February 2022 Board Meeting Minutes and Recording

The February 2022 Board Meeting can be viewed here:

February 2022 Board Meeting.mp4

Please find the meeting minutes below:

Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
Board of Directors Meeting
February 28, 2022 – 2:00 p.m.
Jefferson School African American Heritage Center
Livestream via Zoom

PRESENT:
Walter Burton, Elizabeth Cromwell, Russ Cronberg, Chris Engel, Chris Eure, Pam Higgins, George Hodson, Angelic Jenkins, Roger Johnson, Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Jay Pun, Gary Sandling, Gabe Silver, Juandiego Wade

ABSENT:
Jennifer Mayo

ALSO ATTENDING: Anthony Bessette, Courtney Cacatian, Dr. Andrea Douglas


1. CALL TO ORDER


Chairman Roger Johnson called the meeting to order at 2:05 PM.


a. Virtual Meeting Preamble and Roll Call: Chairman Roger Johnson invited Anthony Bessette to read the Virtual Meeting Preamble and perform the roll call.

b. Introduction of New Board Members: Roger gave an introduction for new Board members Walter Burton, Russ Cronberg, Angelic Jenkins, Jay Pun, and Juandiego Wade.

c. Industry Presentation: Executive Director Courtney Cacatian introduced Dr. Andrea Douglas from Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and invited her to present. Andrea spoke about the importance of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center to the local history and the community.

d. Election of Officers: Roger asked for input on the election of officers. Gabe Silver was nominated for Chair and Gary Sandling was nominated for Vice Chair. Seeing no other nominations, Roger opened it for discussion. Seeing no discussion, Roger made a motion to close the slate and called roll for a vote. A unanimous vote established Gabe Silver as Chair and Gary Sandling as Vice Chair.

e. Establish Meeting Schedule: Roger asked for input on the meeting schedule. A motion was made to adopt the schedule for 2022, and a vote of consensus established the schedule.

f. Rules and Procedures: Roger asked for a review of rules and procedures as part of the Board’s bylaws. Juandiego Wade asked if the Board needed to take any further action on the rules of meeting virtually. Anthony Bessette answered that the Board follows the City and County rules. There were no changes to the rules and procedures.

g. Consent Agenda: Roger asked for input on the consent agenda. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda, and the consent agenda was approved.

h. Budget Presentation: Courtney Cacatian presented the budget, which included a comparison of revenues for FY2022 and FY2023, the fund balance proposal for FY2022, an overview of FY2023 budget, the marketing budget timeline, and VTC – ARPA pass through funding. Courtney answered questions regarding the fund balance proposal. A motion was made to approve the fund balance, and the fund balance was approved.

i. Director’s Report: Courtney presented the Director’s Report, which included a) an overview of the CACVB team and consultants; b) Highlights; c) Hotel Performance and ADARA Data; d) Sales Efforts; e) Marketing and Public Relations Update; f) Visitor and Community Relations Update.

j. CACVB Team and Consultants: Courtney presented an org chart depicting the CACVB team and their roles. Courtney also gave an overview of the consultants that the CACVB has hired in lieu of a marketing agency, emphasizing that solution has saved the CACVB hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

k. Highlights: Courtney gave an overview of some highlights, including hosting two Tourism for All workshops and a Group Sales webinar, joining the IX Art Park Foundation Advisory Board, joining the planning committee for Travel Unity’s Southeast Conference in Georgia, meetings with Discover Black Cville steering committee to discuss national launch March 26 at Vibe Fest and other initiatives, participating in Chamber of Commerce’s Hospitality Roundtable, and planning for an arts collaborative meet up.

l. Hotel Performance and ADARA Data: Courtney presented a few charts indicating hotel performance and the ADARA Site Impact data.

m. Sales Efforts: Courtney gave an update on the CACVB’s sales efforts. Teresa has brought back RFPs and secured group bookings focused on midweek business.

n. Marketing and PR Update: Courtney presented charts on website visitation trends. Courtney gave an overview of the work that was done to the new website and the current major advertising campaigns, including a competitive RFP process for Search Engine Marketing. Courtney updated the Board on the national rollout of Black Cville and gave an overview of the dedicated e-newsletter that Travel + Leisure sent. The CACVB also hosted WJLA-TV for a “Road Trippin’” segment that airs on Good Morning Washington and PR efforts remain strong. Courtney emphasized the amount the CACVB has been able to save by replacing the marketing agency, explaining that all savings are invested back into promoting the destination through advertising.

o. Visitor and Community Relations Update: Courtney invited Visitor and Community Relations Manager, Cassie Ivey, to present the Visitor and Community Relations update. Cassie presented the year-end evaluation data on the Mobile Visitor Centers and visitor services goals. Cassie and Courtney took questions afterwards.

p. Public Comment: Courtney invited attendees to use the chat function to sign up to make public comment. Neil Williamson made a public comment regarding the virtual public attendance of this Board meeting. There were no other public comment sign ups.

q. Board Announcements: There were no Board announcements.


Chairman Roger Johnson adjourned the meeting at 3:53 PM.