Liisa moved to approve the September 9, 2015 minutes as presented; Erika seconded (motion passes 8-0).
Secretary-Signing of Minutes
Bridget signed the September 9, 2015 minutes.
Payment of Bills
Bridget moved to approve checks #2915 through #2943, and electronic payment of $3,732.98 to EFTPS for federal taxes and payroll liabilities, in the total amount of $112,341.55; Janet seconded (motions passes 8-0).
Presentations: Diane Shober: WOT update
Diane Shober gave the board an update of the new campaign that the state is working on (That’s WY, WY Indeed, WY Not and WY Now). The state is having new photography and videography done. They are looking at new advertising venues.
The state is working with Disney Pixar on being the travel destination for the animated movie that is coming out “The Good Dinosaur”.
2016 is the centennial of the National Park Service. The state will be participating in this.
Diane also let Jenissa know that they will be revamping the sticker campaign map to more adequately represent Sweetwater County.
Chairperson’s Report
Greg introduced Kelcie Hammond as the new Wamsutter appointment. The board introduced themselves and welcomed Kelcie aboard.
Greg announced that Liisa Anselmi-Dalton would be reappointed for her second three-year term by the City of Rock Springs at the October 20th, 2015 city council meeting.
Vice Chairperson’s Report
NONE
Treasurer’s Report
Liisa reported that she deposited $93,774.02 into the money market account on 9/22/2015.
Director’s Report
Jenissa reported on the meetings she attended last month which include SWC Directors Meeting, WTIC Board Meetings, Lodging Tax Board Executive Meetings, RS & GR Beautification Meetings, Utah office of Tourism: FG “Ruralism” Meeting, Flaming Gorge Promotions Committee Meeting, and New Board Member Orientation Meeting.
Jenissa is very excited about the videography that was shot in August. We should be receiving a draft commercial this week. Jenissa will share them with the board once she receives them.
Website launched August 31, 2015. This is a responsive website that adjusts to your smart phone, your tablet, and your desktop. It is easy to read with new photography & new content. We are working on figuring out how to administer the back end of the website so that our staff can make changes to the website. We will be receiving training from Signature in a few weeks. Everything on the website is currently live. Once we receive our training on the website, Jenissa will go though it screen by screen with the board.
PR – We are scheduling a spring travel writer reception in Denver.
October E-newsletter focused on 5 Off the Beaten Path Attractions in SWC.
Mobile App – Jenissa showed the board and example of the Trivia Game for kids. This should go live in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
Misc. Projects
Jenissa and Johno attended the Wyoming Tourism Fall Summit in Riverton on 10/7-8/2015.
Jenissa and Johno attended the UOT Daggett County “Ruralism” Branding Team meetings. The “Trophy Trout Capital of the West” has morphed into “Most Scenic Trophy Trout Capital of the West”.
Information Trailer – We have received a bid on the trailer. The RS Chamber will own the trailer. T&T will pay to brand the trailer. The funds for the trailer came from the city of Rock Springs. The chamber is currently obtaining an insurance quote. The Chamber will staff it and we will fund it through the block grant. The city of Rock Springs will tow it and park it at each event.
Sweetwater Lodging Association met 9/17/2015 at the Rock Springs Hampton and again on 10/6/2015 at the Green River Hampton.
Event Recruitment met 9/29/2015. They are working on developing a list of potential committee members and events.
Board member lunches and orientations. Jenissa had lunch with Craig on 9/17/2015, with Falon on 10/13/2015 and had and orientation lunch with Kelcie on 9/30/2015.
Johno reported on the Active Facebook. Johno took over from Chad Banks on October 1st. Johno created a content calendar. Johno activated the Instagram account in August. They are encouraging people to use #Green River, #Rock Springs and #VisitSweetwater to be able to share their photos. We have 150 followers as of now. Johno’s goal is 500 by the end of the year. Johno reactivated the twitter account which links directly to our face book account. Johno and Jenissa are currently working on geo filter for snapchat.
City Beautification committees, both Rock Springs and Green River’s committees have met. Green River Beautification committee will meet at the Green River Chamber monthly. Rock Springs is still working on a more defined schedule of meetings. Mayor Demshar brought up an idea for “pride of place” awards. Each month a business and a resident will receive an award called pride of place. This is to encourage people to beautify their properties. They are also working on the WYDOT landscaping grant for Green River and a Wayfinding maintenance for Rock Springs.
Johno has applied for two grants through the Wyoming Office of Tourism for a lodging and a conversion study. We will know if we are approved for them next week and we will get started on them in December and January. Jenissa also mentioned that the conversion study is her favorite because that is how we measure the effectiveness of our advertising.
Measurables
Jenissa showed the board the lodging tax collection chart. Lodging tax is up 5% from what was budgeted.
Occupancy Rate for August is at 82.20%
Web Site Analytics comparing September 2014 to September 2015 shows a 50% increase in sessions, 39% increase in page views.
Purchases
Jenissa spent $500 for the Fall Tourism Summit Sponsorship.
Craig made a motion to approve the director’s report; Erika seconded. (motion passes 8-0).
Jenissa reported that during the last meeting it was discussed that the book direct was not effective for the amount of money it costs. Jenissa had signature put together a list of options for reallocation of the book direct funds. Option 1 – Wyoming Branded Direct Fulfillment Envelope, Option-2 Lodging Listing Buildout, and Option 3- Increase media buy for 2015-2016 with the un-used book direct funds. Jenissa really likes Option 1, which is a $3,670.00 commitment. Craig made a motion to approve Option 1; Janet seconded (motion passes 8-0).
Flaming Gorge Magazine
We partner with Flaming Gorge Lodge, and Red Canyon Lodge to have a four page spread in the center and a one page ad in the front of the magazine. We have committed $4,000 to this every year for the printing of this publication. We need to commit $4,000 this year to have it printed and then next year we are going to revamp it and have a larger collaborative presence. Jenissa would like it to flow more so there is not such a division between the two states. Debbie made a motion to approve the $4,000.00 to reprint the current guide; Janet seconded. (motion passes 8-0).