Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 Convention And Vistors Bureau ** rylce*•, 1of America ..17��a Northern Fnx River Valle'of Illinois Elgin Area Convention **and Visitors Bureau ELGIN AREA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of January 10, 2005 Held at Algonquin Commons, Algonquin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Gilliam, Annie Kaser, Ann Laube, Don MacBean, Jim McSwigan, Leo Nelson, Jim Pratt, Sean Stegall and Peggie Stromberg, ABSENT: Cathy Wozniak, Scott Lager, Ed Szydlowski and Richard Tiedt EX-OFFICIOS: Sherry Brewer GUESTS: None STAFF: Kim Bless, Brent Edwards, Pete Garlock and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • 2005 Officers and Board of Directors Listings. • EACVB partnership press release. • Current Partnership Listing • Listing of Hotel Leads Generated by the EACVB for the Year 2004 • List of Potential Trade Shows/Conventions for 2005 • CVB 2005 Strategic Plan Report President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:06 am. Kaser thanked Jim Pratt for hosting the Board Meeting. INTRODUCTIONS: Kaser introduced newest Board member, Jim McSwigan. McSwigan gave a brief background on himself and was welcomed by all in attendance. Cathy Wozniak was unable to attend due to a last minute work conflict. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the November Minutes was made by Stromberg, Nelson seconded. Motion carried. Stromberg briefly reviewed the financials and wanted to comment on the Ventures revenue budgeted. She shared with the Board that unfortunately the income from Ventures will not be what was budgeted. However, the CVB will not be spending overall as much as budgeted. Therefore, it should balance out in the end. She proceeded to state that she was very pleased with what she has seen to date of the new Ventures design and she is sure the Board will also be pleased. A motion to approve the November and December Financials was made by Stromberg. Gilliam seconded. Motion carried. Continued Page Two • Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of January 11, 2005 Kaser then requested to remove item 9 (Executive Session) from the agenda due to the fact that there is currently no need for an Executive Session during this Board Meeting. NEW BUSINESS: • Strategic Plan —Bless shared and reviewed the 2005 CVB Strategic Plan the Staff has developed. Bless reemphasized the importance of everyone, staff and board, be on board for this specific strategic plan that is measurable, both short and long term and something that is in writing that the CVB can work off, so that the CVB knows were we are going now, tomorrow and five years from now. It is vital that everyone is "on board" and we all are expressing the same messages and supportive of this plan. Bless then suggested that as we go forward, perhaps we could have an outside consultant come in to work with us as a Board and develop a strategic plan or that we have a separate planning session in order to put together a strategic plan. Bless stated that she felt it was critically important for us as an organization, as we continue to redefine ourselves, that we have a strategic plan put in place and ready to go and the Board is a critical part of that process. Bless then asked if anyone had any questions and or comments. Kaser thanked the staff for all their work and effort on the strategic plan. Stromberg suggested a Board committee to implement this plan. Stegall agreed and stated he thinks a Board retreat with planning sessions with the staff would be appropriate going forward. The plan needs to be adopted and specific plans need to be put into action. Stegall suggested that this meeting with the Board and the staff should take place in February. Stromberg asked if a facilitator would be beneficial and Stegall agreed. Kaser asked if a retreat would be needed and Stegall stated a facilitated retreat would be best. Bless reviewed the changes that have taken place this past year with the staff and the CVB, including the budget issues that were pending. Basically many fundamental issues needed to be addressed last year and were fully addressed by year end. It is now important, going forward, to put specific measurable goals in place for the Bureau. We need to make sure that the CVB is a critical component to the success of this area and hotel business. Bless agreed an outside person coming in to facilitate would be beneficial as you would have an unbiased person coming in to help us steer our direction. She stated she was open to suggestions as to who could help us lead that strategic planning process. Laube suggested Dave Dattilo, retired from Safety-Kleen. Stromberg, as Treasurer, asked what line item in the budget this cost would be taken from. Bless stated that if we could not take it out of a line item, the importance of this process is vital, we could take it out of the CVB reserves. Bless also suggested Bill Geist as a possible facilitator. Bless stated that she would check into the expense of an outside facilitator and compare the fees. McSwigan added that he felt it important to have a map for the action steps. Action steps need to be narrowed down and specifically addressed. Stromberg stated that if the entire board could not attend a retreat, it would be vital to have a hotelier in attendance. MacBean also stated that he felt it would be vital also to have performance goals and objectives. Performance measurements must be put down in writing. Stegall then stated that after we have several facilitators to interview, he felt comfortable for Bless and the staff to interview and select a facilitator. Kaser then stated we needed to pick a specific date for the Board Retreat. Following a brief discussion, it was decided that the March 8, 2005 would be a good day for the retreat date. The facilitator will probably advise us if we need a half day or a full day. Bless will keep the Board informed as arrangements are completed. Continued Page Three- Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of January 11, 2005 OLD BUSINESS: • By-Laws — Stegall stated that for the most part the By-Laws have been completed. However, he suggested that perhaps it should now be part of the planning session in March. Following a brief discussion, it was decided to include them in the Planning sessions. • Board Meeting Schedule 2005—Bless shared that with out current redesign of the CVB office, we now have space to hold the CVB Monthly Board Meetings. Therefore, all meetings in 2005 will be held at the CVB office. • 2005 Officers and Board of Directors Listings—A new listing of the 2005 Officers and Board of Directors was distributed. Bless asked the Board to review and let Schultz know if there are any changes and/or updates needed. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: • Kim Bless— Bless shared that she has been asked to chair the Governor's Conference for 2005. Bless stated it will be great exposure for the area and the Bureau and a wonderful opportunity. She is looking forward to this new opportunity. Bless shared that the initial mailing for the Conference has gone out and she highly encourages everyone to consider attending the Conference in Chicago. The dates of the Conference are March 29th—31St. Anyone interested in attending, contact Bless. There are specials available for early reservations. Bless also has been asked to sit on the Visit Illinois Executive Committee Board. This Committee is the Legislative arm of the Convention and Visitors Bureaus. The CVB's cannot hire lobbyists; therefore, the CVB's pay dues to Visit Illinois who hire lobbyists to fight the battles in Springfield. Bless is happy to be part of this board. However, it appears that there will be another budget battle this year. The lobbyist we currently have states that the budget this year will be worse than last year. They are concerned for the Tourism Budget again this year. We will know more after February 16th when the budget is presented. There is a Lobby day scheduled for ICCVB for February 17th in Springfield. Action plans are in place and Bless will keep the Board informed as these issues occur. We will be doing another mailing blitz to Legislators, Governor and Representatives. Bless stated she will be asking the Board members for help again this year with writing letters to their legislators and supporting this efforts of tourism in Illinois. Bless shared that there will be regional tourism summits again this year in March. She shared a brief overall agenda of what the ICCVB efforts and campaigns will be in the coming months. Bless also stated that April 12th will be the Visit Illinois Lobby Day in Springfield and she has mentioned this to Kaser as this day is also our scheduled Board Meeting. Bless must attend this Lobby Day in Springfield; therefore, we will have to reschedule the Board Meeting. Bless also stated how important it is to have the support of the Board and would very much encourage any Board member to also attend the Lobby Day. Bless will keep the Board abreast of what is happening in the coming months. Stromberg then added that she has been invited to do a presentation on cooperation between Museums and CVB's at the American Museum Association meeting. The American Museum Association is the National arm of the museums. This meeting will be taking place in May and Stromberg is planning on using the EACVB as a model for her presentation. Continued Page Four- Page Four-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of January 11, 2005 • Staff—Edwards distributed a list of Partners to date. Gilliam asked if he had contacted St. Josephs Hospital. Edwards stated he was having a very difficult time reaching a person to discuss the Partnership with. Edwards then asked Gilliam if he has a contact and Gilliam stated he did and Nelson stated he would give the name to Edwards seeing that Nelson is on their Board. Edwards then shared the time line for the new Visitors Guide and the premier of the EACVB newsletter. Edwards then updated the Board on our advertising efforts and he is very pleased with the responses. It appears our area is getting noticed and our advertising is paying off. Bless also shared that the Dreaming Tree project is almost complete and we are very excited about the potential this advertising could bring. Bless reminded the Board that this is a Coop project with Aurora, St. Charles and Geneva. • Schultz—nothing more to add to report. • Garlock reviewed the leads program that is in effect at the CVB and the report of leads that have been sent out during the past quarter. Brewer shared that she is very pleased with the efforts of the CVB and the leads she is receiving. A discussion followed regarding the lead program and tracking overnight visitors and groups. Garlock then reviewed the various tradeshows that will be coming up in 2005 and those he is looking at attending. The ones he would get the biggest"bang for the buck". He then briefly shared and discussed the area itineraries he is working on and developing. REPORTS: rik • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—Kaser spoke for Northern Kane County Chamber stating there were two announcements she had to share. First, if everyone had not heard Laube has resigned as Director of the Chamber. She has accepted a position as Associate State Director of the March of Dimes effective immediately. Kaser expressed the Board sincere appreciation for Laube's service and friendship and wished her continued success. She will be missed. The other announcement Kaser wanted to share was the Chamber will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. They are planning a celebration on March 12th. Details will follow. Also, Kaser reminded the Board that the Chamber has recently moved to the EFS Bank in Carpentersville. • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—Nelson shared that he spoke with Ruth Munson and she asked if we were still interested in having signage on the Tollway. Nelson and Bless will meet with her in the very near future. • City of Elgin — Stegall shared that 2005 will be "The Year of the Neighborhoods". Each month will include something special for the neighborhoods. This was Bob Gilliam idea for the coming year. Stegall stated there is a new manager at The Centre and a new Director at Parks and Recreation. The Centre's new manager is Teena Mackey. Randy Roepelle is the new Director of Parks &Rec. r Continued Page Fiver- Page Five-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of January 11, 2005 • Board Member Comments: - MacBean shared that the Polar Express Train was extremely successful this year. They had 1100 children and adults on 11 trains during 2 weekends. They are receiving requests for this year and unfortunately they cannot expand the number of trains because they have to run in the evening and of course, they do not have any more train tracks. They are looking another very successful year. Stromberg shared that they had 150 school groups at Touching on Traditions during the Holidays. They had groups from as far away as Hebron and Aurora. Pratt shared that the Holiday Season was a success and Algonquin Commons is continuing to grow. A brief . discussion continued regarding the new stores that will be coming and the changes that will be taking place in the year ahead. • Ex-Officio Comments: Brewer shared that she had a couple stay with her a few weeks ago and they are very interested in opening a B&B in Elgin. She asked who she should tell them to talk to in Elgin. Stegall stated they could call him, Elgin would be very happy to have a B&B in the city. Also, Algonquin/LITH Chambers will be having their business expo the first weekend in February. Also, the tourism committee met with the CVB staff and found it very helpful. "'" NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 8:00 AM. - Elgin Area CVB —Elgin, IL ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 9:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes ` ofAmerica -t 1 Northern Fox River• rik Vallcv ok U1ino�s Elgin Area Convention **and Visitors Bureau ELGIN AREA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of February 8, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Sue Berna, Richard Dale, Robert Gilliam, Annie Kaser, Scott Lager, Don MacBean, Leo Nelson, Jim Pratt, Sean Stegall, Peggie Stromberg, Richard Tiedt and Cathy Wozniak, ABSENT: Ed Szydlowski EX-OFFICIOS: Sherry Brewer GUESTS: Jason Dinkens, General Manager, Country Inn& Suites rik STAFF: Kim Bless, Brent Edwards, Pete Garlock(absent) and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • Highlights of revised hotel/motel partnership plan • Newly designed Elgin hotel visitors guide ad. • Hotel/Motel Tax Summary President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:04 am. INTRODUCTIONS: Kaser introduced the CVB's newest two Board members, Sue Berna and Cathy Wozniak. Both Wozniak and Berna gave a brief background on themselves and were welcomed by all in attendance. BOARD MEMBER RESIGNATION: Kaser shared the letter of resignation from Jim McSwigan. His resignation is effective immediately. He has been offered and has accepted a position in downtown Chicago. BOARD MEMBER NOMINATION: Kaser introduced a new candidate for the Board to replace McSwigan. The new nomination is Richard Dale, General Manager, Hampton Inn. The application for the board position completed by Dale was shared with the Board. A motion to approve the nomination of Richard Dale was made by Stromberg. Gilliam seconded. Motion carried. Dale was introduced to the Board. Continued Page Two Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors '` Minutes of February 8, 2005 t CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the January Minutes/Financials was made by Stromberg, Nelson seconded. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: • Hotel Partnership Package - Bless reviewed the past 17 months of goals and accomplishments she had been asked by the Board of Directors to address upon her hire. Bless shared the challenges she has encountered and the objectives she has completed during this time. Following her brief summary of the past 17 months, she addressed the Hotel Partnership Package that has been recently developed regarding the Elgin Hotels and the fact that they collect hotel/motel tax and a portion of those collections are distributed to the EACVB by the city of Elgin. Bless then shared that the Elgin hoteliers approached the CVB and the city of Elgin with strong issues regarding their representation by the CVB if they do not apply for an individual partnership with the bureau. Following discussions regarding the concerns of the group a new exclusive Hotel Partnership Package was developed and presented to the Elgin hoteliers. (see proposal) They would receive free membership and 50% off advertising in the Visitors Guide. The Elgin hoteliers wanted free advertising and asked that they would be able to bring their concerns before the EACVB Board of Directors during the monthly Board meeting. Bless then turned the floor over to Jason Dinkens, General Manager, Country Inn & Suites. He was at the Board meeting to address the concerns of the Elgin hoteliers that rik submitted their concerns. He expressed the concerns and opinions of the Elgin hoteliers. Following his presentation, questions were asked from the Board to both Bless and Dinkens. Discussions and clarifications were shared and exchanges of opinions and facts were presented. Following a lengthy discussion a motion to approve the exclusive hotel sponsorship package which included a 50% discount on advertising in the Visitors Guide. was made by Gilliam. Seconded by Stromberg. Motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: • Strategic Plan—Bless reviewed the 2005 CVB Strategic Plan the Staff and the Board discussed at the January Board Meeting. Bless reemphasized the importance of everyone, staff and board, to be on board for this specific strategic plan that is measurable, both short and long term and something that is in writing that the CVB can work off, so that the CVB knows were we are going now, tomorrow and five or ten years from now. It is vital that everyone is "on board" and we all are expressing the same messages and supportive of this plan. Bless then shared the results of the research she had done since the last meeting for a facilitator. She had looked at several people this past month. The gentleman she is leaning towards is Bill Giest whom she has worked with previously. He spoke at the tourism summit last spring and has written a book called Destination Leadership for Boards. This is an excellent book according to Bless and he would be willing to work as facilitator for the staff and Board. C - Continued Page Three- • Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of February 8, 2005 Bless proceeded to express her opinion of the few people she has considered and feels after talking with each of these people, Bill Giest has the best knowledge of the tourism industry. However, he is also the most expensive. A full day strategic planning session along with all the follow up and recommendations for the Board along with a copy of his book would be $4700. Nelson asked for a recommendation from Bless. Bless recommended to select Bill Giest and to have a full day session. Stromberg recommended using the reserve funds to cover his fee. The reserve funds should be used for unexpected expenses and the reserve has enough funds to cover several months operating costs. Stromberg motioned to hire Bill Giest to facilitate the Strategic Planning Session, that it will run for one full day and that we pay his fee of$4700 from the reserve funds. Tiedt seconded. Motion carried with one nay from Bob Gilliam. Bless was asked to pursue with Giest the possibility of reducing his fee more. Bless will check into this and let the Board know if the fee can be negotiated lower. Following a brief discussion, April 19th was chosen as the full Planning Day and Wozniak offered the ECC facilities to host the session. The Board gratefully accepted the facilities offer and Bless thanked Cathy Wozniak for her kind offer. • State budget update: Bless will keep the Board informed and shared that she and Edwards will be going to Springfield on February 17th for Lobby Day. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: • Kim Bless— Bless asked to Board to pay particular attention to the handouts that Edwards has handed out at the meeting today. She asked Edwards to briefly review the advertising results that we have been doing these past months. • Staff—Edwards briefly shared the pre print, Midwest Living etc. results compared to last year. Our response has vastly improved since last year, up 49%. Also, our website is receiving many more visitors than it has in the past. He also shared a pre copy of the Visitors Guide that is being developed. Bless stated that Edwards has done an outstanding job to date on this project and everyone is anxious to see the final results. E3 is the design company working with Edwards on the Guide and he is very pleased with the results to date. • Schultz—nothing more to add to report. REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—None • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—Nelson shared that the Cabin Fever Expo will be February 18th and 19th at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites. Annual Dinner will be February 24th at Villa Olivia. Downtown continues with the new construction, the old Spies Building will be coming down at the end of the month, new condos will be starting. Also, the new Chamber magazine will be going to all 32,000 homes in Elgin this summer. • City of Elgin—Stegall, none, deferred in interest of time. Continued Page Four- Page Four-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of February 8, 2005 • Board Member Comments: - None • Ex-Officio Comments: None NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 8:00 AM. - Elgin Area CVB—Elgin, IL ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 9:36 a.m. Respectfully submitted, yo.tioti , Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes r • ** flee**. of neriea , ., ZNorthern Fox River. `•• Valkr of Illinois* Elgin Area Convention **and Visitors Bureau ELGIN AREA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of March 8, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Sue Berna, Richard Dale, Robert Gilliam, Annie Kaser, Scott Lager, Don MacBean, Leo Nelson, Jim Pratt, Sean Stegall, Peggie Stromberg, Richard Tiedt and Cathy Wozniak, ABSENT: Ed Szydlowski EX-OFFICIOS: Sherry Brewer GUESTS: None STAFF: Kim Bless, Brent Edwards, Pete Garlock and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • EACVB Partnership listing • Newspaper article on Suburbs stepping up meeting space in hopes of luring convention business to suburbs. • Listing of Tour Operators Garlock met with at recent ABA and Heartland Travel Shows President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:04 am. INTRODUCTIONS: Introduction by all. BOARD MEMBER RESIGNATION: Kaser shared that Scott Lager has resigned from the Board and from Prairie Rock. He has decided to pursue other opportunities. Lager was a Chamber nomination; therefore,Nelson is already pursuing a replacement candidate. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the February Minutes/Financials was made by Gilliam, Stegall seconded. Motion carried. r Continued Page Two Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of March 8, 2005 101'* NEW BUSINESS: None OLD BUSINESS: • Strategic Plan—Bless reviewed the recent email she sent to all of the Board with the final plans and date for the Strategic Planning Session. Bless was able to re-negotiate a lower fee of$4000 with Bill Geist. The date of the Strategic Planning Session will be May 3, 2005, two weeks later than the original date planned. Cathy Wozniak very graciously offered to host the meeting along with lunch and the use of the ECC meeting facility for our session which will run from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The day of Strategic Planning will be in lieu of the May Executive Meeting and the May Board Meeting. • April Board Meeting Date Change- Bless reminded the Board that she will be in Springfield on the regularly schedule Board Meeting date of April 12`h. Therefore, the Executive Committee suggested moving the regular April Board meeting to Tuesday, April 19th at the CVB office. • State Budget Update- Bless shared that she was in Springfield several weeks ago and at that point nothing was mentioned regarding budget cuts. They did meet with our legislators and reminded them of the importance of tourism. She also shared that there will be a Regional Budget hearing taking place on March 24th at Elgin City Hall from 6:30pm— 8:30pm. We are on the agenda for a presentation to discuss the importance of tourism and that tourism means jobs. Bottom line at this time, there is no mention of cutting our tourism budget. We will continue to work hard that there will not be any cuts. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: Kimberly Bless - Bless shared that the Visitors Guide is at the printer and we should have it out in the next week or so. We are planning an open house at the Bureau Office on April 6th and our partners are being invited for refreshments, to see our office and to pick up their new supply of Visitors Guides. Staff: Edwards shared a report on the Bulls Partnership event that took place the prior evening. A great time was had by all and for the first partnership event being held, we consider it a success. Edwards then briefly reviewed the most current list of CVB Partners (63)that was distributed earlier. At this time he distributed to each board member an envelope with 25 "referred by EACVB" stickers enclosed. The CVB is asking that anyone who does business with one of our partners, please let them know we are supporting each other by placing a sticker on their paperwork. Edwards also shared that we have produced a"referred by"post card. When we refer anyone to any specific business or hotel, we will use send out the post card to that partner. Edwards briefly reviewed the monthly Pre Print and MWL requests for information. A visitors guide and any other information they may have asked for is sent to them. However, the majority of the requests being mailed are visitors guide requests. Following receiving the guide, if they want additional information, they usually call us for the additional information to be mailed to them. r Continued Page Three- Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of March 8, 2005 Bless stated that we are very excited because the requests for information are up 34% and we want to start tracking the conversion ratio. After we have several years of data, we will have another study completed that will give us results and tracking of this information sent out. Richard Tiedt stated that his sales manager called and asked for a copy of the list and was told that the CVB does not duplicate the list and therefore, could not have a copy of the list of people requesting information. Bless stated that was correct. This information is never given out to anyone. A general Bureau rule is that these lists are never given out to any other source. A majority of people hesitate to send in their mailing information unless they are assured that their information will not be distributed to any other sources. This has been a secure procedure for as long as the bureau has been in place. Edward shared that we also use the list to target our advertisement, making sure we are advertising where we get our largest number of requests. A brief general discussion followed. Garlock - shared additional information in conjunction to his report on the two tradeshows he has recently attended. He discussed the various appointments he had and the additional appointments he set up even after arriving at these tradeshows. He shared the various ways he follows up with the tour directors and stated he was very pleased with these past two tradeshow. He feels confident that our area should receive business from several of these groups. He will follow up with them all and additional groups and keep the Board informed of his progress and success. He then shared several new itineraries he has developed. Garlock also stated that he is now a member of the Hemmens Board. Prime Time Sports will be booking soon if they have not already, along with the Illinois/Wisconsin Diocese group. He is trying to become affiliated with the Religious Conference Management group which does a lot of events. However, they are really difficult to become associated with and usually need a sponsor. Nelson asked about Bench America and if they were coming back this year. Following a brief discussion, it was not determined if they will be holding this event this year. Kaser then asked if the groups that will be brought to the area will receive a welcome package. Garlock stated that most definitely, however, at this time we do not have a specific package put together. He did however, offer to do a meet and greet for each group brought in by a tour group. Garlock then briefly discussed the FAM tour he is hoping to have in the next few months. Schultz—nothing more to add to report. REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—Kaser shared that the 25th Anniversary of the Chamber will be celebrated at their annual dinner on April 8th. She also shared that they have found a new Executive Director, Sally Ott effective 3/14/05. There will then be a business after hours at the Chamber office to welcome her on Thursday, 3/24/05. Continued Page Four— Page Four-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of March 8, 2005 Oink • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—Nelson reminded everyone that Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites will be holding a St. Pat's business after hours on March 15th and Tiedt also stated they will be hosting a St. Pat's party on St. Patrick's Day. Also, the Hispanic Business Expo will be Saturday, March 19th at the Centre. Nelson also shared that he and Bless met with Representative,Ruth Munson regarding Tollway signage. Representative Munson did submit a resolution asking the Illinois Tollway to cooperate with our area. She did find out that there was no language in the contracts with the Oasis's regarding prohibiting signage other than Oasis along the Tollway. Bless will continue to work closely with Ms. Munson and Representative Tim Schmidt regarding this issue. A brief discussion continued and both Nelson and Bless assured the Board that they will be kept informed on all progress to get this accomplished. Nelson also shared that we should stay aware of someone who is attempting selling a generic city of Elgin map. This is not the official City of Elgin map. • City of Elgin— Stegall stated that the downtown area of the city will be under construction this entire summer. Festival Park,parking structures etc. It will not be done in phases of areas; it will be across the area simultaneously. • Village of West Dundee - Berna shared that they are currently in budget talks for the village. She also congratulated the City of Elgin on their approach to the construction for downtown. She stated that the best approach to take is doing it all at one time. Once the construction is completed, it is over. rik • Board Member Comments: - Stromberg shared the Museum is working in partnership with Elgin Parks and Recreation in conjunction with them opening the new nature center Hawthorne on the west side of the city. Currently they are looking at possibly having programs there Fathers Day weekend, sometime the middle of June. They are planning to have programs there and it is a wonderful opportunity for the Museum and Park and Recreation to work together. Stromberg urged anyone that has not been out to the Nature Center. MacBean shared that the Trolley Museum just completed an audit of their revenues this year and the Polar Express & Ghost Train Charters were almost 32% of their gross ticket sales. Obviously, this makes it very clear where they will be focusing their future marketing. Kaser shared that Distinctions is partnering up with Prairie Rock tomorrow evening. They will be having a Cigar and Brewery Tour. Appetizers, beer, wine and a brewery tour for 3 hours. Anyone interested the cover charge is $39.95 and it is tomorrow evening. Pratt shared that Algonquin Commons continues to open new stores. On the Border restaurant will be opening in May. PetSmart and Office Max will be starting construction soon also. Continued Page Five- r Page Five-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of March 8, 2005 • Ex-Officio Comments: Brewer shared that the Algonquin/LITH Chamber Annual dinner Dance was a success. A Business Scramble will be taking place on March 23rd She then thanked Garlock for his help in getting her on the Willow Creek list for 8 years and she is now receiving reservations on a steady basis so far. • Tourism Presentation: Bless gave some background information on the DVD that was going to be shared with the Board. This is also the DVD that we use when meeting with State Legislators and other audiences. It was put together through the Illinois Hotel Restaurant Association in conjunction with Visit Illinois of which Bless sits on the Board. The purpose of the DVD is to show the importance of tourism and the impact of tourism throughout the state of Illinois. DVD was then shown to Board. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 8:00 AM. - Elgin Area CVB—Elgin, IL ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 9:01 a.m. Respectfully submitted, 016tit r Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes rk of iunerlea 1^1 Northern Fox River. L V.illev ok Illinois 7� r Elgin Area Convention "*and Visitors Bureau ELGIN AREA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of April 19, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Dale, Robert Gilliam, Annie Kaser, Don MacBean, Leo Nelson, Jim Pratt, Peggie Stromberg and Richard Tiedt ABSENT: Sue Berna, Sean Stegall, Ed Szydlowski and Cathy Wozniak EX-OFFICIOS: Sherry Brewer GUESTS: None STAFF: Kim Bless, Brent Edwards, Pete Garlock and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • Edwards Board Report • Newspaper articles CVB Governor's Award for Best Website (copy of home webpage routed to Board). State Budget & Elgin Summit meeting information and an article stating Bless was chosen to Chair 2005 Governors Conference in Chicago. • Copy of Bless letter that went out to State Senators and Legislators asking them to vote NO on HB 3485. • Copy of letter received by Bless from representative Lindner stating that she had voted NO on HB 3485. President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:08 am. INTRODUCTIONS: None. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the March Minutes/Financials was made by Stromberg, MacBean seconded. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: • Governor's Conference Update - Bless shared that the Governor's Conference was a success and was attended by approximately 650 people. She was very pleased to share the CVB Award for best Website in Illinois and also the Dreaming Tree Marketing Program that we did a coop with St. Charles, Aurora and Geneva won for best Marketing Initiative/Program. • FY'06 Budget timeline—Bless reviewed the preliminary FY'06 Budget timeline with the Board and asked if anyone had any questions. There were no questions at this time. Continued Page Two Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of Apri119, 2005 OLD BUSINESS: • Strategic Plan—Bless reminded the Board to complete the questionnaire that she emailed to each of them and asked that they return it directly to Bill Geist. The Planning session is set for May 3rd at ECC and Cathy Wozniak will be hosting us. 8:30 am—4:00 pm. Bless thanked Richard Dale for providing an overnight room for Bill Geist. • State Budget Update-Bless shared that she was in Springfield last week and at this time there is no mention of budget cuts for tourism. However, she is not sure of what the final grant will be. We have completed our 3rd. quarter Grant Report and our certification. During their visit, they were able to do a presentation to the House Tourism Committee. She briefly discussed State Tourism dollars and how they are distributed and used. They are hoping that the funding is returned to where it was and distributed as the state law states it should be allocated. She will keep the board informed as issues develop. She also shared that while she was in Springfield, she had dinner with Ruth Munson and was asked to testify in front of the House Transportation Committee regarding Tollway Signage the next day, which she and Bonnie Heimbach(Northern Illinois Tourism Bureau) did testify and shared the importance of the signage and how critically important it is especially since 9/11. The resolution was drafted and was unanimously passed and the Tollway Authorities have been asked to look into and pursue this issue. • Open Board Positions - The CVB has several board positions open at this time. There is a City, Chamber and an elected position. Several individuals have been identified and Bless will be meeting with them next week. She is hoping to have three potential candidates to present to the board by the next regularly scheduled Board Meeting in June. • Legislative Bills and Open Meetings Act-Bless briefly discussed the letters she has written to the State Representatives and Senators. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: Kimberly Bless - Bless was pleased to share with the Board that the Elgin CVB has been nominated and has won the Business Ledger 2005 award for business excellence. The staff will be attending the award luncheon next week. Staff: Edwards reviewed several events and issues from the preceding month: • Sticker Reminders—Edwards reminded the Board to use their CVB stickers that we given to each of them at the last Board Meeting when visiting/patronizing CVB Parners. It is easy to forget but,just as easy to remember. • Open House—Edwards shared that the CVB open house was a big success. We had more than half of our partners attend the open house event and picked up their Visitors Guides. • Visitor's Guide-He also emphasized the satisfaction with the new Visitors Guide and we have received excellent feedback from our piers and partners. Continued Page Three- Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of April 19, 2005 • Web Stat's - Edwards briefly reviewed the past several months of our website "hits". Tiedt asked if we or anyone on the board has ever"bought"words on the interne. Dale stated he has had success with them on Yahoo. • Advertising Reviews—Edwards briefly reviewed the various advertising resources we have used this past fiscal year. IE. MWL, Pre Print and AAA. Garlock—reviewed several issues he wanted to bring to the Boards attention: • Monthly Sales & Activity Report Reviews - Garlock shared additional information in conjunction to his report regarding the Monthly Sales &Activity Report Reviews. He distributed an updated copy of the report and discussed the problem with receiving actual numbers from our hotels. This seems to be a challenge that needs to be addressed at a Director of Sales meeting sometime in the near future. It definitely is an opportunity to improve communication between the CVB and the hotels. He also briefly discussed the new section under number of catering leads and partner referrals. He also shared the list of planners he met with at the recent Glamer Tradeshow in Indianapolis. • FAM Tours - Garlock stated that he is looking to conduct FAM tours in June or July. He also stated that Bless made the great suggestion to additionally host a Sports FAM in addition to the Leisure FAM he is planning. Schultz—added that she is also suggesting to possible visitors to stay here in Elgin and take the Metra to downtown Chicago to see the sights they want there. Then on days they are not going to Chicago, they can see all the attractions, museums, culture etc. we have here in the Northern Fox River Valley to offer. She is receiving positive reaction to these suggestions. REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—Kaser shared that the 25th Anniversary of the Chamber and their annual dinner on that was held April 8th was a success and a good time was had by all. • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—Nelson briefly discussed the Downtown development that is continuing and beginning. • City of Elgin —Other than the wonderful news that Councilman Gilliam has been re- elected, no additional news from the city. • Village of West Dundee-None • Board Member Comments: -Dale shared that the renovation for the Hampton Inn is completed and they are planning an Open House on June 28th • Ex-Officio Comments: None Continued Page Four- Page Four-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of April 19, 2005 NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 3, 2005 —Strategic Planning Session—Elgin Community College. ADJOURN: Motion to adjourn was made by Gilliam and MacBean seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, 01141 n Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes elk Ice *« ,.-t► rlca Nuzrh iea Ualky of Illinois Elgin *and Vi ito Convention Bureau ELGIN AREA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of June 14, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Annie Kaser, Don MacBean, Leo Nelson, Norm Ost, Jim Pratt, Sean Stegall, Peggie Stromberg and Cathy Wozniak ABSENT: Richard Dale, Robert Gilliam, Ed Szydlowski and Richard Tiedt EX-OFFICIOS: None GUESTS: None STAFF: Kim Bless, Brent Edwards, Pete Garlock and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • Newspaper articles recently in Daily Herald regarding the Algonquin CVB funding issue. • Copies of FY'06 Budget proposal power point presentation by Edwards & Garlock. President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:08 am. INTRODUCTIONS: Kaser introduced new board member from West Dundee, Village Trustee, Norm Ost. Introductions were made by all in attendance and Ost shared a brief background and history of himself and was welcomed by the Board of Directors. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the April Minutes/Financials and the May Financials was made by Stromberg, MacBean seconded. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: • FY'06 Proposed Budget- Bless shared that she has reviewed the proposed FY'06 budget with the Executive Committee the prior week. Based on their approval, the CVB is making a recommendation for the Board's approval for the budget. However, prior to this request, Bless stated she wanted to go through several things regarding some background of what we have accomplished this year and some of our thought processes for the coming year. Bless then turned the presentation over to Garlock and Edwards for a Power Point presentation covering the bureau's past and proposed sales and marketing efforts. Following each presentation, several questions were asked and short discussions took place. Continued Page Two Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of June 14, 2005 • Garlock began the presentation to backup the information for the numbers for the budget. Garlock reviewed all the tradeshows and shared all the efforts that have been put forth over the past year. He shared a listing of all the tradeshows he attended this past year, starting in September 2004. He gave a brief description for each tradeshow he attended. He attended eight tradeshows since September which is a 300% increase from the previous years. He generated 46 leads this past 10 months, which is a 400% increase from the previous year. As a result of these leads, room nights that were generated were 4,474, which is a 50% increase from the previous year. Those leads and room nights translated this year to an economic impact for our area of$1,878,970.00. This represents approximately a 200%increase just from January 2005 to May of this year, we have already surpassed last year end total. Therefore, in order to keep that momentum going, he reviewed the list of the potential and confirmed tradeshows he is planning on attending this next FY'06. He briefly reviewed the 13 tradeshows they were looking at this next year. He shared that they are planning on continuing focusing on motor coach and sports groups and education facilities we have in our area. We definitely want to focus more on the motor coach because of our attractions; therefore, we are adding NTA, which is the 2nd largest motor coach group in the country. We will continue doing Holiday Showcase, RCMA, which is a Religious Conference Management. We believe there is a large potential for religious group. However, we need to have a sponsor for this which Garlock is working on. We also will continue ABA and Heartland. Bank Travel is also a group that we will be focusing on this coming year. Garlock did planning for Bank One in Ohio for about 9 years and stated this is a big market. We already have had a bank group come in to our area and had dinner locally and attended a show at the Hemmens. We will also keep Affordable meetings and Destination Showcase. NASC is the other large sports convention, we will be attending in April 2006 because it is going to be held in Kentucky and this would be possible with our budget. Garlock ended stating we are proud of our numbers, but,we hope to increase our numbers in the coming year. Garlock then turned the presentation over to Edwards. • Edwards then reviewed the website statistics for the past fiscal year which shows a 32% increase. He then shared the new additions that have been recently added to our Website, Spanish translation, partner's ability to enter Calendar of Events items and the new online Visitors Guide that can actually be flipped page by page. We are looking at using this addition as a marketing tool when presenting to potential partners. A brief discussion followed with several questions. Ost requested that the staff make a shorter presentation this power point presentation at a West Dundee Village Council sometime in the next few months. He shared that he felt it would be very beneficial for the Council to hear this information. Bless assured Ost that it would be the CVB's pleasure to make a presentation at an upcoming Council meeting. Kaser asked Edwards if he was the person who has created the advertising ads this past year and Edwards stated he was. Bless shared that we have saved a great deal of money with the skills that Edwards brings to the team. Bless also shared that the efforts and from all the members of the CVB team have helped in our success this past year and next year will be hopefully even better. Bless then asked Stromberg to share her thoughts on the proposed FY'06 Budget. Continued Page Three- Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes ofJune 14, 2005 • Stromberg shared that she and the Executive Committee have gone through the proposed budget quite thoroughly, almost line by line and she recommends that the Budget be passed. There were several items she wanted to bring to the Boards attention: Totals on Revenues are down from last year. This is contributable to a$50,000 reduction in the PSA agreement with the City of Elgin. Also, FY05 included a Marketing Grant for$41,358 which is not reflected in the new FY'06 Proposed Budget. Therefore, this is another decrease in revenue. Bless reminded the Board that these numbers are somewhat inflated as they were co-oped with St. Charles, Geneva and Aurora and the EACVB administered this grant for this past year. There was also a Marketing Grant for$21,678 which we are unable to apply for in '06 due to the fact we do not have matching funds in our budget. We have approached this City of Elgin. However, to date we have not received a final decision. We do not have the money in our budget; therefore, we cannot apply for a matching grant. Also, under expenditures, line 27, advertising media placement, electronic marketing is down and Visitors Guide expenses are down due to the fact that the Visitors Guide will be done"in house"this year. Edwards has offered to take responsibility for the design and layout for the upcoming Visitors Guide. This will save expenses and Garlock is looking at tradeshow expenses etc. The budget has been reviewed line by line by the Executive Committee. Following a brief question and answer session, a motion to approve the proposed FY'06 budget was made by Stromberg, MacBean seconded. Motion carried. • Village of Algonquin Discussion & Update—Bless shared the information regarding the meetings that have been held with Bill Ganek, Village Manager. Bless felt the meetings went fairly well and the possibility of future funding looked possible and favorable per Ganek's comments at these meetings. The next step that Bless felt was important was to have representatives from the City of Elgin meet with Ganek to discuss these possibilities. Gilliam and Stegall met with Ganek and at that time, Ganek stated they would not be putting forth any dollars for contributions for the CVB. They stated that several agencies have asked them for money and at this time they could not make a commitment. Bless stated that the only other organization out there that would be asking for money would be McHenry County. They have been trying to start a CVB for approximately 10 years and have never gotten off the ground with it. On the other hand, the EACVB is a certified CVB and we wanted funding from them for additional marketing efforts. Following this meeting, a letter was sent to Ganek from the City of Elgin, confirming the conversation stating there would be no participating in funding the CVB. Bless will be working with the businesses, B&B and hotels in Algonquin. She shared that we have their support and she is working with them to contact the Village Board Manager or try to get on the City Council Meeting Agenda to discuss this matter. The Executive Committee has given 45 days to this effort before it is put on the EACVB agenda for a decision to be made regarding the Village of Algonquin participation in the CVB. As Bless emphasized, we certainly do not want to loose any of our communities, however, it is vital to receive support from the communities we service and not leave the majority of our funding on the City of Elgin. Continued Page Four- Page Four-EA CVB Board of Directors Minutes of June 14, 2005 elk Bless also shared several articles that have been in the paper this past week on this matter. Bless wanted to emphasize our appreciation to the City of West Dundee for their contributions and their support this past year. The Village of Algonquin is who we are concentrating on at this immediate time. We are not looking at an equal dollar amount as the City of Elgin, but, we are looking an equal percentage of hotel/motel tax. Following a brief discussion, Bless assured the Board that she will keep the Board informed on any information or action that may take place in the next month. • August Board Meeting and Executive Board Meeting-Based on scheduling and vacations, there will be no August Board Meeting or Executive Board Meeting. OLD BUSINESS: • Strategic Planning Session update—Bless shared that she has received a plan of work from Bill Giest and she has asked the Executive Board to review and is planning on meeting with Kaser in the afternoon. Ost asked that perhaps the CVB could hold up on addressing the West Dundee board until after the Strategic Plan is in place and that too could be shared with the West Dundee board. Bless agreed and stated that the CVB would be happy to include this information when addressing the Board. • Open Board Positions - Bless shared we are hoping to have the City of Elgin and the Chamber of Commerce positions filled by the July Board Meeting. The formality is to have each of these Boards approve their nominations and that will take place in the next month, therefore, hopefully the board will be meeting the two new Board members at the July meeting. There still is one more elected position to be filled by the CVB and we are hoping to have that nomination soon also. Wozniak asked if a new Board of Directors list will be forthcoming and Bless stated most definitely but, we are hoping to have the new members to update the list with also. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: Kimberly Bless - Bless shared that along with the new responsibilities Edwards will be taking on, his title will be changing effective July 15t to Director of Marketing. Staff: Pete Garlock—FAM Tour - Garlock updated the Board on the upcoming FAM Tour scheduled for July 21St and 22nd. The agenda should be finalized this week and invitations should be out shortly. Continued Page Five- Page Five-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of June 14, 2005 REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—Kaser shared that they just has a very successful golf outing and will now be starting the Football Raffle. She also shared that the Carla, their administrative assistant resigned last Friday. She will be moving to Pennsylvania to be with her daughter and her family. They will be looking for a part time assistant in the interim. • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—Nelson briefly shared several possibilities of developers coming into the Grove on Randall. There will be another Good Morning Elgin program scheduled with Steve Rauschenberg, Chris Lauzen and probably several other representatives on July 19th. There is a lot of economic development going on in the area along with Sanfilippo Nut Company. Bless asked Nelson if he could help in setting up a meeting between her and the gentleman from Sanfilippo. Nelson stated he would arrange for the two to meet. Ost also added that several economic development opportunities are being discussed and looked into by the Village of West Dundee. • City of Elgin—None • Village of West Dundee—Ost suggested that Bless meet with the new Community Development Director and Ost would be happy to help arrange a meeting. Bless stated she would welcome the opportunity to meet the new Director. Ost also suggested Spring Hill Mall get more involved with the CVB and work closer together. • Board Member Comments: -Pratt shared that Algonquin Commons is almost 100% leased and several new stores will be opening soon. Stromberg also shared that there is a huge development starting in Marengo. It will be called Blackstone. It appears to be a world class golf course. It will also consist of a high end housing sub-division. Ost suggested calling Scott Hartmann, the Village Manager. He should be able to fill everyone in on this project. He is formerly from the Village of West Dundee. • Ex-Officio Comments: None NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 —Elgin Area Convention & Visitors office. ADJOURN: Motion to adjourn was made by Stromberg and MacBean seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, fleet,A, elimk Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes ELGIN AREA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU chicagoland's northern BOARD OF DIRECTORS t o n a r i a <o ,c , & ■rors bureau Minutes of September 13, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Annie Kaser, Don MacBean, David Parulo, Jim Pratt, Liz Snook, Peggie Stromberg and Cathy Wozniak ABSENT: Richard Dale, Robert Gilliam, Leo Nelson,Norm Osth, Sean Stegall, Ed Szydlowski and Richard Tiedt EX-OFFICIOS: Sherry Brewer GUESTS: None STAFF: Kim Bless, Pete Garlock and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • Several newspaper articles from local newspapers regarding CVB information along with tourism related information. • FAM attendee's comments. President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:12 am. INTRODUCTIONS: Introductions from the group were made. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the July Minutes/July&August Financials was made by MacBean, Stromberg seconded. Motion carried. Stromberg shared that the State of Illinois has informed the CVB that the overdue monthly State Grant payments will be adjusted during the next two months which will bring the payments up to date and current. Stromberg also reminded the board that the CVB is fortunate to have money in their reserve to cover expenses during the times when the payments are late from the State if they deem it necessary. Continued Page Two Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of September 13, 2005 r NEW BUSINESS: • December Board Meeting-Kaser presented a suggestion to cancel the December Board Meeting if all slated items were closed by the November EACVB Board Meeting. All agreed that the December EACVB Board Meeting will be cancelled as long as there are not pending items. Motion carried. • Open Board Positions—Kaser reviewed several open board positions to the attention of the Board: Jim Pratt—elected position that will be re-nominated. Dave Parulo—city appointment that will recommend for re-nomination. Sean Stegall—city appointment that will recommend for re-nomination. Don MacBean—elected position, all eligible three terms have been completed. Peggie Stromberg—city appointment that will recommend for re-nomination. Leo Nelson—Chamber appointment, all eligible three terms have been completed, therefore, a Chamber appointment will be necessary. Ed Szydlowksi—Hampshire village appointment to be re-nominated or determined. Richard Tiedt- Chamber appointment that will need to be re-nominated. Open Position -elected position to be filled with a new nomination. Kaser reminded the Board that the positions must be in place no later than the November Board meeting; otherwise, a December meeting will be necessary. Kaser asked the Board if they had any suggestions for nominees;please pass their name on to Bless or Kaser to be considered by the Board. Bless suggested concentrating on possible candidates from our attraction venues. This is the one area which the Board could fill the void, especially with MacBean term being up this year as a Board member. Bless stated that it would be wonderful to have someone from the Grand Victoria on the Board and if anyone knew of a person, please pass on their name. Snook shared that the Grand Victoria has a new Sales Manager that is impressive. Snook stated she would forward the sales manager name to the CVB. • Annual Audit—Stromberg shared that Nancy Guthrie is currently working on the annual audit and is planning on making a presentation to the Board at the October Board Meeting. Prior to the meeting the audit will be reviewed by the Executive Committee. Stromberg asked Bless if the audit will be distributed to the Board prior to the October Meeting. Bless stated that absolutely that is the intention to allow the Board to review prior to the meeting. Several Board members asked a few questions regarding Guthrie and her background and charges. A brief discussion followed and all questions were addressed. Continued Page Three • Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of September 13, 2005 OLD BUSINESS: • Village of Algonquin Action Item-Bless updated the Board on the latest status on the ongoing events from the Algonquin Village Board. On August 16th Bless made a presentation to their Village Board. Bless shared that several weeks ago, she received a letter from the Mayor of Algonquin stating that they would not be able to contribute to the Bureau until possibly 2008 when their contract with the Holiday Inn Express expires. As Bless stated this is a similar situation as the one with West Dundee. Bless was asking for some type of payment from them similar to that of West Dundee until the agreement expires with the Holiday Inn. The letter from the Mayor states they chose to do nothing and asked that we continue to represent them until 2008 for free. Bless shared the counter offer letter that the Executive Committee and Bless came up with which basically asks them to accrue a dollar amount over the next three years equal to 44% annually of the hotel/motel tax that they collect. They would then pay that amount to the Bureau in 2008 when the contract expires. Following that payment the annual amount payable would be 44% annually of the hotel/motel tax collected. The letter requests an answer on or before October 31, 2005. This time period will give them ample time to address the item at a Board Meeting and vote on the item. This time period also gives us time prior to the printing of the next Visitors Guide to determine if Algonquin will be included. The letter will be addressed to the Mayor and will also be addressed and sent to each of the trustees. A copy of the suggested letter to be sent was given to all Board members. Following their review a motion to take the action of sending the letter to the Village of Algonquin was made by Stromberg, Seconded by MacBean. Motion carried. Bless will keep the Board informed and updated on a regular basis. • Strategic Plan Update—Kaser updated the Board on the various Committees and their current status. The committees that were formed are: Government&Community Affairs Committee—Jim Pratt/Chairperson Norm Osth Liz Snook Kimberly Bless Budget&Finance Committee—Peggie Stromberg/Chairperson Executive Committee: Annie Kaser, Jim Pratt, Bob Gilliam & Sean Stegall. Richard Dale Kimberly Bless Cultural&Heritage Committee—Annie Kaser/Chairperson David Parulo Kimberly Bless Cathy Wozniak Don MacBean Board Development Committee &Mission Statement—Sean Stegall/Chairperson Richard Tiedt Kimberly Bless Leo Nelson Continued Page Four- r Page Four-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of September 13, 2005 Kaser shared that a few of the committees have met and that the Budget &Finance Committee will consist of members from the Executive Committee and Richard Dale,who volunteered to be part of this committee. Kaser then briefly inquired about each committee and shared some thoughts and ideas the committees are working on. PRESENTATIONS: • New Website Design—will be presented at October Meeting. • Tourism Statistics -will be presented at October Meeting. • FAM Tour/Sales update : Garlock shared a power point presentation on the recent FAM Tour that he and the CVB hosted in July. The tour was a great success and he had received a great deal of good feedback from the attendees. He presented a"slide show" of the FAM attendees and the attractions that were part of the tour. Garlock went through the entire 2 day tour via photos and it gave a phenomenal picture of the two day event. He ended his presentation with a handout of the comments/suggestions received from the tour planners. He was very pleased with the comments and feedback he received and the opportunity to share what the Northern Fox River Valley has to offer visitors. To date we have received several inquiries regarding bringing groups here next year and several other opportunities that may develop for the area, especially the Hemmens. One group has booked several dates of competition at the Hemmens during the next several years. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: None REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—Kaser shared that they just had their kick off of the annual Football Raffle. Kaser shared that Distinctions will be re-opening in Spring Hill Mall shortly and they are very excited about the grand opening. She will keep the Board informed. • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—None • City of Elgin—None • Village of West Dundee—Kaser shared that Heritage Fest will be taking place this coming weekend. • Board Member Comments: -None • Ex-Officio Comments: Brewer shared that their two festivals were very successful and that the Algonquin Chamber of Commerce with their new Executive Director, Sandy Oslance,has increased their membership by 210 members. Continued Page Five— r Page Five-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of September 13, 2005 NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 —Elgin Area Convention&Visitors office. ADJOURN: Motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:33 a.m. Respectfully submitted, C7/141 Q. Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes r ELGIN AREA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU : a BOARD OF DIRECTORS çdrnca9olandsnothm` lyln area co��ve.': un & s�rors hur ABU Minutes of October 11, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Annie Kaser, Don MacBean, Norm Osth, David Parulo, Jim Pratt, Liz Snook, Sean Stegall, Peggie Stromberg and Richard Tiedt ABSENT: Richard Dale,Robert Gilliam, Leo Nelson, Ed Szydlowski and Cathy Wozniak. EX-OFFICIOS: None GUESTS: None STAFF: Kim Bless, Pete Garlock and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • Several newspaper articles from local newspapers regarding CVB information along with tourism related information. • Midwest Meetings magazine article on CVB's re-branding etc. President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:10 am. INTRODUCTIONS: None. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the September Minutes &Financials was made by Stromberg, Tiedt seconded. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: None OLD BUSINESS: • Village of Algonquin update-Bless shared that based on last months board meeting and the Boards recommendation, a letter was sent to the Village of Algonquin for consideration. The Village Manager, Bill Ganek, did give Bless a call to discuss and we are waiting to hear what additional steps they would be taking to accommodate our request for them to accrue the dollar amount over the next three years until the contract with the Holiday Inn Express expires. Then at that time they would pay us that accrued amount and then pledge going forward that they would pay us the 44%hotel/motel tax. Continued Page Two • Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors • Minutes of September 13, 2005 Based on the conversation Bless had with Bill Ganek, the Village thought that would be a lot of money right now, especially with the money tied up for the next three years. Bless then asked them to come back with a counter proposal. Tell us what they can do. We are giving them suggestions, they should come back with a counter proposal and Bless would bring it back to her Board of Directors. Therefore, that is where we stand right now. Bless will follow up with Ganek later this week to see what the status is on this situation. October 31St still remains the deadline date for a decision. • Strategic Plan Committee updates -Pratt reported that they have had a meeting and he was very pleased with the results. He shared that they came up with one very good idea and asked Snook to present the idea to the board. Snook stated that one of their goals was to help all our communities know what our Convention and Visitors Bureau is all about and what it brings to the communities. The idea of having a FAM trip for all our hotel personnel and any local business partners that would be interested in attending. This way, any person in our area can see first hand what exactly we have to offer visitors. Snook stated that the recent FAM that Garlock just conducted could be duplicated for the local FAM attendees. She stated that the FAM that Garlock had planned was great and it would be wonderful if we could use the same FAM criteria. Bless added that the bottom line is all about our guests experience and how we can make their visits better and enjoyable. Osth also shared that he had just returned from Washington and was given a map of the area with restaurants, venues and businesses identified on the map and where they were located. He stated he is currently working with Edwards on this project for our area. Pratt was pleased with the direction the committee is going toward and they are all looking forward to their next meeting. Stegall shared that he still is in the process of compiling the information for his committee and as soon as the budget is completed for the City,he will have a little more time to schedule a meeting. Kaser also stated that her committee has not been able to have a follow up meeting but is planning one in the near future. Stromberg shared that the Executive committee was not able to meet this past month due to not having a quorum. They will be meeting in the near future. • Open Board Positions—Kaser asked Bless to review the open board positions that will need to be filled by the November Board meeting. Bless reviewed the following positions: Jim Pratt—elected position that will be re-nominated. Dave Parulo—city appointment that will recommend for re-nomination. Sean Stegall—city appointment that will recommend for re-nomination. Don MacBean—elected position, all eligible three terms have been completed. Peggie Stromberg—city appointment that will recommend for re-nomination. Leo Nelson—Chamber appointment, all eligible three terms have been completed, however,with Board approval,Nelson could serve another term. He has stated that he would be willing to serve another term. Ed Szydlowksi—Hampshire village appointment to be re-nominated or determined. Richard Tiedt- Chamber appointment that has been re-nominated. Open Position - elected position to be filled with a new nomination. Continued Page Three— Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of October 11, 2005 • Stegall stated that the city appointments, he is sure,will be nominated by Councilman Gilliam. Bless reminded the Board that when they are thinking of new nominees, they should keep in mind people associated with attractions in our area if possible. All nominations will need to be made at the November Board meeting for a January 2006 appointment date. The Executive Committee will bring the final nominees names to the November meeting for election. Kaser asked the Board if they had any suggestions for nominees;please pass their name on to Bless or Kaser to be considered by the Executive Committee. • Annual Audit—Stromberg shared that the Audit will be presented to the Board at the November Board meeting by Nancy Guthrie. Prior to the meeting the audit will be reviewed by Stromberg and Guthrie. It will then be presented and given to the Board at the November meeting for approval. PRESENTATIONS: • New Website Design—Bless shared the revised website design which was recently updated with the EACVB new logo and several other improvements. Bless emphasized the huge marketing tool that the website is for the CVB and how important it is to keep it current and competitive in today's business environment. She also shared that we will probably be printing 75,000 Visitors Guide this coming year. This will be 25,000 more than was printed in 2005. The requests for Visitor Guides were huge this past year. Several of the Board members stated that the new website was awesome looking and it is a great job. • Tourism Statistics—Bless reviewed the 2004 Tourism Statistics with the Board. DISCUSSION ITEMS: CVB REPORTS: Bless—updated the Board on the recent presentation she made at the West Dundee Council Meeting this past month. Osth shared that it was a great presentation and the Village Council is very pleased in what they are seeing in the CVB. She then reminded the Board that in the next few months the bureau will be working on the 2006 Visitors Guide and she is asking for the continued support from the Board regarding the revenue sources that could be available to us through the VG. Bless also shared that the EACVB will be hosting an upcoming ICCVB meeting here in Elgin on October 24th and 25`h. They will be staying at the Holiday Inn Hotel& Suites and visiting several of our partners in our area. Bless is the chair elect for the ICCVB and it is a wonderful way to show off our area. She also reminded the Board that the Governor's Conference will be taking place next February and she will keep the Board informed. Garlock-updated the board on the recent YTD sales numbers for the year. To date in 2005, we have sent out 78 leads which have provided 11, 355 room nights which equals an economic impact of$5,760,000. It is apparent that the sales efforts and shows we area participating in are paying off for our area. Garlock has already been to 2 travel shows, Glamer and SYTA. In the near future he will be attending TEAMS and NTA shows. He also shared that he is planning on hosting a Director of Sales meeting for our hoteliers at the end of this month at the CVB. Continued Page Four- Page Four-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of October 11, 2005 Garlock is planning the agenda to include discussing our lead process,booking processes and any other issues that need to be discussed by either the Directors of Sales or the CVB. He will update the Board at our next meeting. Schultz-shared the potential partners list that she has been working on with Edwards this past month. Schultz reviewed the listing and asked the Board members for their assistance in getting in touch with the decision makers of the businesses listed. She also asked the Board to help in getting good PR out in our communities regarding the CVB and the great marketing tool we have with the Visitors Guide. She shared the fact that it is very difficult to actually speak with the decision makers of the businesses and she needs help in reaching and contacting the owners of the businesses. REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—Kaser shared that they just had their awards Banquet Dinner the previous week and their annual Football Raffle has kicked off. Partnerships at the Chamber are increasing also. Kaser shared that Distinctions has opened in Spring Hill Mall and they are looking forward to their Grand Opening coming up shortly. • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—None • City of Elgin—Stegall shared that the city is starting to work on a feasibility study for a concert hall for the ESO. Once the new budget is in place,there will be an economic study as to whether or not the City of Elgin can support it and if we want to build it if the study says we could support it. The City of Elgin will look at this study very closely and determine is they can support the project and/or if they will support it if possible. The study will take a good 6 or 7 months to complete. If it does go forward, it would be a"crown jewel" in the country. Stegall will be project manager for the City. He will keep the Board informed. • Village of West Dundee—Osth shared that the weekend of October 21St will be the Spring Hill Grand Re-Opening. • Board Member Comments: -None • Ex-Officio Comments—None NEXT MEETING: Tuesday,November 8, 2005—Elgin Area Convention&Visitors office. ADJOURN: Motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m. Respectfully submitted, C Q1141 41 I 36-144 " Kimberly A Bless, Executive Director /nes ELGIN AREA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU chicagoland's northern BOARD OF DIRECTORS r_lu: 1 drr3 _:;r w'€:. ;r; & . .:hors burr eu Minutes of November 8, 2005 Held at Elgin CVB Office, Elgin, IL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Dale, Robert Gilliam, Annie Kaser, Don MacBean, Leo Nelson, Norm Osth, David Parulo, Jim Pratt, Liz Snook, Sean Stegall, Peggie Stromberg, Richard Tiedt and Cathy Wozniak ABSENT: Ed Szydlowski EX-OFFICIOS: None GUESTS: Nancy Guthrie, Auditor STAFF: Kim Bless, Brent Edwards and Nancy Schultz BOARD PACKET MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED: • Newspaper articles from local newspapers regarding CVB and efforts with Algonquin • Revised/updated Summary of Revenues and Expenditures. • Slate of Officers and Ballot form. • Mission Statement Key Words Example Sheet President Kaser called the meeting to order at 8:04 am. INTRODUCTIONS: Introductions were made by all present. AUDIT PRESENTATION: Stromberg shared that she and Bless have had the opportunity to review the current audit and neither have any questions or concerns for Nancy Guthrie, Auditor at this time. Stromberg then introduced Guthrie for her Audit presentation to the full Board. Following her presentation several questions were asked by several Board members and brief explanation and discussion followed. After all questions were addressed a motion to approve the FY '05 Audit as presented was made by Stromberg, Tiedt seconded. Motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion to approve the October Minutes &Financials was made by Stromberg, Tiedt seconded. Motion carried. Continued Page Two..... r Page Two-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of November 9, 2005 NEW BUSINESS: • Board of Directors - State of the Officers - Ballots were distributed for the board members to vote for the 2006 State of Officers. Following were the nominees listed: President—Kaser,President- Elect—Pratt, Treasurer—Stromberg, Secretary—Stegall, Elgin City Council Member, Gilliam and room for a write in candidate. Ballots were collected and counted. All listed candidates were elected by the board by a majority of the vote. - General Elections - Ballots were distributed for the board members to vote for the 2006 Open Board Positions. The ballots listed Jim Pratt, Steve Fang, Peggie Stromberg, Sean Stegall, Dave Parulo, Leo Nelson, Richard Tiedt and room for a write in candidate. Ballots were collected and counted. All listed candidates received the required majority vote and were elected by the board. OLD BUSINESS: Village of Algonquin update-Bless briefly reviewed her past two years of effort to garner the Village of Algonquin's financial support. During the course of these past two years, on going discussions have been taking place,basically with Bill Ganek, Village Manager. In August a presentation was made to the entire Village Board by Bless and staff. Following discussions between Ganek and Bless, follow up letters regarding the CVB willingness to work for a solution with the Village of Algonquin, in October it was brought before the Village Board and the Village has offered an annual amount of$2000.00 to the CVB with no agreement to pay us the previously discussed accrued amount and no pledge going forward that they would pay us the 44%hotel/motel tax when the agreement with the hotel ended in 2 years. Also, the$2000.00 would be effective in May 2006 for their 2007 Budget. Bless was in attendance at this October Village Meeting when the offer was made. She thanked the Board for their time and told them she would bring their offer to the CVB Board for consideration. Bless shared that if we set a precedent to accept any dollar amount that a Village is willing to offer us,we would be setting a very tricky precedent and it would be very difficult to go back to other communities and request 44%of their hotel/motel tax. We certainly do not want to loose any communities; that is not the goal of the organization,we want very much to continue to grow. Our sales and partnership efforts have been growing these past two years and we want that to continue. We need to keep in mind the long term goals of the CVB and what is in our best interest. Therefore, based on the integrity of the CVB's current and on going financial support; Bless recommends that we do not accept this annual offer of$2000 from the Village of Algonquin. The Executive Committee also recommends that this offer is not accepted. Following board discussion, Stegall suggested that Osth work with Bless in producing a letter of rejection for the Village of Algonquin. A motion to send a letter of decline to the Village of Algonquin was made by Stegall. MacBean seconded. Motion carried. Continued Page Three- Page Three-EACVB Board of Directors Minutes of November 9, 2005 Strategic Plan Committee updates—Pratt, Stegall and Kaser updated the Board on each of their committees. Pratt and Kaser's committees are meeting once a month. Stegall handed out a listing of key words that he asked the Board members to review and submit 5 words that they think could be used in a mission statement. He asked that these be submitted to him within 2 weeks. PRESENTATIONS: Bless presented a certificate of appreciation to Don MacBean for the many years of service he has dedicated to the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board. He has been an outstanding Board member and the CVB Board wishes him many happy,healthy years ahead. less then turned the presentations over to Edwards who presented Annie Kaser with the 1st Annual"Bring' em on Board"award for the several new partners she helped in bringing into the CVB partnership program this past year. All her efforts have been appreciated and the CVB wanted to acknowledge her efforts regarding our Partnership Program. Bless thanked the Board for all of their efforts this past year and all of their support. Bless thanked them on her behalf and the CVB Staff. Kaser then thanked the Board and the CVB Staff for their efforts this past year. DISCUSSION ITEMS: None CVB REPORTS: Edwards updated the Board on recent new partners and shared the October web views. He also updated the Board on the Visitors Guide status for 2006. REPORTS: • Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce—None • Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce—November 22nd Annual Luncheon. • City of Elgin—Stegall shared that the City Annual Budget has been submitted to the media and a proposal to resurface Riverside Drive. This will be a$3 million to $5 million dollar project.. • Village of West Dundee—None • Board Member Comments: -None • Ex-Officio Comments—None NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, January 10, 2006—Elgin Area Convention&Visitors office. ADJOURN: Motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:17 a.m. Respectfully submitted, /14.tal36-44.66-4. • Kimberly A Bless,Executive Director /nes