City of Lawrence

Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board

Tuesday, August 24, 2004 minutes

Attending

Board Members: Karen Christilles, Richard Johnson, Don Johnston, David Longhurst, Maria Martin, Tom Rost

Absent Board Members: Ron Desch, Derek Felch, Doug Holiday, Dave Horstman, Kate Kelly, Brad Kemp, Constance Wolfe

Staff: Judy Billings, Brandy Ernzen, Susan Henderson, Bob Sanner, Debbie White

Staff Liason: Lisa Patterson

The meeting was called to order by Judy Billings, and Bob Sanner introduced himself as the new Director of Sports and Conventions for the CVB. David Longhurst moved, Karen Christilles seconded, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried.

Financial Report

Billings discussed the monthly budget reports and explained how the accrual accounting system works compared to the previous accounting system. Also, the monthly guest tax number is not yet available from the state, so the guest tax reports did not change dramatically. Ernzen was asked to double-check the guest tax graphs for accuracy.

Old Business

Western Music Association Awards: Ernzen passed around cost comparisons for bus and van shuttle transportation options for the WMA event from Friday-Sunday, November 19-21. Don Johnston moved, Richard Johnson seconded, to approve sponsorship for two shuttle vans during the event for a total cost of $1520.00. Motion carried.

American Fastpitch Association Tournament Sponsorship Request: Sanner explained that he has met several times with Ed Kimminau, AFA tournament director, to help him find ways to lower the tournament overhead in the hopes that the CVB will not need to come forward with sponsorship money. Sanner plans to meet with Parks & Rec to discuss concessions options for the tournament. AFA will decide at its October meeting where the 2005 National Tournaments will be held.

Eldridge Hotel/Free-State Farm Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade: Billings reported that nothing more has been solidified for this event due to the impending sale of the Eldridge Hotel.

Sunflower Film Festival: Billings continues to work with the event organizer and to connect him with local film contacts for planning of the festival.

New Business

Additional Visitor Guide advertiser opportunities: Ernzen passed around copies of the redesigned media kit for additional marketing opportunities for Visitor Guide advertisers and explained that the types of Web opportunities have changed from previous years due to the features available on the new Web site.  

Staff Updates of Involvement

Online Booking, Web site, Database & Email Marketing: Ernzen reported that the number of online booking reservations and room nights jumped more than 60 percent for July, and the trend looks to continue for the next few months. Web site traffic as a whole dipped slightly but was still up almost 29 percent compared to July 2003. In addition, Ernzen announced that she is working on a Web survey to better identify the content and frequency needs of subscribers to the CVB email newsletters. The survey will be sent to all subscribers in the database.

Final Kansas Chautauqua Wrap-up: Henderson reported that the editorial coverage for Kansas Chautauqua events was approximately $190,000. This amount far surpassed the total marketing budget for the event. Billings noted that Chautauqua made money for the CVB.

Heritage Area Report: Billings explained that the bills to designate the Bleeding Kansas Heritage Area are still in the Congressional subcommittee, and that the group hopes to attach those bills to the administrative bill in order to get it passed this year. BKNHA is now working on branding of the area.

Conference & Sporting Event Bids: Sanner is working to set up appointments with several area associations to establish relationships with them. He also plans to revamp the current facilities guide so that is can be printed in color and tailored to the group’s specific needs. On the sports side, Sanner has met with Tim Weaver and the Greater Relays committee to begin planning the 2005 Kansas Relays held April 21-23. He is also looking to bring baseball tournaments to Lawrence, as well as soccer tournaments in conjunction with Mark Francis’ Soccer Academy.

Visitor Center: White noted that the number of visitors is down but it is nothing to be alarmed at. The state’s Mega Giveaway promotion yielded 11 entries at the Visitor Information Center, of which eight to nine stated that they came to Lawrence specifically because of the promotion, and that Lawrence was their sole destination on the trip.

Other

The group decided on venues for the next several meetings (see below). Billings also passed around Sesquicentennial event flyers for everyone. There was brief discussion of having the CVB compile a notebook of local information for local hotels’ front desk clerks. Rost noted that most hotels already have their own notebooks; it’s just a matter of getting the clerks to use them.

Meeting Adjourned

Schedule of Upcoming Meetings:
Tuesday, September 28, 2004, 4:00 pm at Halcyon House, 1000 Ohio

Tuesday, October 26, 2004, 4:00 pm at Days Inn, 2309 Iowa

Tuesday, November 23, 2004, 4:00 pm at Days Inn, 2309 Iowa

Tuesday, December 28, 2004, 4:00 pm at Days Inn, 2309 Iowa

Tuesday, January 24, 2005, 4:00 pm at Lied Center of Kansas, 1600 Stewart Drive

Tuesday, February 22, 2005, 4:00 pm at Lied Center of Kansas, 1600 Stewart Drive

Tuesday, March 22, 2005, 4:00 pm at Lied Center of Kansas, 1600 Stewart Drive