COLUMBUS CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
900 FRONT AVENUE, COLUMBUS, GEORGIA 31901
WEDNESDAY, October 15, 2014
Commissioners Present: Paul Pierce, Vice Chair, Felicia Hamilton,
Secretary/Treasurer, Charlie Desai, John Miller, and Donna Hix
Commissioners Absent: Dhan Parekh, Chair, Elizabeth Barker, Immediate Past
Chair, Ken Johnson, and Shelley Dean
Ex-officios Absent: David Bevans, Bill Bullock, Mike Gaymon, Ross Horner,
Isaiah Hugley, and Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, Richard Bishop, Cyndy Cerbin, and
Herbert Greene
Staff Present: Peter Bowden, Shelby Guest, Kimberly Kaup, Laura Ruffner,
Ashley Woitena,
Call to Order: in the absence of CVB Board Chair Dhan Parekh, Vice Chair Paul
Pierce called the meeting to order at 3:30pm.
Approval of Minutes & Treasurer?s Report: As no meeting was held for September
(because of a lack of a quorum) Secretary/Treasurer Felicia Hamilton presented
the Minutes and Financials for the August 2014 meeting. A motion to approve
was made by John Miller and was seconded by Donna Hix. Paul Pierce asked for a
vote from the other members and the Minutes were approved. Financials from the
August 2014 meeting were presented. The only detailed mentioned was the
explanation for the $4,829.02 loss shown for the month and this was due to
there being 3, instead of 2, pay periods for August.
Discussion:
Accountability Follow Up: Peter Bowden led the discussion of the follow up to
August?s meeting about accountability for the Sports Council and for the CVB?s
lead response procedure. CVB staff met immediately after the August Board
meeting to discuss this issue and produced an FY 14 convention calendar, as
requested by the Board, that was then posted to the Partner Network, an
intranet tool that was created some years ago for all CVB partners to use to
stay informed about industry related activity. On this network, there is a
section called Partner Announcements that houses reports posted by the CVB on a
routine basis. The hotel community has the ability to pull this information at
any time. Mr. Bowden also went over the response rates of the hotels for
Sports and for meeting/conventions, which were both in the 30% response range.
After a quick review of the business awarded from the calendar, Board Member
John Miller noted that it seemed as if the selected properties were evenly
distributed. Similar findings were also reported in the full audit conducted
in 2010 by City Auditor, John Redmond. After more discussion, it was suggested
to hold a called Board meeting for the expressed purpose of focusing on this
issue.
A motion was made by Paul Pierce to hold this called meeting to discuss more in
depth:
The effectiveness of the Sports Council and its accountability
The idea of merging the Sports Council with the CVB
John Miller made the first motion to approve and Donna Hix seconded the
motion. A vote was made and the motion was approved.
Phenix City Courtyard Hotel MOU: Staff requested that the Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the Phenix City CVB continue as a discussion point of
interest.
Board Member Charlie Desai asked for more background on how the MOU originated.
Staff explained that it had met with the Phenix City?s counterparts asking if
they thought a partnership would be possible. After getting their confirmation,
the CVB then met with the RAM Hotel Group (management company for the Phenix
City Courtyard Marriott) if they would also agree to a partnership.
The CVB then conducted research to see if this type of arrangement has worked
in other communities. After determining that variations of this MOU have
worked for other cities, Staff proceeded to draft the MOU that would generate
additional business for both communities.
Paul Pierce made a motion to add this topic to the agenda of the called Board
meeting. The motion was seconded by John Miller. A vote was taken and the
motion was approved.
FY 2014 Audit
Staff reported that the FY 2014 Audit would be presented at the November Board
Meeting. And that this audit also included the Sports Council; as a part of the
agreement with the SC to handle its financials
President?s Report
Sales ? see attached report
Governor?s Conference Award ? The CVB won the Paul Nelson Award for Outdoor
Recreation and Preservation for Whitewater during the 2014 Governor?s
Conference on Tourism. Shelby Guest and Kimberly Kaup prepared and submitted
the application. The CVB is the first to receive this award, named after the
late Paul Nelson, Executive Director of the GA Department of Natural Resources,
State Parks.
Staff Certification ? Ashley Woitena completed her Leadership Excellence
Certification, also presented at the Governor?s Conference. Professional
development is a key corner for CVB Staff as an investment in its people.
FY 2014 Tourism Analysis ? the Board was directed to review the current impact
analysis prepared by Columbus State University.
Coca-Cola Space Science Center ? the Board was made aware of a special
invitation to attend a reception and presentation November 13, 2014 at the
Science Center. They were asked to respond as to their availability.
Peter Bowden asked the Board to then go into Executive Session to discuss a
personnel issue.
Recap: The Board reconvened at 5:35 PM and the meeting was adjourned.
Attachments
No attachments for this document.