MISSOULA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU - 2010
Board Meeting Minutes
Meeting Title / Missoula CVB
Board Meeting / Start Time / 3:05PM
Date / 3/11/2010 / End Time / 4:40PM
Place /

MonTEC Conference Room

MEMBERS ATTENDING

1 / Bob Terrazas– Vice President / 2 / Linda McCarthy – Secretary
3 / Barbara Neilan – Executive Director / 4 / Dan Carlino – Past President
5 / Libby Baker / 6 / Tom Bensen
7 / Jon Bernthal / 8 / Mary Erickson
9 / Anne Guest / 10 / Cris Jensen
11 / Dick Haines / 12 / Kim Klages Johns
13 / Erika McGowan / 14 / Trisha Piedalue
15 / Lucy Weeder / 16
17 / 18
19 / 20
21

MEMBERS ABSENT

1 / Ryan Boehme– EXCUSED / 2 / Matt Ellis – EXCUSED
3 / Daniel Hunter– EXCUSED / 4 / Denise Moore– EXCUSED
5 / Patrick Nicklay / 6 / Kienan Slate– EXCUSED
7 / 8
9 / 10

Other Guests Attending

1.Jane Fisher, MontanaIsland Lodge

2.Jim McGowan, Windfall

3.Maddy Gallagher, Lewis and ClarkSchool

4.Chris Williams, Montana Outdoor Experience

5.Maureen Hathaway, Travel Host

6.Mike Berman, Travel Host

7.Jeanne Ann Wilson, Missoula Children’s Theatre

8.Dianne Hellman, AFLAC

9.Carol Blodgett, Blodgett Marketing Group

10.Kim Sawyer, Wingate

11.Catherine Martin, Enterprise Rent-a-Car

12.Eric Campbell, Grocery Saver/Scottish Irish Festival Presentation

13.Marie Christopher, Townhouse Inn of Hamilton

Bitterroot Scottish/Irish Festival Presentation

Eric Campbell stated they are excepting 1,500 to 10,000 attendees for this festival, which is taking place August 27-29 at the DalyMansion. There are a lot of Irish and Scottish individuals that originally settled in the Bitterroot valley and many descendants still reside there. The festival will include music and activities. Many clans will be present and each clan will have its own genealogist. The event will be promoted nationally in Scottish Life and the Highlanderpublications. They would like to link the Missoula CVB to their site. Marie Christopher of Town House Inn in Hamilton stated the BitterrootValley will not be able to accommodate all the attendees, so Missoula hotels will be needed as well. This is going to be a tight weekend for hotel rooms since it is also the same weekend as the River City Roots Festival and the weekend before the University of Montana classes commence.

Minutes and Financial Reports

  • Mary Erickson motioned to approve the minutes. Dan Carlino seconded and all voted in favor.
  • Linda McCarthy motioned to approve the financials. Cris Jensen seconded the motion, and all voted in favor.

Committee Reports

  • The Marketing Committee is developing the 2010-2011 marketing plan. We will be working with a smaller budget and looking at how we can partner with the State, Glacier Country and partner members for the most effective use of marketing dollars. The budget is estimated to be one-third less than this year’s budget, but the exact figures are not in. Currently, the committee is working on the narrative, and the budget will be developed shortly thereafter. The Board needs to approve the marketing plan in April.
  • No other MCVB committees met.
  • A new committee structure was developed after the last board meeting; board members will sign up for their new committees today.

Committee Assignments

  • Committee chairs were assigned prior to the board meeting based on skill sets that best corresponded with the committees. It was determined board members could sign up for committees based on seniorityfor years of board service. Bob Terrazas led the committee sign-up of board members as well as MCVB partners.
  • Partnership—Libby Baker, Chair; Tom Bensen; Erika McGowan; Diane Hellman
  • Auction—Matt Ellis, Chair; Cris Jensen; Bob Terrazas; Carol Blodgett; Jim McGowan
  • Executive—Matt Ellis, President; Bob Terrazas; Dan Hunter; Linda McCarthy; Libby Baker; Erika McGowan; Kienan Slate
  • Marketing—Erika McGowan, Chair; Trisha Piedalue; Dick Haines; Kim Sawyer; Carol Blodgett; Jim McGowan;
  • PR/Education—Linda McCarthy, Chair; Jon Bernthal; Mary Erickson
  • Branding—Kim Klages Johns, Co-Chair; Dick Haines, Co-Chair; Trisha Piedalue; Dan Carlino; Kim Sawyer
  • Events—Ryan Boehme, Co-Chair; Denise Moore, Co-Chair; Tom Bensen; Kim Klages Johns; Catherine Martin;
  • Board Development—Anne Guest, Chair; Bob Terrazas
  • Tourism Hospitality—Lucy Weeder, Co-Chair; Ryan Boehme, Co-Chair; Jon Bernthal; Libby Baker; Raquel Williams; Marie Christopher
  • Sports & Conventions—Matt Ellis, Co-Chair; Kienan Slate, Co-Chair; Dan Carlino; Cris Jensen; Diane Hellman; Jim McGowan; Chris Bosshardt
  • Maureen Hathaway and Mike Berman of Travelhost offered to help on ad-hoc committees as needed. Jane Fisher of Montana Island Lodge offered to work on projects that don’t take place from June to August. She stated she likes working tradeshows.

5 Year Strategic Plan Review

  • The plan is still being refined and will be shared at the next board meeting.

TBID Percentage Opinion Letter Review and Approval

  • The Governor’s Office said that if a percentage rather than a flat fee is used for the TBID assessment, it could then be considered imposing a tax on local good and services, which is something only the state or local municipalities can do. A letter is being written to the attorney general for further legal opinion from the Missoula CVB as well as the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce. Barb Neilan asked for approval to send the letter on behalf of the MCVB. Linda McCarthy questioned if the board needed to vote on this, since we are just requesting further clarification. It was decided a board vote was not needed. If the percentage assessment is determined to not be an option, the only way to change it is to work through the legislative process.

CallCenter Report and New Partner Website Review

  • Inquiries are coming in from the new Montana Vacation Planner already. Inquiries capture actions from the call center or the web. The Guestbook captures people that request visitor guides. Our organic rank for Missoula is now #2, so only the County’s website is higher; this ranking changes frequently. There were 86% new visitors to the site and 14% of returning visitors. The number of people viewing the visitor guides online has been higher. Jim McGowan attributed that to an online ad that is directing people to the electronic guide. The Missoula CVB’s calendar of events feeds 13 other community calendars that reach 81,000 unique visitors among all sites. It was asked that there be comparison of this year’s call center numbers to last year’s numbers.
  • The new PartnerCenter website was shown to member and all the various features and benefits for partners. All partners will receive an email in a week or two with their password information to be able to log into the site.

ED Report

  • Barb Neilan highlighted the following items:
  • She attended the first of five courses required to receive an accreditation as a Certified Destination Management Executive, a professional development program offered by Destination Marketing Association International through PurdueUniversity.
  • Missoula has been awarded a new direct flight to San Francisco. A Small Community Air Service Grant and matching funds have been used to guaranty the flight. The MCVB is working in partnership with the MissoulaInternationalAirport, MAEDC and strategic community partners to put together an air service initiative to collect the remaining $8,000of matching funds and to create a continuing fund which can be used for future guaranties.
  • The Community Leader Team will begin meeting with our state and national legislators and their staffs regarding issues important to the Missoula community and our economic growth. The team will also be working closely with the Mayor’s Best Place initiative for a focused community vision for economic growth.
  • There are many major events occurring in the next coming months. The MCVB will keep you apprised as each event or conference approaches so that you can make appropriate staffing decisions and welcome all the attendees to Missoula.

Old Business

No old business was reported.

New Business

  • Bob Terrazas stated next month a conflict of interest policy will be presented to the board. This document is needed to comply with IRS 990 reporting regulations as well as DMAI certification.
  • A board retreat will be scheduled the later half of September, so please inform the MCVB if there are any dates that do not work for you during this time frame.

Announcements

  • Please turn board questionnairesinto Sage Grendahl, so she can post profiles online.
  • The 2nd annual Superfund Run will take place April 17. Both a 5k and 10k are being offered. The race is sanctioned by Run Wild Missoula. The race will be followed by a pancake feed.
  • Marie Hathaway stated the MissoulaArt Museum show is great and to go see it now.
  • Linda McCarthy stated that North Higgins is now under construction. It is a six-month project that received $1.5 million dollars in federal funding. Construction projects include adding nice lighting, having a protected bikeway, updating the water line and having one lane of traffic each way with a center turn lane.
  • Chris Bosshardtstated the Holiday Inn Downtown at the Park is not for sale. A portion of the Holiday Inn’s property is being bought by First Interstate Bank for more parking. The old First Interstate Bank building will be taken down and the drive-through will be built next to the new building.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

Missoula MCVB Board Minutes

March 11, 2010

Page 1