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Home My WebLink AboutM081214 Tourism Coordinating Council Jefferson County Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Board of Directors August 12, 2014 With no meeting convened in July, the August 12, 2014 meeting of the Tourism CALL TO ORDER Coordinating Council (TCC) for Jefferson County, was called to order the at 10:03am by Chair Bill Roney, noting a quorum present. Voting Members present were: Bill Roney, Allison Willing, Jennifer Lampe, Joy Baisch, Larry McKeehan, Marsha Masey Members Excused: Mike Zimmerman TCC Friends in attendance: Teressa Verraes, Christina Pivarnik, Debbie Wardrop, John Austin, Dan Toepper TCC Marketing Coordinator present: Steve Shively On motion by Joy Baish and seconded by Allison Willing, TCC unanimously APPROVAL OF approved the minutes from the meeting conducted on June 10, 2014. MINUTES TCC reviewed the transactions of the past month, inclusive of OPTC Spring FINANCIAL Campaign expenditures. Bill raised question of increasing WTA membership REPORT involvement. After discussion Bill asked TCC to review http://watourismalliance.com/membershipopportunities/ and determine which membership level may be best for TCC and budget. TCC reviewed supplied general sales tax receipts and motel / hotel lodging tax figures reported from July. Christina noted that City of Port Townsend had experienced a trending dip in May same time as FWPDA / State Parks change-over took place - hoping it is simply an accounting anomaly. All in attendance reported that the pulse of tourism was indeed busy. Jefferson County Lodging Tax YTD trending continues to be tracking well with a 23.92% increase in relation to projected figures. On motion by Jennifer Lampe and secondedLarry McKeehan, TCC unanimously voted to approve the July-August TCC Financial Report. A.Bill welcomed Dan Toepper, candidate for Jefferson County Commissioner. ADDITIONS TO AGENDA B.Olympic National Park Magazine Campaign review. Due to October 2013 Government sequestration the intended publication and supporting web and related digital media assets were not produced. Instead our account rep, David Claus, shared with Bill that Backpacker Magazine subscribers data base was used to send out two digital e-blasts. One e-blast generated 10,276 impressions with a click through rate of .26%. The second e-blast had 13,925 impressions with a click through rate of .25%. The e-blast campaign was anchored with the call to action message of have your Adventure on the Olympic Peninsulaodyssey , leading click-through viewers to a landing page which featured 10 different trail itineraries. In light of OP Nat. Park Magazine publisher again approaching OPTC partners seeking to attempt to produce the publication, TCC agreed upon goals of: i)a better understood campaign web, SEO and print objectives that has better metrics into translated lodging dollars, ii)better supported and, ideally, broader advertising penetration, e.g. San Juans, BC, and Seattle iii)was the stronger component than the supporting 100,000 print magazine distribution Joy noted that the Hood Canal has had great traffic this summer equating to her a solid ROI for the repeat of a similar campaign. a similar campaign agreed. UPDATE Commissioner John Austin updated TCC on the following: A.Open Public Meeting Training, reminder and clarification of expectations plus complements for TCCefforts and Bill and Steve having already taken course and earning completion certificates. B.John shared personal observations of comparing our good Peninsula maps, both on our ferries and in comparison with those he has just seen during his visit in Hawaii. C.LTAC 2015 tourism funding will be out in about 2 weeks. D.Status on current Marijuana growing status and moratorium as well as No Shooting zone extension across Tala Point by Paradise Bay. OPTC UPDATE Bill and Marsha reported on Diane Schostacks retirement from her position as OPTB Director, Marsha Massey is welcome as she takes over as Interim Director. OPTC report by Marsha She reports that Diane is serving OPVB / OPTC as a consultant Marsha shared regarding her recent presentations to community groups and encouraged everyone to Save the Date, October 22 (with reception plus extras October 21), for the annual Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit. To be held at Fort Worden. Watch for details coming out soon. 501(c)6 Bill updated TCC on status of potential 501c6 Incorporation: INCORPORATION Ready to submit filing to IRS yet Bill invited TCC to review original rational for why TCC would want to move to a 501 c 6. From Jefferson County Commissioners perspective Bill reports that Christina noted the possibility of a county credit application for vendors needing either a credit status vs. county being unable to pay in advance. Good discussion back and forth on both merits and potential risks of proceeding with 501(c) 6 application. Motion to table for six months the current work of the TCC IRS application: Moved by Jennifer Lampe, Second by Larry McKeehan. Unanimously Approve. MARKETING COORDINATORS Steve reviewed the Marketing Coordinators report provided to TCC with advance REPORT meeting packet. Highlights reviewed where: Work made to initial cosmetic only - transition VisitTheDragon to EnjoyOlympicPeninsula with related domains and linked social media platforms. Successful engagement with travel writers and powerful leveraging social media mentions of EnjoyOlympicPeninsula quickly exceeded all past an extended TCC briefing with Marsha during her first days on the job. ement Steve built and published a demo eNews business- to-lodging partners. Continuation of this form of outreach communication was endorsed by TCC. Proposal for Website Facelift - S3 Solutions responded to a request to present a proposal for TCC digital media digital media solutions, inclusive of: solutions completing the new EnjoyOlympicPeninsula web theme and logo, enhancing current content throughout each page, adding search engine optimization (SEO), analytic capture, Blog editorial content calendar synced to the TCC and OPTC seasonal itineraries, linking events activities, accommodations and personalities across Jefferson County) and an events calendar. Quote for above services was $1,450.00 TCC also looked at Digital Media Maintenance (DMM) services. Providing on-going maintenance and content across: website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, E-mail marketing lists for both business to business as well as business to consumer contacts. Monthly Analytics reports and credit towards $50 / month in Social media investment. Quote for above DMM service is $350 / month. TCC reviewed additional services such as: Lodging Calendar functionality, Personal Itin this time. - (DMM) services at $350 / month, Moved by Jennifer Lampe, Second Allison Willing. Approved Unanimously. Bill will execute contract with S3 on behalf of TCC. Good discussion on strategies for engagement of county stakeholders regarding short and long-term TCC marketing goals, inclusive of two-part B2B outreach campaign. Reference was made by many TCC members to the current TCC strategic plan (see attached). NO AREA Due to time, Area Updates were skipped. UPDATES Reported Next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, 9/9/14, 10:00 AM location TBD. Next Meeting Proposed TCC meetings for remainder of 2014: October: Tuesday, 10/14/14 November: Tuesday, 11/11/14 December: Tuesday, 12/9/14 There being no further business, the TCC meeting was adjourned at 12:27pm. Adjourn