MINUTES

EmeryCounty Travel Bureau

February 1, 2017 11:00am

EC Admin Building-Canyon Conf Room

Castle Dale, Utah

ATTENDANCE:

Board Members: Jordan Leonard, Lamar Guymon, Keith Brady, Danny Van Wagoner

Staff:Tina Carter, Chelsea Guymon, Jacqueline Wild

Excused: Penney Riches, Jonathan Hunt, Josh Rowley

Guests: Jared Hamm, Cody Draper, Chris Newton, Amanda Leonard

Conducting and Welcome:Chairman Lamar Guymon

  1. Approval of Minutes: January 4th:A motion was made by Keith to approve the minutes with a second from Jordan. APPROVED
  1. Discussion of Financial Report: Tina Carter:Last year’s numbers were really good. This month’s TRT compared to last year’s at this time is a little low but still good overall. Our TRCC is up for January. Green River’s Resort Tax is good and their TRT is also a little low.
  1. Discuss/Approve/Deny Chris Newton-GoUtah.com:Chris reported that they have been promoting us for 13 years. This year’s lead generation is up 47% from 2015. The States that are requesting information from us are California, Colorado, Texas, Washington, and Illinois. They have updated a lot of the listings on their site for our page to make sure everything is current. We are represented on the Mighty 5 page banner which helps us with requests. We have the option to make changes at any time to our page. The total cost for the year is $2,295. Motion by Danny to approve funding with a second from Keith.
  1. Discuss/Approve/Deny Cody Draper-Utah.com:Cody presented the co-op plan for this year a couple months ago at our meeting in Green River. The Commission approved for us to participate in the Cafeteria program again this year. Cody was able to secure us a spot on Utah.com’s home page for several months and also the Destinations page for several months. We are working with HUB to put together an itinerary to post on the trip planning page. Part of our package includes a three day boost campaign on Facebook. We get to decide when and what gets boosted between the months of April through December. The total cost for this year’s campaign is $12,500 but since we are participating in the Cafeteria program we only pay half the cost which is $6,250.
  1. Discuss/Approve/Deny Funding for Green River Billboards:Jared with Epicenter spoke on the billboard project for Green River. The total for the billboard which is part of their HUB branding is $17,693.32. The City of Green River’s 25% match is $4,423.32 and the County’s 75% match is $13,270.00. Tina suggested that Jared speak with State Parks to see if they would be interested in partnering with them which would help with some of the cost. After looking at the proposed cost the County’s match will actually be $12,294.99. Keith motioned to approve funding up to $12,294.99 pending State Parks possibly partnering on the billboard and helping with the cost with a second from Jordan.
  1. Discuss/Approve/Deny Reappointment of Joshua Rowley to the Board of Directors:Josh’s term expired in December and he has written a letter stating that he would like to continue serving on the Travel Bureau Board. Keith motioned to retain Josh as a board member with a second from Danny.
  1. Update/Approve/Deny Bureau Bylaws:Keith has given Tina a few notes for the Bylaws. Keith motions to table until our next meeting so we can have the complete document with a second from Danny.
  1. Update/Approve/Deny Bureau Business Protocol:In November it was discussed to put together a listing protocol so we have a better guideline for listing our businesses and any other businesses that would like to be listed on our website. Tina spoke to her counter-part in Moab to see how they list their businesses and they have the businesses fill out an application before they are listed and they must contribute to their County. The board agreed that this protocol is a good idea. Keith motioned for Tina to move forward with the listing with a second from Jordan.
  1. Update, Discussion on Possible Recommendation of the Following:

a)State Parks:None

b)Trail’s Committee:Meeting next week on February 7th at 8 a.m.

c)Business Groups:There was a ribbon cutting for a new craft business in Huntington called Crafty Lil’ You. The Business Chambers revenues have gone up from more businesses purchasing memberships. The Chamber banquet will be in March 15that 6 P.M. at Miller’s Landing in Huntington.

d)Museums:The Museum of the San Rafael is working on a new traveling exhibit in conjunction with the Smithsonian called “Our Town” which is the history of how our County works.

e)Expos:Go West is coming up. We are working with HUB to create a one sheeter to give out at expos. Once the one sheeter is complete we can put it in the Tie Fork visitor center which will be less expensive than putting out brochures.

f)HUB:HUB has told Tina and Jordan that they can design event logos for us for $200 each. These newly designed logos will help our events tie into our new brand. We would also like to have HUB redesign our map covers which would cost $750. They would like to redesign the entire map which would cost $5,000. We think we’ll start with cover and move from there. Keith suggested we come up with a priority list of things we would like to get done sooner than other projects. Visited with HUB about designing signs for the Buckhorn and if they do it they can have it completed by Easter. The cost for the signs at Buckhorn will be $9,200. A lot of these marketing costs can be covered by the funding we have received from the State. We will probably release an RFP for website design since HUB’s cost is $90,000. Keith motioned for Tina to pay for the one sheeter and the Buckhorn signage with a second from Danny.

g)Event Coordinator:Amanda said that Millsite in Ice had 106 participants that came from all over the State. It was suggested that there be a youth section for the fishing and prizes this next year. It was also suggested that we work with the State to get the lake stocked with fish before the next competition. Fins and Fur will be coming in the Spring before the dam project at Millsite begins. The Murder Mystery will be in a couple weeks and it will also be held in Green River. All participants will get a custom poker chip. April 7-8 there will be softball competition in Green River which will be a fundraiser for the little league teams. June 9-10 will be the Castle Dale City Celebration. Mounted Shooters will be there and there will be a youth section for the shooting. There will be saddle prize and buckles for the shooting competition. The theme for the fair this year is “Dream Big”. There will be monster trucks, cash prize bingo, and a large firework show. The singing competition will be opened for anyone around the State to participate since there are has been some outside interest. The prize for the winner of the singing competition is 6 hours in a recording booth with Greg Hansen. On September 1st to the 2ndthe airport will be closed for the Drone Racing event. There will be swag bags for the drone racing participants. The ATV Jamboree will be September 6th through the10that Castle Valley Ranch and there are already 10 people signed up. October 20-22 will be the Bouldering Festival. Will Payne will be putting on the rodeo. They are working on having a concert in conjunction with the Bouldering Festival. Spring Bike Festival will be May 20-21st and the Fall Bike Festival will be September 22-24th. The Rock and Mineral show will be March 31st through April 2nd in Green River.

  1. Discussion ofOld Business:We are working on a contract for the billboard outside of Huntington.
  1. Discussion of New Business:Miss Emery has asked if we would like to put an ad in the Miss Utah book. The deadline for listing is April 25th. It was suggested that we should consult HUB to see if they have any ideas for an ad in the Miss Utah book. Dustin Carlson sent us a video of children playing at the wedge for the Board to review. The board all agreed that they liked the video but had a few editing suggestions. The Board discussed merchandising options after our new branding is in place. Lamar suggested we have an emergency fund for the board where we can spend out of it without having to have Commission approval. The Bike Club for our school system is moving forward.
  1. Adjourn – Thank you for coming!

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