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12-04-2007 Minutes Convention and Tourism Advisory Committee Thursday, December 4, 2007 - Minutes Members Present: Kathy Tolbert, Ardean Maxey, Ben Vidricksen, Dennis Lauver, Rachel Dix, Jennifer Sturges, Paul Webb, Luci Larson Members Absent: Rosie Leek, Greg Stephens Guests/Staff Present: Sylvia Rice, Jo Ann McClure, Andi Pahl - Chamber CVB Staff Minutes The Minutes of the November 2007 meeting were reviewed. Financial Statement The October 2007 Financial Statement was reviewed. Division Updates: Sylvia announced the four new Chamber Board members for 2008, including Kathy Tolbert of this Committee. Sports Market Sylvia gave the following sports market update: . Salina hosted the KSHSAA 4A Football Championship game on November 24 at Salina Stadium. There were 3,673 paid attendees and 500 through the pass gate. Despite the snow on the ground, the Andale vs. Louisburg game went well with Andale winning 31-14. New signage was discussed for next year regarding entering and leaving the game during play. Some Andale fans came into Salina on Friday night. Other people also came in on Friday, stayed in hotels, ate at restaurants, and left on Sunday. Weare hoping to host KSHSAA 4A Football again next year. Convention Market Jo Ann gave the following convention market update: . Jo Ann has been busy sending out proposals. The Kansas State Nurses Underage Drinking Convention was such a success this fall they decided to re-open bidding for the Kansas State Nurses Convention for 2010. The surprise was, we won the bid but it was for 2009. . Jo Ann said the next 'Meet & Greet' for Hawgsmoke would be December 13 at the Salina airport. Hawgsmoke members gave Larry Bengtson, a local military hero, an award for his service in the past. The Hawgsmoke event will be held in Salina next October. Nearly 300 rooms will be needed in the community for this event. . Jo Ann showed a new 10-year pocket calendar (2008-2017) designed to be given to convention and meeting planners by staff. . Jo Ann stated that January would be a busy month with so many large conventions coming to Salina. She cited: Kansas Land Surveyors; Kansas Association of Auctioneers, Kansas Association of Insurance Agents, No Till on the Plains, and Kansas Land Improvement Association. Tourism Market Sylvia gave the following tourism market report: . Sylvia stated that the Visit Salina magazine was going to press and will have a new cover look for 2008. Featured stories include the JUCO Basketball Blast, upcoming plays at the Salina Community Theatre, the Salina Art Center's new exhibit New Narratives: Contemporary Art from India, and conventions coming to Salina through March. . Sylvia announced that the Bravo Salina brochure is finished and would be delivered on Friday of this week. Some paid distribution of the brochure will be done this year. There will also be a web presence for the piece. A roll out announcement is planned for Thursday at the Salina Art Center at 4:45 p.m. . Sylvia met with the Salina 150th anniversary group. Former mayors Steve Ryan and Kristen Seaton have agreed to be Honorary Co-chairs. A logo will be designed in-house at Smoky Hill Museum. The kick-off is planned for April and events will continue through the Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair in September. Major events will have a 150th anniversary tie in. There will be many facets to the celebration. We are also looking for film footage of the pageant from the past. . The Chamber Board of Directors is having a retreat December 5 and Sylvia asked the Committee to fill out a survey on the Chamber's web site pertaining to the retreat. . Sylvia and Kathy Tolbert worked a Salina information booth at the Salina Bicentennial Center for a deployment event that was held there on November 21. Sylvia said more than 1,000 people attended. Visit Salina helped transport the 400+ troops who had been training at Nickell Hall to the Bicenter. . KDHE held a meeting at the Chamber to inform attendees about proposed new lodging regulations. Kansas Travel & Tourism was among those attending. There were a lot of changes to the regulations, especially with the inspection process. One main challenge is the influx of bed bugs, due to more overseas travel, and how to deal with them. Approximately 70 people attended the seminar. Visit Salina and TIAK provided refreshments. . Next week Sylvia is scheduled to meet with the KTI Task Force in Topeka on Monday, with 1-70 Association in Hays on Wednesday, and chairs a TIAK board meeting at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure on Thursday, and an Adventure Times III planning meeting to follow. . Sylvia reported that work on the web site, especially the calendar, is still ongoing. . Sylvia mentioned the traveling National Geographic photo exhibit of the Flint Hills, by photographer Jim Richardson, will be in Salina in March 2008. She is in the process of finding a location for the exhibit and will send out a media release when plans are finalized. We will travel to Pratt to pick up the exhibit and then it will go to Hays from Salina. The collection includes 30 prints on easels and two 10-foot, multi- easel pieces. . Sylvia distributed lapel pins with the new Salina logo on them to the Committee. The pins will also be handed out to front-line employees. Statistics: . Sylvia stated that we have not received the final numbers yet for transient guest taxes. Last year's total was $549,000. This year we have met and exceeded our budget already with $572,446 total to Chamber. YTD for October was 59% occupancy and the daily rate was $1 higher than last month. Committee Discussion Luci Larson stated that polls are leaning toward landscaping, not public art. The next meeting on her agenda as City Commissioner is regarding golf fees at the Salina Municipal Golf Course. Kathy Tolbert reported the Snowflake Celebration on December 1 brought in 200 people with 160 for breakfast. The "Wild at Art" evening had a good turnout. Staff is busy preparing for 2008. Dennis Lauver stated that the City staff is looking into the painting of the Visit Salina logo on the water tower off 1-70 and Ninth Street. Ben Vidricksen said it could be a very interesting and good year for tourism coming up, with things being done at the Capitol. Paul Webb is excited about the new way-finding system. He feels good signage really helps visitors find the venue they are seeking. Next Meetin2 The next Convention & Tourism Advisory Committee Meeting will be held January 8 at the Chamber. Schedules for 2008 meetings were handed out. The meeting adjourned at 8:32am.