MACVB Intranet

Return to the MACVB Intranet Index

Listing of MACVB Meeting Minutes

Missouri Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus
Board Meeting
October 11, 2001
1:00 p.m.

[ CLICK HERE to download a copy in Microsoft Word ]

Members Present: Randy Fiveash, Marci Bennett, Stephanie Roush, Beth Carmichael, Teresa Gilliam, Sam Allen, Don Johnson, Diane Giacoletto, Kirsten Glidden, Tracy Kimberlin, Lorah Steiner, Amy Supple, Faye Bleigh, Joe Donnelly and Steve Powell.

Guests: Robert Smith-Missouri Division of Tourism, Rob O'Keefe-MMG, Kim Helwig-MMG, Scott Reeter-Mizzou Magazine and Michael Kalin-University of Missouri.

President Randy Fiveash called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. The June 11, 2001, Board minutes were reviewed. Stephanie Roush moved for approval of the minutes with a second from Sam Allen. Motion passed.

Treasurers Report - Tracy Kimberlin distributed the current Treasurers Report. He indicated that West Plains CVB will not be renewing this year. As of this date, Columbia is the only member who has not paid their dues. Their fiscal year falls differently. After further discussion, Tracy made the motion to approve the Treasurers Report. Stephanie Roush seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Election of Secretary - The Executive Committee met and nominated Stephanie Roush to fill the secretary position vacated by Kathy Lou Toler's resignation. Marci Bennett moved that the Board elect Stephanie as the new Secretary for the Association. Motion seconded by Sam Allen. There were no nominations from the floor. Motion carried.

MACVB Web-site Update - As part of the Cooperative Marketing application to the Division of Tourism, MACVB is setting up a web site. MACVB has contracted with Patty Becraft to design and implement the site. The address will be macvb.net. There are currently three "shells" posted for members to look at and give their input.

CDME Schedule - CDME Training (Certified Destination Management Executive) is tentatively set for February 22 -25, 2002, at the Sheraton Suites on the Plaza in Kansas City. The core course is "Strategic Issues in Destination Management" which will be held the 22nd through the 24th. The elective course is "Product Development" which will be held the 24th and 25th. We need a 7-member commitment for this to be hosted in Missouri. We currently have four individuals committed for the core course. Please let Marci know, by November 15th if you will have a person from your bureau attending. MACVB offers a $250.00 scholarship per Bureau for this course. The cost for the core course is $1,250.00 and $750.00 for the elective. You can learn more about the CDME program by visiting the IACVB web site at www.iacvb.org. Teresa Gilliam asked about future refresher courses. Marci will check on this and send more information via e-mail.

Strategic Planning Meeting - Everyone was reminded to mark their calendars for the strategic planning session to be held in conjunction with the December 6th MACVB meeting in Springfield. It will be led by Jim Anderson, President of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and will be held at the Chamber office.

MACVB Financial Survey - Marci asked the members to please get their financial survey filled out and sent to the CPA by the end of October so that the study may be completed . To date completed surveys have been received from Branson, Lake of the Ozarks, Platte County, St. Joseph, Sedalia, Springfield and Eureka Springs. To get another copy of the survey contact the CPA at maureen@whitecpa.com.

Roundtable Discussion on Events stemming from Sept. 11th - Randy asked the members to give a brief synopsis of their area following the terrorist attacks and any other major events that might be in progress:

Steve Powell, St. Charles - They have formed a new group with the hotels and attractions to find out what needs to be done to address the downturn in business. They are working on a feasibility study for establishing a convention center.

Amy Supple, Grand River - The "Walt Disney Celebration" in Marcelline was a big success. There were a few cancellations, but nothing serious. Government contracts have been cancelled. Hunting and golfing are good.

Diane Giacoletto, St. Louis - Marketing plans are moving ahead for 2002 - 2003. They suffered short-term cancellations. They are also working on a new ad campaign.

Kirsten Glidden, Warrensburg - Working on CMSU Homecoming, getting ready for the Holidays. She mentioned that CNN has made it home because of their proximity to Whiteman Air Force Base.

Tracy Kimberlin, Springfield - Revenue was down 12% in September, however, he's hopeful that November and December are going to be close to normal. Leisure travel has not been affected. "Wonders of Wildlife" opens Nov. 2nd. A 10,000-seat minor league baseball stadium will open in 2003 and a 6,500 Civic Arena is set to open in 2004.

Teresa Gilliam, Joplin - They are facing a tax issue right now that is on the November 6th ballot. There is presently a 4% City Lodging Tax and Newton County is proposing an additional 4% county tax on top of the current 4%.
Sam Allen, Lebanon - Leisure travel is doing great. They have not seen much of a decline and have found the travels are more in state than out-of-state.

Don Johnson, Pulaski County - Most hotels are booked on the weekends because of increased graduations from Fort Leonard Wood. They are now in a new Visitors Center.

Stephanie Roush, Independence - They are seeing an approximate 20% drop. They are hoping to pass a bed tax, on the November ballot. Her hotels are all behind the effort which will make it easier.

Faye Bleigh, Hannibal - Noticed a drop the first two weeks, however, they are having a great October. Most of their problems were from flooding in the area.
Beth Carmichael, Jefferson City - Has not seen dramatic drops. She's busy putting out several fires and is ready for any input and advice.

Joe Donnelly, Kansas City - They are going through a 12 1/2% budget cut. KCI is suffering and seven people were laid off at the CVB. The President Hotel is undergoing renovation. Construction is underway for the new addition to the convention center over I-70.

Randy Fiveash, Branson - Business is down four to six percent. A vast majority of meetings cancelled immediately but then filled with other meetings. They are working with a group from Australia on a large convention center project, which would change the face of Branson. A task force has been put together for problem solving since Sept. 11th .

Marci Bennett, St. Joseph - Business travel is down. I-29 was closed for a brief period of time, which caused problems for St. Joseph. The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship is going to be hosted 2003 and 2004. The United State Basketball League is bringing a team to St. Joseph.

Lorah Steiner, Columbia - Walk-in's are up because of travel on I-70. One hotel has gone through foreclosure, however, two new hotels have opened. CBS has done a segment on wine country to be aired soon.

Tourism Summit - Steve Powell reported to the Board on the summit held in St. Louis to discuss the impact the attacks on Sept. 11th are having on the local and state tourism economy. Eight CVB offices joined representatives from the Missouri Travel Council, Missouri Division of Tourism and MMG Worldwide. Lou Hamilton was going to meet with the Governor to ask for release of the 8% monies which amounts to $1.4 million. It was suggested that letters be sent to the top businesses to keep activity within the state. Rob O'Keefe stated that we need to focus on in-state advertising, which is not normally done. Bob Smith reported to the group that the Governor is "knee deep" with security issues. The Truman Building is having a new wall constructed for security reasons. We need to put out a positive message and emphasize family travel on history, heritage and patriotism.

MACVB adopted the following resolution regarding the requested release of withheld funds from the Division of Tourism budget.

"The Missouri Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus encourages the Tourism Commission to call for immediate release of withheld funds in order for Missouri to remain competitive in the tourism market. Knowing the ability of tourism to perform as the state's top revenue producer, the release of these funds enables its investment in additional regional marketing to immediately stimulate travel and growth."

A motion was made by Steve Powell to move forward to create a resolution to put before the Governor. Amy Supple seconded the motion. Motion carried.

FY2002 Cooperative Marketing Changes - Tracy Kimberlin reported on the conference call that took place on October 3rd. For FY02 the Division of Tourism is allowing those who have been approved for funding to be more flexible with their grants and will allow the movement of funds from one application to the other. This allows communities to transfer funds from convention marketing into leisure marketing if they feel that increasing leisure marketing will help their financial situation. The amount requested will not increase, just the allocation. The application to transfer funds has been re-worked and will be distributed very quickly. There was further discussion regarding the monies that the Governor is holding.

Director Search for Missouri Division of Tourism - Bob Smith stated that the search committee will meet on Tuesday, October 16th at the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Bureau to review procedures, deadlines and set a timeline.

MU Research Program for Small Bureaus - Michael Kalin from the University of Missouri spoke of objectives for this market. They are getting estimates on the economic activity and developing templates. One professor has been assigned per site. Three volunteer CVB's were chosen based on certain criteria. They are Hannibal, Joplin and Sedalia.

The next MACVB Board meeting is December 6, 2001.

Meeting Adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

This page last modified on 09/15/02 .