March 15, 2018 Call to order Tanita Gilbert-Baker, Board Chairman, called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Directors at 11:34 a.m. on March 15, 2018 at the 629 Spring Street, Shreveport, LA. A quorum was present. Guest Speakers: Mike McSwaine and Hollie Fritz Roll call: The following committee members were present: Africa Price, Joanna Folse, Dick Bremer, Gary Theus, Jason McKinney, Kellie Morris, Mary Dunn, Pam Glorioso, Ashley Davis, Rob Brown, Sandy Cimino, Shelli Murphy, Tanita Gilbert-Baker, Emma Hebert. Committee Members Absent: Carlton Golden and Patricia Wooldridge. Staff Members Present: Stacy Brown, Charlie Rice and Brandy Evans. Approval of Agenda Ms. Gilbert-Baker called for a motion to approve the agenda. A motion was made by Ms. Dunn and seconded by Mr. Bremer. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Approval of Minutes Ms. Gilbert-Baker called for a motion to approve the February 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 February. The Finance Committee made a motion to approve. Mr. Bremer. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. B. Occupancy Tax Report Mr. McKinney reviewed the occupancy report for February. Overall Shreveport-Bossier is up YTD 22.66%. C. Check Register Ms. Brown answered all questions regarding the check register for February. D. SBCTB Reserve Funds - The Finance Committee made a motion to approve to move $100,000 from the General Reserve account to the Operating Reserve account. Ms. Dunn seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment.
E. Miss USA & Miss Teen USA The Finance Committee made a motion to approve to use $100,000 from the General Operation account for the Miss USA & Miss Teen USA pageant. Ms. Morris seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. President s Report Department Reports A. Communications Department Update Distributed nine news releases and generated 981 news placements with a conservative ad equivalency value of $2.2 million. Facebook, Twitter and video views are up. 318 Restaurant Week Facebook page received 600 new likes and the page reached 27,196 people from March 7-13 with 10,000 post engagements. Currently working on Boom or Bust marketing with a new Facebook page, app and updated website. Several Grants, Grants are now available and due in May. Upcoming projects include Summer Regional Campaign, microsite for Miss USA pageants, Be a Fan of Shreveport-Bossier, and National Travel and Tourism Week. B. Conventions & Tourism Department Update Quarter 1 Sales missions to Baton Rouge in February and Triad destination sales mission schedule for April. Regional Sales meeting is planned for April 18 at the Red River Brew Pub. Hart DUI Energy Conference will return in February 2019. Master Brewers Association has booked their regional conference in April 2018. Mardi Gras Bash was a success. Bookings, Assist & Leads up; Tourism flat MTD & YTD. C. Sports Commission Update Up in number of events booked & leads YTD. Red River Balloon Rally will be held July 13-14 at LSUS. U.S. Hot Air Balloon Nationals will be July 9-15. LHSBCA All-Star Boys and Girls Basketball will be March 17; AJGA will be June 11-14 at Southern Trace. 94 new volunteers recruited this month, 1,401 volunteer service hours in February a value of $33,820.14 given back to the community. D. Tourism Awareness Week/PRIDE Awards PRIDE Awards will be held at Sam s Town on May 10; Lt. Governor will be attending. Nominations are open until April 19. E. Product Development Committee Rural Product Development Grants will be reviewed and scored in April. F. Attractions Update Sci-Port POPS Museum is open; IMAX Theater will open April 5. Chairman s Reports A. Upcoming Events in board package B. Association Reports a. Restaurant Association Would like to work with us on Restaurant Week. Heading down to Baton Rouge April 9-10 for the Legislative session. b. Hotel/Motel Association March 8 meeting topic was Hiring & Retaining Employees. Next meeting will be held at BPSTIL on April 17.
Next Meeting: c. Attractions Association Sustainability Grant and Social Media Grants are due in April. The next SBAA seminar will be on Tuesday, March 21 at the Woman s Department Club, the topic will be What the SBAA and Tourist Bureau Can Do for You. Board Meeting, Thursday, April 19, 2018 Agenda items for upcoming meeting: Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:24 p.m. Approved: Tanita Gilbert-Baker Chairman Jason McKinney Treasurer/ Secretary
February 15, 2018 Call to order Carlton Golden, Board Chairman, called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Directors at 11:34 a.m. on February 15, 2018 at the 629 Spring Street, Shreveport, LA. A quorum was present. Welcomed: Ms. Ashley Davis and Ms. Joanna Folse to the Board; Ms. Davis was appointed by the Bossier City Mayor s office. Ms. Folse was appointed by the Hotel Lodging Association. Roll call: The following committee members were present: Africa Price, Joanna Folse, Dick Bremer, Gary Theus, Pam Glorioso, Patricia Wooldridge, Ashley Davis, Rob Brown, Sandy Cimino and Tanita Gilbert-Baker. Committee Members Absent: Carlton Golden, Jason McKinney, Kellie Morris, Mary Dunn and Shelli Murphy. Staff Members Present: Stacy Brown and Charlie Rice. Approval of Agenda Ms. Gilbert-Baker called for a motion to approve the agenda. A motion was made by Ms. Cimino and seconded by Mr. Bremer. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Approval of Minutes Ms. Gilbert-Baker called for a motion to approve the November regular scheduled Board meeting minutes. A motion was made by Mr. Brown and seconded by Ms. Glorioso. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. Financials F. Financial Report Ms. Brown reviewed the financial reports for December and January. The Finance Committee made a motion to approve. Ms. Price seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment. G. Occupancy Tax Report Ms. Brown reviewed the occupancy report for December and January. Overall Shreveport-Bossier ended 2017 up 6.52% and in January up 20.83%. H. Check Register Ms. Brown answered all questions regarding the check register for December and January. I. Grant Application Review - The Finance Committee made a motion to approve the following grant application: Mudbug Festival up to $11,250, Ms. Price seconded. All in favor none opposed with no public comment.
J. Louisiana Compliance Questionnaire was reviewed by Ms. Brown. President s Report Department Reports Chairman s Reports G. Communications Department Update Attended the Louisiana Office of Tourism brand lunch in Dallas on Fat Tuesday. The Attractions Association and the Hotel and Lodging Association will have a joint meeting on July 12, 2018 at the Louisiana Boardwalk. Collaborating with TravelHost Magazine and the SBAA to host a frontline staff appreciation event at Ralph & Kacoos on April 19, 2018. Shreveport-Bossier was recently named one of the five places to celebrate Mardi Gras in the February edition of Group Tour Media. Hosted four travel writers for Mardi Gras. H. Conventions & Tourism Department Update Attended several trade shows. Regional sales meeting planned for March. Baton Rouge sales mission and a Triad destination will be scheduled for April. RCMA was attended by Suzanne Card, David Bradley, Shreveport Hilton and the Shreveport Convention Center. ABA was attended by Erica Telsee. Attended the Destination Showcase in Washington, D.C. with the Louisiana Office of Tourism. USS Shreveport conducted a site tour in January for their 2020 reunion. Hart DUG Energy will be here in February and plans to come back in the future. I. Sports Commission Update LHSAA Wrestling Championships are being held February 16-17 at CenturyLink; ALAS State Archery will be March 2-3 at the Shreveport Convention Center; All Star Boys and Girls Basketball will be held at BPCC on March 17; Ladies Bass Anglers Tournament will be March 23-24 on Caddo Lake and the High School State Bass Championships will be March 24 on Cross Lake. J. Independence Bowl Update T.V. ratings were 2.497 million viewers; well attended with a high ratio of out of town guests. More events will be scheduled throughout the year. K. Madri Gras Bash Mardi Gras Bash was a hit with 400+ paid guests attending; strong attendance at the parades despite the bad weather. C. Upcoming Events in board package D. Association Reports a. Restaurant Association Not in attendance b. Hotel/Motel Association Mark Crawford from Shreveport Regional Airport spoke at the February 8 meeting. Joanna Folse replaced Debbie Coleman on the Shreveport- Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau Board. March 8 meeting will be held at Margaritaville Resort & Casino. c. Attractions Association Working on Be a Fan campaign. Will have a joint meeting with HLA on July 12 at the Boardwalk.
Next Meeting: Board Meeting, Thursday, April 19, 2018 Agenda items for upcoming meeting: Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:00 p.m. Approved: Tanita Gilbert-Baker Chairman Jason McKinney Treasurer/ Secretary
January 18, 2018 (Board Meeting canceled due to bad weather)