Whitefish Convention & Visitor Bureau Committee

WHITEFISH • MONTANA • CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU Board Meeting Minutes Monday, January 10, 2022 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Location: Via Zoom Meeting called to order at 2:33 pm by Mariah Joos, Chair of the WCVB Board of Directors Introductions: Board Members in Attendance: Erica Terrell, Edna White, Jessie Farnes, Mariah Joos, Nick Polumbus, Luke Walrath, Rhonda Fitzgerald Absent: Zak Anderson, Jenny Cloutier Quorum met with seven of nine members. Staff & Agencies: Dan Hansen (Marketing and Sales Manager), Sarah Stewart (Business Manager), Dylan Boyle, (Executive Director), Mary Angelo (OVA), Brian Schott, (PR) Public Attendees: Cameron Blake (Glacier Nordic Center), Giuseppe Caltabiano , (Whitefish City Council) Approval of Minutes Erica Terrell motioned to approve the Dec 13, 2021 minutes. Motion was seconded by Jessie Farnes - passed unanimously Public Comment: None Special Presentation: Cameron Blake of the Glacier Nordic Center & Explore Whitefish grant recipient: Cameron gave an update on the grant funds that are being spent on new lighting at the cross country ski course at the golf course. They ran into some issues including, supply chain issues & additional costs due to more extensive wiring needs than originally anticipated. They've raised funds for these additional costs. First loop scheduled to be lit next week. And the rest should be done by the end of the season. Agency Reports Mary Angelo of OVA gave the December Recap. Organic web traffic and clicks to book are looking great over 2019 & 2020. Secret Season Media Campaign 2022 : Two traditional media partnerships with Outside Media & Kootenay Mountain Culture. Digital Media content includes Facebook ads & Retargeting ads, Google search and new Programmatic. As we see the results of the Winter Programmatic, we may switch some Facebook/Retargeting ads to Spring Programmatic. Some content has already been developed such as "things to do in the spring", Peloton assets,etc. April/early May activities (lower level activities) will be the focus. Mary is open to suggestions. They can turn around content quickly. Edna suggested golf, rafting - Rhonda suggested kayaking, in-town activities: cruisers, walking, etc. Creative will be presented at the March Board meeting. Edna White made a motion to approve the Secret Season Media Campaign as presented, Erica Terrell seconded - passed unanimously Dan Hansen went through the allocation of additional public funds ($11 SK) that were approved at the last board meeting. Public Relations: Brian Schott gave the PR Recap. He always focuses on sustainability, but that doesn't always get through. Working with Heather Hansman on her new book release and she works with Outside Magazine on sustainability issues. Maggie Voisin qualified for the Olympics, we're hoping to work with her on the Protect our Winters partnership. Committee Reports: WCVB Finance Committee : Sarah went over the TPA collections, an update on the CSF receipt verbiage with restaurants and the adjustment to the FY22 Private Budget. Edna White made a motion to approve the financial reports as presented in the board packet and to adjust the FY22 private budget as presented in the meeting, Jessie Farnes seconded - passed unanimously STAFF Report: Marketing & Sales Report: Dan summarized the marketing activities that took place for the past month. We've now surpassed Glacier Country Tourism in lnstagram followers . Executive Director's Report 2021 will probably go on record as the second busiest year for Glacier National Park on record (2017 was the busiest). The City of Whitefish is sponsoring a Board Leadership training session in February. He encouraged all board members to attend if possible. New Business FY23 Marketing Plan Timeline: Budgeting will start in January - February; Marketing Plan Narrative: Feb - March; Presentation & Approvals March - June. Rhonda pointed out that the narrative parameters have changed quite a bit, she suggested sending a marked up copy out prior so people can see the differences. New rules say the report has to be submitted "in May" for the June TAC meeting Dylan will check with his contact at the State to clarify the exact deadline. Old Business Protect our Winters: Brian talked about our POW partnership with WMR. POW hasn't had a partnership like a municipality and a ski resort partner up before . Actionable items are really important: including donating to a local solar panel project, co-branded video production, content for our website and a movie screening. Rhonda said that we need to focus on this, especially on Winter. This will be part of our Sustainability Marketing line item. Rhonda Fitzgerald made a motion that the WCVB board enthusiastically approves our POW partnership with the WMR , Jessie Farnes seconded - passed unanimously Dylan reviewed some ideas for using the Sustainability Marketing Funds including tangible investments such as bear-proof trash and recycling bins. Edna felt that it was important that we demonstrate responsible coexistence with wildlife. Also facilitating better recycling options for locals and visitors would be great. Rhonda: the City has been in a year-long process revamping their recycling program. At the last City Council meeting, they decided to put on the brakes and they are re-assessing the recycling program, so now would be a good time to get involved. The Farmer's Market went to zero waste this year - vendors have to use compostable containers, we may want to get involved in something like that. Jessie, layer all these things in, they all build on each other. Erica said that getting all the member restaurants to use compostable containers would be a challenge. Roundtable Rhonda: Wayfinding program was designed a while ago with input from a lot of different entities. It started with signs, then kiosks, then the pedestrian signs. The next step is the park monument signs, which the city parks have already started on this, but the signs are not cohesive (but close). They aren't following the rules for a good sign. Would the CVS be interested in participating in getting the signs cohesive? General consensus was to yes, get involved. Business during the holiday week between Christmas and New Years was discussed. Mariah Joos adjourned the meeting at 4:30pm. The next WCVB board meeting will be held starting at 2:30pm on February 14, 2022 location: Whitefish City Hall. Signature: ~ Date: 2-/141'2D?,,'2-