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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-15-2009 ctTr oF . ~ Meeting Notes AUBURN TOURISM BOARD URN WASHINGTON January 15, 2009 Best Western Peppertree 401 8th Street SW 1:30-3:00 p.m. Members Present: Board: Chair Sue Singer, Nancy Wyatt, Jamelle Garcia, Ronnie Roberts, Adrian Buchan and David Kwok Staff: Kirsten Reynolds and Dave Baron Opening: Chair Sue Singer called the Auburn Tourism Board meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. on January 15, 2009, at the Best Western Peppertree Inn. 1. Housekeeping • Introductions of new members and guests • Approval of Minutes - November 20, 2008 The Committee approved the minutes from November 20, 2008 as read. 2. Updates • Tourism Grant - Auburn Tourism Board (ATB) did not receive the $10,000 Washington State Grant that was made to support Discover Auburn Week for 2009. The State advised ATB to apply for multiple pieces of the event in separate applications; they also encouraged asking for more funding in separate applications. The next Washington State Tourism grant will be available for 2010 funding, applications must be submitted in 2009. The group held a discussion around breaking out several items from Discover Auburn Week that could be applied for individually. Several items included, but were not limited to, development of the website, creation of banners, visitor center space and brochure racks. • Vallev Cities Mavors Sprinq Flinq Update - Nancy Wyatt reported the last Valley Cities Mayors meeting was canceled for December; the next meeting is January 23. It looks like the Spring Fling will not take place this year, but will be planned for 2010. The Valley Cities Chambers have asked for a map to be developed showing trail connections befinreen the Cities; Jeremy Chevalier has been working on the development of this map. Chair Singer reported now that she's on the Public Works Committee, one of her goals is to reconnect the Public Works Committee with the responsibility of Auburn's trail system. Auburn's Interurban Trail is used for commuting purposes and is part of Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) long-range planning. • Tourism Update - o Bruce Goldsberry has left the SuperMall. Greg Fleser is the new replacement. Nancy Wyatt will take Mr. Fleser around the City for introductions in the near future. o Adrian Buchan from Emerald Downs will be given a membership packet to serve on the Tax Advisory Board as a replacement for Susie Sourwine. o Debbie Luce has been delivering the new Chamber maps around town. o In the next printing of the Auburn Tourism Board Maps ad space will be sold to help supplement the printing costs. o The contract with Certified is up for renewal. The Committee needs to evaluate the details of this contract at the next meeting. 3. Action Items • Website Restructurinq - The Committee wants to contract with Tasha Johnson (referred by Jeremy Chevalier) to update the website and to focus on making it a more interactive site. A proposal was submitted by Bob Dunn but he could not match Tasha Johnson's proposal. Thanks to Jeremy Chevalier the ATB website has moved up higher on the ranks when googling the site. The Committee would like to see easier access for changing material and interactive connectivity take place when the website is updated. There was discussion about managing the content of blog postings. Other observations were the site needs to first attract people then draw them to hotel sites. Streaming video for the hotels, attractions, events and amenities could be beneficial. David Kwok stated the most important aspect of the website function to him is ensuring the hotels target audience is getting reached, resulting in "putting heads in beds". There was discussion around what internet tools are out there that seems to help in the travel business. Blogs can host a lot of garbage, people are being very cautious when reading this type of information. There can be a lot of control issues with liabilities and hosting a blog can take a large amount of time. Websites are getting very sophisticated; links can connect with a Blackberry GPS and give directions to hotels. Member Ronnie Roberts moved to accept the subcommittee's recommendation for choosing a proposal for updating the Auburn Tourism website, Member Jamelle Garcia seconded the motion. Discussion took place - the Committee asked to see all the quotes received for the bid, some previous examples of work done for Tasha Johnson. The Committee approved the motion. 4. New Business • Discover Auburn Week - A Planning Ad-Hoc Committee needs to be developed to plan Discover Auburn Week events; stakeholders participating in the week need to get involved. Debbie Luce will get started on putting together dates and identify people to serve on the Committee. Several ideas were discussed that could potentially meld with Discover Auburn Week included: o The Days of Thunder event. o A wine and chocolate event. This could be a festival on its own or along with Discover Auburn Week. Walla Walla Winery is working extensively with groups to promote their company. Other local Wineries are Spider Lake and Turning Leaf. o Progressive dinner party event with transportation and hotel package. There could be a first, second and third seating to maximize the one night function. 5. Information Sharing • David Kwok from the Comfort Inn reported they have plans to do some renovations. The property located between the Comfort Inn and Travel Lodge is on the market. David reported that their small business clientele is doing ok; the company should turn around by 2010. There are a lot of major chains cutting back on breakfasts and hours of operation. • The group had a short discussion around the upcoming Olympics taking place in Canada. What should the Tourism Board be doing for outreach? Debbie Luce will be asked to work with the Washington State Tourism Bureau to find out what they are doing. Canada is going to spend up to $6 billion to promote. Olympic athletes will be coming over to get acclimated to the weather and atmosphere. There was discussion and suggestions to contact the USA Team to find out what they are planning to do for training. This event is only 11-12 months away. • Ronnie Roberts from Gosanko Chocolate Art is changing his business plan to include factory tours. Ronnie has also been working with the Miss Auburn pageant. • Adrian Buchan gave a brief report on Emerald Downs. Opening day is on April 17t". The horses are arriving on February 2"d. Emerald Downs will have 91 days of racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May. They are also hosting a job fair in March; people ages 16 and older are able to apply. • Dave Baron gave an Economic Development Update. o Projects underway include the deconstruction of Tavern Row and the construction of the hospital parking lot. o Sales tax revues are down as they are everywhere in the Nation, but there are several applications still coming from businesses interested in expanding their current locations. o The old White Knight building will be taken down and utilized for parking while all the construction is happening in the downtown core. o Auburn's new International Farmer's Market will have their Grand Opening on Sunday, June 14, in the Transit Center Plaza. • The Auburn Airport and the Auburn Parks Department are partnering to have murals painted in various locations at the airport. • Miss Auburn will be held on January 30"' and 31 St 6. Next Meeting Host for next meeting on February 19th at Gosanko Chocolate Art. The meeting will be starting with a factory tour at 1:30 p.m. 7. Adjournment at 3:00 p.m.