqua brochure and encouraged hotels and attractions to get copies of the brochures. The media kit went out to 150 regional media outlets and the Chautauqua intern is currently following up with each contact. Henderson is working on placing ads and getting the event program coordinated.

Heritage Area Report: Billings reported that the heritage area legislation has been introduced in the Senate. Sen. Sam Brownback held a public meeting at the Visitor Information Center on March 18 to get the community’s feedback. Billings passed around a copy of the feasibility study (also available at www.bleedingkansas.org) and noted that a copy has been sent to the National Park Service for review. She also watched a Webcast debating and discussing the merit and implementation of National Heritage Areas.

Online Booking/Web site: Ernzen reported that the online booking reservations had increased threefold from January to February, and the upward trend looks like it will continue through the next few months. Also, Web site traffic continues to increase each month.

NAIA Swimming & Diving Championships: Roberts reported that the NAIA Swimming & Diving Championships brought 15 teams and 270 athletes, resulting in more than 800 room nights. Everything went smoothly, and there no complaints from athletes, coaches or NAIA officials. He has not heard about the ’05-’06 bid, but believes it is between Lawrence and St. Charles, Mo.

Conference & Sporting Event Bids: Roberts announced that he is currently assisting several conferences. These include the Kansas City District AME, Kansas Association of Court Management, Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Kansas Child Support Enforcement Association conferences. He has submitted a bid for the 2006 American Business Women’s Conference. The sports scene also remains busy. Roberts announced that the KU Cycling Club will host a regional championship in May, and that he has helped them put together a bid for the 2005 national championship. In addition, he noted that the Shrine Bowl committee will meet the first of April to decide the location for the 2006 Shrine Bowl, with Lawrence as one of the contenders.

Other: Henderson announced that she is beginning to work on feature story ideas for the upcoming Visitors Guide. She and Billings talked about the current ideas: agri-tourism, keying on Farmer’s Market; a hunting, fishing, biking/hiking piece; and the Bleeding Kansas story as told through art. They asked for feedback and other ideas from the board. Discussion followed.

Billings passed around postcards announcing upcoming tourism efforts. One publicizes the State Tourism Department’s summer giveaway contest designed to promote travel within the state of Kansas. The Lawrence CVB might work with the state on this promotion. The other postcard publicizes “No Borders, No Boundaries,” a networking group of regional tourism agencies.

Meeting Adjourned

Schedule of Upcoming Meetings:
Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 4:00 pm at Holiday Inn Express, 3411 Iowa

Tuesday, May 25, 2004, 4:00 pm at Holiday Inn Express, 3411 Iowa

Tuesday, June 22, 2004, 4:00 pm at Halcyon House, 1000 Ohio

Tuesday, July 27, 2004, 4:00 pm at Halcyon House, 1000 Ohio

Tuesday, August 24, 2004, 4:00 pm at Halcyon House, 1000 Ohio