OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CONVENTION & TOURIST BUREAU April - March - February 2017

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1 April 20, 2017 Call to order Carlton Golden, Board Chairman, called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Directors at 11:30 a.m. on April 20, 2017 at the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, 629 Spring Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. A quorum was present. Roll call: The following committee members were present: Africa Price, Carlton Golden, Debbie Coleman, Dick Bremer, Gary Theus, Jason McKinney, Kellie Morris, Pam Glorioso, Patricia Wooldridge, Ray Tromba, Rob Brown, Sandy Cimino. Committee Members Absent: Mary Dunn, Shelli Murphy and Tanita Gilbert-Baker. Staff Members Present: Stacy Brown and Charlie Rice. Introduction: New attorney Ms. Anna O Neal, Bradley Murchison, Kelly & Shea LLC. Approval of Agenda Mr. Golden called for a motion to approve the agenda. A motion was made by Mr. Brown and seconded by Mr. Tromba. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Approval of Minutes Mr. Golden called for a motion to approve the March regular scheduled Board meeting minutes. A motion was made by Ms. Glorioso and seconded by Mr. McKinney. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Financials A. Financial Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the financial reports for March. The Finance Committee made a motion to approve. Ms. Cimino seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. B. Occupancy Tax Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the occupancy report for March. Overall Shreveport-Bossier is down 5.75% year to date. C. Check Register Ms. Brown answered all questions regarding the check register for March. D. Financial Disclosure Statements - Ms. Anna O Neal explained and answered questions regarding the financial disclosure statement. E. Product Development Committee - The Finance Committee made a motion to approve the following amounts for the Development Grants: Christmas on Caddo $2,500; Benton Farmer s Market $1,000; Town of Greenwood (Pioneer

2 Heritage Festival) $1,500; Greenwood Farmer s Market $ 1,000; and Gusher Day Festival $1,500, seconded by Mr. Brown. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Ms. Morris abstained from the discussion and vote. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. President s Report Department Reports A. Communications Department Update Distributed 11 news releases and generated 698 news placements, a value of $2.4 million. Website sessions are up 84% after several months of adjustments & special promotions; top website visitation by city Dallas, Houston and Ft. Worth, TX.; top viewed pages Things to Do, 318 Restaurant Week and hotels; Visitor Center walk-ins up 20%; Twitter & Facebook continue to grow and video view are up 673%; 20x49 blog page views are down currently working on a redesign; summer campaign is ramping up. B. Conventions & Tourism Department Update Traveled to Baton Rouge with Shreveport Hilton for state association calls; after working with a group since 2003, now in the final stages of securing 1,700 room nights for June 2021; Assist is down and room nights are up; Tourism bookings up in all areas, leads up a little in room night and people. C. Sports Commission Update Working with the City of Shreveport on NBA D League bid for New Orleans Pelicans season; SB Sports Biz Connect will be on Thursday, May, 18 th from 4-6pm at Red River Brewery; Working on a bid for ASA Outdoor Archery 2019; Red River Waterway Commission will $80,000 partner on the Power Boat Nationals, and several bass tournaments on the Red this fall; Bidding on several LHSAA State Championships. D. PRIDE Awards May 11, 2017 at Horseshoe Riverdome from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. E. Legislative Review Reviewed bills relative to the hospitality industry. Chairman s Reports A. Upcoming Events in board package B. Association Reports a. Restaurant Association Traveled to Washington, DC for National Restaurant Week, met with Senator Cassidy and Congressman Mike Johnson regarding tax reform and healthcare. b. Hotel/Motel Association RASA was the guest speaker at the April meeting held at Silver Star Smokehouse. Emma Hebert has been appointed to

3 Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau board. May meeting will be held at the Horseshoe DARE Pool. Looking to bring Jason Dorsey to speak about millennials. c. Attractions Association Be a Fan Campaign encourages locals to get out and explore all of the fun things to see and do in Shreveport and Bossier City during the month of May. Next Meeting: Board Meeting, Thursday, May 18, 2017 Agenda items for upcoming meeting: Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:31 p.m. Approved: Carlton Golden, Jr. Chairman Ray Tromba Secretary

4 March 16, 2017 Call to order Carlton Golden, Board Chairman, called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Directors at 11:29 a.m. on March 16, 2017 at the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, 629 Spring Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. A quorum was present. Roll call: The following committee members were present: Africa Price, Carlton Golden, Debbie Coleman, Dick Bremer, Jason McKinney, Kellie Morris, Mary Dunn, Pam Glorioso, Patricia Wooldridge, Ray Tromba, Shellie Murphy and Tanita Gilbert-Baker. Committee Members Absent: Gary Theus and Sandy Cimino. Staff Members Present: Stacy Brown and Charlie Rice. Approval of Agenda Mr. Golden called for a motion to approve the agenda. A motion was made by Ms. Dunn and seconded by Ms. Glorioso. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Approval of Minutes Mr. Golden called for a motion to approve the February regular scheduled Board meeting minutes. A motion was made by Mr. McKinney and seconded by Mr. Tromba. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Financials F. Financial Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the financial reports for February. The Finance Committee made a motion to approve. Ms. Glorioso seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. G. Occupancy Tax Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the occupancy report for February. Overall Shreveport-Bossier is down 6.10% year to date. H. Check Register Ms. Brown answered all questions regarding the check register for February. I. Louisiana Compliance Questionnaire - The Finance Committee made a motion to approve. Ms. Dunn seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. J. Resolution of Authority - the Finance Committee made a motion to authorize Ms. Brown, to sign on behalf of the Bureau, a Cooperative Marketing Program agreement with the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Ms. Dunn seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment.

5 President s Report Ms. Lisa Love is stepping down as the bureau s attorney. Ms. Anna O Neal will be the bureau s new attorney. Department Reports F. Communications Department Update Restaurant Week March 14-18, Eight news releases generating 896 news placements a value of $2.2 million dollars. Facebook, Twitter and video views are up, 20x49 blog views are down. Gained 1,000 new Facebook fans during Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras Campaign February website visitation, 108,558, highest ever, 1.4 million impressions, direct booking 4,346. Working on the summer promotion, which will run May to end of July. Recently hosted Louisiana Life craft beer media FAM. Will be hosting the UK Globetrotter film crew on March 24 th and Japanese Travel Writers on March 27 th. G. Conventions & Tourism Department Update Mardi Gras Bash was successful with 453 in attendance and 360 related to Group Tours consuming 190 room nights. Attended the RCMA conference, received multiple leads, conducted a site tour, and sponsored the early bird reception. Attended Rendezvous South received strong interest from two military reunions. LMA site visit for July 2017 conference representing 1785 room nights. AKA Conference 3,700 registered for conference; 19 hotels have been contracted. February definite and assist are even; leads are down and room nights are up in all categories. Tourism bookings and room nights are up and leads are down. H. Sports Commission Update LHSAA Wrestling 344 volunteers, $5,000 in trade sponsorship; will bid on Sports Funding Application process put into place and preparing contracts for all events this year. High School All- Star Girls & Boys Basketball at BPCC Saturday. Red River Balloon Rally Committee has started to meet, currently working on cash and trade sponsorships. February definite and leads were down, up in room nights; YTD definite and leads are even and room nights are down. I. Tourism Awareness Week/PRIDE Awards May 7-13, 2017 Tourism Awareness Week. Be a Fan of Shreveport-Bossier campaign will be the entire month of May; attractions participating with free/discounted admissions. J. I-20 Corridor Long Distance Passenger Rail Connection Letter of Support Meeting was held last week to get the word out; multi-state coalition to establish I-20 corridor long-distance passenger rail service between Ft. Worth and Atlanta connecting to the east coast. A motion was made by Ms. Glorioso for the bureau to write a letter of support. Seconded by Mr. Bremer. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. K. Product Development Committee Rural Product Development Grants will be reviewed and scored in April.

6 L. Attractions Update Shreveport Water Works Museum is back under the city; Spring Street Museum is now under Colonial Dames. The Shreveport Aquarium is progressing well. Chairman s Reports C. Upcoming Events in board package D. Association Reports a. Restaurant Association NWLRA Rooftop Rendezvous Fundraiser was held on March 6 th at the Remington Suite Hotel; will know what was donated on March 20 th. b. Hotel/Motel Association Bill Langkopp talked about High School program for hospitality education. Miranda Small talked about the upcoming AKA Convention at the March 9 th meeting. c. Attractions Association Sustainability Grant is due April 14 th. LTPA Marketing Seminar will be held on March 21 st. Be a Fan of Shreveport- Bossier will run through the whole month of May. Next Meeting: Board Meeting, Thursday, April 20, 2017 Agenda items for upcoming meeting: Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:11 p.m. Approved: Carlton Golden, Jr. Chairman Ray Tromba Secretary

7 February 16, 2017 Call to order Carlton Golden, Board Chairman, called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Directors at 11:55 a.m. on February 16, 2017 at the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, 629 Spring Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. A quorum was present. Roll call: The following committee members were present: Africa Price, Carlton Golden, Debbie Coleman, Gary Theus, Dick Bremer, Pam Glorioso, Patricia Wooldridge, Ray Tromba, Rob Brown, Jason McKinney, Kelli Morris, Shelly Murphy and Sandy Cimino. Committee Members Absent: Mary Dunn and Tanita Gilbert-Baker. Staff Members Present: Stacy Brown, Jerri Corder and Charlie Rice. Approval of Agenda Mr. Golden called for a motion to approve the agenda. A motion was made by Mr. McKinney and seconded by Ms. Coleman. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Approval of Minutes Mr. Golden called for a motion to approve the January regular scheduled Board meeting minutes. A motion was made by Ms. Glorioso and seconded by Mr. McKinney. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Downtown Bossier Re-visioning Presentation Ms. Glorioso gave an update on the Downtown Bossier Re-visioning project. Financials K. Financial Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the financial reports for January. The Finance Committee made a motion to approve. Mr. Tromba seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. L. Occupancy Tax Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the occupancy report for January. Overall Shreveport-Bossier is up 3.17% year to date. M. Check Register Ms. Brown answered all questions regarding the check register for January. N. Grant Application Review - The Finance Committee made a motion to approve the following grant applications: Barksdale Air Force Base Air Show up to $7,000; Ms. Cimino seconded; Mudbug Madness up to $11,250; Mr. Brown seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment.

8 O. Public Records Request Policy - Ms. Brown reviewed and discussed changes to the policy. The Bureau will follow the Dept. of State fee schedule. Ms. Price made a motion to approve. Mr. Bremer seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. P. Review Backup Procedures - Enterprise Computing Services, LLC (ECS) monitors and maintains the Bureaus servers. In the event of server failure, they can have our organization up and running in 4 hours. Backups are done on-site and stored off-site at a Data Center. Q. Louisiana Compliance Questionnaire was reviewed by Ms. Brown. President s Report Department Reports a) Communications Department Update Received two Addy Awards. In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, the Bureau and Attractions Association will be offering the Be a Fan of Shreveport-Bossier promotion May March 27 th is the deadline for the Louisiana Office of Tourism grants. February 23 rd Brandy and Stacy will be giving the Caddo Parish Commission an update on Mardi Gras economic impact. PRIDE Awards will be May 11 th, this year we are asking for sponsorships. Restaurant week is March 14-18; participating restaurants will create $10 and $20 special menus. The bureau promoted Rockets Over the Red in November and Shreveport Spirit of the Season events in December, we saw an increase from 4-5% to 13% on those Saturdays in hotel occupancy. b) Secretary of State Museum Update (Spring Street and Water Works) are in the process of going back to who donated them. They are working on fundraisers and discovering ways to remain open. c) Conventions & Tourism Department Update Alpha Kappa Alpha Convention will be here March 17-19; they are working with 21 hotels. Louisiana Municipal Association is hosting their convention in Shreveport this year; they will be working with 20 hotels. Events booked are up; event leads are even compared to last year. Tourism bookings are up and lead room nights for tourism are up. d) Sports Commission Update Wrestling tournament was held last week; attendance was down slightly from last year but very strong; getting ready to bid on Working on sponsorships; event specific and year-round. Hosted over 70 sporting events last year with a 54 million economic impact. e) Mardi Gras Update Mardi Gras Bash is this weekend, March 18 th ; 6 bus groups will be attending. Shreveport City Council passed an ordinance banning ATV usage during the parades. Washington Mardi Gras was very productive this year.

9 f) National Scenic Byway Foundation Ms. Brown is over the IPW participation for the organization; Boom or Bust Byway will be holding their quarterly meeting. g) Christmas Programming and Marketing Results discussed in the Communications Department update. Chairman s Reports E. Upcoming Events in board package F. Association Reports a. Restaurant Association NWLRA Rooftop Rendezvous Fundraiser will be held on March 6 th at the Remington Suite Hotel at 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. b. Hotel/Motel Association HLA meeting was held on February 9 th, at the Great Raft Brewery. The updated bylaws were approved; Education, Membership and Minority Owners committees were established. c. Attractions Association Working on committees and National Tourism Week; SBAA 1 st Quarter Seminar was held on February 13 th. Next Meeting: Board Meeting, Thursday, March 16, 2017 Agenda items for upcoming meeting: Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:42 p.m. Approved: Carlton Golden, Jr. Chairman Ray Tromba Secretary