Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau
Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, July, 21st 2011
BCTCB Office
In attendance:
Dan Bickel, Moraine State Park
Wayne Conley, Conley Resort
Jackie Gillespie-Ralston, Pittsburgh Marriott North
Ed Tanski, Buttercup Woodlands Campground
Ed Wadding, Butler Arts Council
Jim Zanella, North Washington Rodeo
Bob McCafferty, North Country Brewing Company
Kathy Allen, Armstrong Farms B&B
Rodney Schaffer, Con Yeager Spice Company
Nicolette Tolomeo-Germain, Nicolette’s Tailor Shop
Jack Cohen, BCTCB
Leigh Baxter, BCTCB
Visitors:
Kelly Garrett – Butler Eagle
The meeting was called to order at 9AM by Jackie Gillespie-Ralston.
Approval of Minutes:
It was moved and seconded by Ed Tanski and Dan to accept the minutes; the motion carried.
Financial Report: Ed Tanski
Ed reported we are now in the final period running at 15% over our projected budget for the year, which is really good considering we thought our numbers would be down due to the economy. Membership dues have grown by $9,000 from last year, which shows Joey is out and about and doing a great job.
Expenditures look good and nothing significant jumps out. Utilities are up a little due to the season, which is to be expected. We have also experienced issues this week with our A/C. Unfortunately, it can not be fixed, therefore a new A/C has been ordered and we expect it to be delivered any day.
Jack added – On the financial reports, you will significant growth on the “year to date” line with this year’s figures compared to last. This increase occurred even though we received roughly half as much grand money as last year. So overall we have had a great year.
Kathy asked why the travel expenses are up. This is due to Sandy attending POWOW which BCTCB had to fund as PIC no longer has funds to support this conference. Jack also had travel expense with North County Trail Conference, Jeep and PGI related events. Patti Jo also attended the MATPRA PR event for this region.
It was moved and seconded by Kathy and Ed Wadding to file the report for audit; the motion carried.
Visitors Comments:
No comments.
Staff Report: Jack Cohen
The press notebooks were passed around. Each board member received the following handouts for review: Web Stats, PR Update, Sales Report and Membership Report. We have 6 new members, 29 renewals, and 2 dropped members.
Jack gave an update on the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival. We have 1,029 registrants to date, of which 971 will be participating in the parade. We have 26 states represented and 5 countries. Camping at the fairgrounds is also filling up nicely. Ed Tanski added he has over 180 nights booked for the Jeep event, most folks are requesting storage space for their vehicles. Jack added that we still have plenty of space to accommodate campers and vehicles at the fairgrounds.
Media coverage is going well for the Jeep Festival. KDKA is running daily ads. We will have Faces & Places attending the festival, filming and interviewing; and Armstrong Cable and Chrysler plan to have their PR departments present.
Jack talked about the Jeep cutouts all over town and the designs that people have created. Paula did one for BCTCB and it was agritourism themed, which included a Bantam Rooster which was the emblem on the original bantam.
We have committed to a Jeep date for next year and plan to have this event for five consecutive years, which will take us to the 75th Anniversary of the Jeep. After the 5th year, it will be evaluated as a future annual event.
Jack also handed out the 2010-2011 Budget. The marketing plan is in the process of being completed and as mentioned, most of the funding will be switching to online media. 65% of the dollars will go to online media and the rest to local print. Jack will share the marketing plan with the board once finalized. Web stats were passed around and are looking good.
A copy of the new Dining Brochure was passed around. Joey is in the process of passing it out to our restaurant members. This was designed in house by Paula.
Jack passed around a mini printout of the Jeep history display that will be at the fairgrounds the weekend of the festival. We hired a history grad student to research and confirm accuracy of all information. The display is 10’ high by 80’ feet wide. Jack said this represents an amazing piece of history, designed by Paula.
We are very happy with the sponsorships that we have received. Local sponsors (BC3 and Butler Eagle) reached out to their staff and readers and as a result, we have the volunteers that are needed. It still looks like we will break even and possibly have additional funding left. Any additional funding after the event will be used for next year’s Jeep Festival.
Governor Corbett will be in Butler on July 28th, 2011 for a “Wounded Warrior Fundraiser.” He will be joined by local politicians, commissioners, and the mayor of Butler. He will be visiting the Bantam Building to bring awareness and help with our efforts to save the building.
Plans are still on the way for the World War II Luncheon on August 4th. We have around 20-25 veterans attending and have received some incredible stories that will be shared at the luncheon.
Jack was pleased to share that Candlewood Suites in Cranberry is doing about 60% occupancy in their new hotel. This is a great start for them.
Committee Reports:
None
Old Business:
Board packets contained the original letter that BCTCB received from John Ruch’s attorney. BCTCB’s attorney responded, which was also given to board members. We feel John’s concerns were addressed by our attorney and no future discussion is needed.
New Business:
As approved in last year’s budget, Jack has forwarded the bonus amounts for the staff members. Payment is scheduled to be paid by the end of month. No approval is needed as this was approved with the budget for 2010-2011.
Bob McCafferty has been trying to move forward with plans to expand his business and is asking for support from the board. There are some road blocks that Bob has been hitting from the Slippery Rock Planning Commission regarding regulations on expanding business in the area. Bob will be attending a meeting tonight to present his plans to the commission. He will keep the board updated and maybe asked for them to personally help support his efforts.
Reminder for the upcoming events:
Regatta Lake Arthur – August 6th-7th
Butler Farm Show – August 8th-13th
North Washington Rodeo – August 15th-20th
Next Board Meeting:
Thursday, August 18th, 2012 @ 9 AM in the BCTCB Office
Adjournment:
It was moved and seconded by Wayne and Jim to adjourn the meeting at 9:46AM. The motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Leigh Baxter