REPORT TO THE COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 15, GUESTS: Jay Dickerson, Dorian Dickinson, Gavin Doyle and Bob Warren

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1 REPORT TO THE COUNTY BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 15, 2011 CVB Board of Directors Members: Ahmed, Ikhlas Berlage, Merri Carroll, Matthew Farlow, Jess Murphy, Erin CVB Staff: Althof, Mary Belger, Melosa Gratton, Judy Schamberger, Helen Whiteside, Randy Wolfram, Sandy Vacant Ruffini, Celestino Scholz, Mike GUESTS: Jay Dickerson, Dorian Dickinson, Gavin Doyle and Bob Warren

2 Page 2 of 6 Helen Schamberger made a motion to accept the February 24, 2011 CVB meeting minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Ikhlas Ahmed. Merri Berlage requested that the header be changed on future minutes. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Matthew Carroll made a motion to accept the Jo Daviess County FY11 Local Promotional Grant Round #2 CVB staff recommendations for the following New Product Development and Events as presented. 1. NPD 11/03; 1876 Banwarth House & Museum 2011 Lecture Series; Planetary Studies Foundation; eligible elements total $3,500.00, funded at 50% = $1, NPD 11/04; Discover Stockton Chamber Brochure; Stockton Chamber of Commerce; eligible elements total $1,588.44, funded at 50% = $ EVT 11/09; TOP of Illinois Wine Festival; Northern Illinois Wine Growers; select eligible elements up to $2, funded at 50% = $1, The motion was seconded by Erin Murphy. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Erin Murphy made a motion to allow staff to award the bid for the 2011 Galena Triathlon/Duathlon shuttle bus service providing the bid does not go over $6, The motion was seconded by Jess Farlow. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Ikhlas Ahmed made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. The motion was seconded by Helen Schamberger. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. CALL TO ORDER Jess Farlow called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Farlow read the 3 rd Floor Evacuation Policy. ROLL CALL Roll call was answered as follows: Present: Ikhlas Ahmed, Merri Berlage, Matthew Carroll, Jess Farlow, Erin Murphy, Helen Schamberger, and Randy Whiteside. Present: 7 Absent: Sandy Wolfram CVB Staff present: Mary Althof, Melosa Belger, Judy Gratton, Celestino Ruffini and Mike Scholz. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM A quorum was established. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Jess Farlow welcomed the guests in attendance. Farlow appointed Randy Whiteside to be the monitor for the meeting. 2

3 Page 3 of 6 PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments at this time. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 24, 2010, CVB BOARD MEETING Helen Schamberger made a motion to accept the February 24, 2011 CVB meeting minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Ikhlas Ahmed. Merri Berlage requested that the header be changed on future minutes. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. SOTA VENTURE MARKETING UPDATE REPORT Dorian Dickinson presented the March, 2011 CVB Board Marketing Update Report. The report covered galena.org, galena.org SEO Overhaul Update, Leisure e-newsletter 18 February 2011, Leisure e-newsletter 16 March 2011, Marketing Campaign New Directions, Welcome Letter Chicago Wolves Text-in Campaign, Romance O Magazine Text-in Campaign, Bride , Big River March-April, The Knot, Fox Valley Magazine April Issue, WISN-TV Milwaukee, and TripAdvisor Spring Image and Placement Update. NEW BUSINESS a) PRESENTATION FROM BOB WARREN AS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF VISITGALENA.ORG PERTAINING TO POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF COMBINING CVB VISITOR S SERVICES WITH VISITGALENA.ORG S VISITORS SERVICES Bob Warren presented a preliminary proposal for Welcome Center Consolidation. The financial information that he had acquired was incorrect; therefore, the proposal needs to be modified. Merri Berlage commented that our board needs to evaluate our own visitor services program. Visitor Services Committee chair, Erin Murphy, will schedule a committee meeting as soon as possible to evaluate our program. Randy Whiteside concurred that the issue needs to go to the Visitor Services Committee and be brought back as an action item on the April CVB Board Meeting agenda. b) DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF COMBINING THE CVB VISITOR S SERVICES WITH VISITGALENA.ORG S VISITORS SERVICES It was the consensus of the board to take this matter to the Visitor Services Committee to evaluate our services and our options. The committee will bring their recommendations back to the board at our April 19, 2011 CVB Board meeting. 3

4 Page 4 of 6 c) DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR FY11 LOCAL PROMOTIONAL GRANT ROUND #2 Matthew Carroll made a motion to accept the Jo Daviess County FY11 Local Promotional Grant Round #2 CVB staff recommendations for the following New Product Development and Events as presented. 4. NPD 11/03; 1876 Banwarth House & Museum 2011 Lecture Series; Planetary Studies Foundation; eligible elements total $3,500.00, funded at 50% = $1, NPD 11/04; Discover Stockton Chamber Brochure; Stockton Chamber of Commerce; eligible elements total $1,588.44, funded at 50% = $ EVT 11/09; TOP of Illinois Wine Festival; Northern Illinois Wine Growers; select eligible elements up to $2, funded at 50% = $1, The motion was seconded by Erin Murphy. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. d) DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON BIDS RECEIVED FOR 2011 GALENA TRIATHLON/DUATHLON SHUTTLE BUS After some discussion on the CVB staff recommendation for the triathlon/duathlon shuttle bus provider, Merri Berlage requested that staff get a couple more proposals. Erin Murphy made a motion to allow staff to award the bid for the 2011 Galena Triathlon/Duathlon shuttle bus service providing the bid does not go over $6, The motion was seconded by Jess Farlow. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. REPORTS a) CVB BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRPERSON: JESS FARLOW Jess Farlow reported that the executive director search is underway. Several applications have been submitted to date. The timeline is June 1, 2011 to have a new executive director in place. A search is also being conducted for the vacant CVB board position that is available. The deadline to apply for the board position is March 21, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. b) CVB INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: MIKE SCHOLZ Mike Scholz commented that funds will be released for the marketing partnership grant. Also, there have been a lot of real estate companies that are not basic services members who want tear off maps. These have been provided at no cost in the past; however, they are quite costly and possibly should have a minimal fee in the future. The consensus of the board was to charge $6.00 per pad of 100 tear off maps to businesses who are not basic services members. 4

5 Page 5 of 6 c) CVB STAFF: BELGER, GRATTON AND RUFFINI Melosa Belger reported that she is knee-deep in working on the triathlon. Also, she is assisting Matthew Carroll with bringing a marathon to Jo Daviess County. They are looking at a possible date of November 5, 2011 and the preliminary race course is set up. They would cap the participants at 150 and would need 50 volunteers. Advertising will start at the triathlon with rack cards or an ad on the micro site. Belger questioned whether they could use Local Promotional Grant funds for this new event. Judy Gratton reported that the Old Train Depot Visitor Information Center will be open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, in April and will be open seven days a week in May. Celestino Ruffini reported that Galena was named the Best Getaway in West Suburban Magazine and was also named as one of the top ten charming small towns/cities in America on TripAdvisor. Governors Conference begins on March 16, Jess Farlow, Matthew Carroll, Celestino Ruffini and Mike Scholz will be attending the conference through Friday, March 18 th. The monthly General Membership Conference Call is on March 23, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. The March 9 th Networking Reception was held at Vel Terra Ranch in Woodbine. The April 13 th reception will be at Rocky Waters Vineyard/Winery in Hanover. The May 11 th reception will be in Warren with the site to be determined. The June 8 th reception will be at Elite Pet Sitting in Elizabeth. The Sales & Marketing committee meeting is being moved to April 13th due to the East Dubuque Business & Tourism Luncheon that is on April 14 th. d) JO DAVIESS COUNTY: MERRI BERLAGE Merri Berlage commented on the free ad that we won from Illinois Country Living magazine. e) OTHER JO DAVIESS COUNTY COMMUNITIES Erin Murphy commented that the Hanover Chamber will host a St. Patrick s dinner on March 17 th from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hanover VFW. 5

6 Page 6 of 6 BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Randy Whiteside questioned why CVB staff removed a post on the triathlon facebook page. Melosa Belger replied that the complaint was addressed last year and that she didn t want any negative comments on the page. Randy Whiteside questioned whether or not Eagle Ridge would be receiving the Heartland Travel Show leads. Celestino Ruffini replied that he is currently working on a full report from all three shows. Ikhlas Ahmed questioned where we are at with the bridal leads. Celestino Ruffini replied that we have not ever advertised with The Knot before. We are paying for those ad placements just like everyone else. The Sales & Marketing Committee needs to have a thorough discussion of the process of the leads and bring a recommendation back to the CVB Board at the April meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments at this time. CLOSED SESSION There was no need to enter closed session at this time. ADJOURN Ikhlas Ahmed made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. The motion was seconded by Helen Schamberger. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEXT CVB BOARD MEETING 6:00 P.M., TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2011 JO DAVIESS COUNTY COURTHOUSE 6