September 5,2024

Grand County Colorado Tourism Board Meeting 3:00 pm

Fraser Town Hall- 153 Fraser Ave, Fraser, CO

Mission Statement: We inspire a sustainable, year-round tourism economy in Grand County with an emphasis on strengthening the vitality of our communities, celebrating our local culture and traditions and respecting our environment and resources.

Board Member Attendance: Kristen Spronz, Joanna Whitemarsh, Ron Ellis, Rebecca Bierden, Elizabeth Brumm, Cheryl Spezia

Absent: Jennifer Brown

Attendance by Zoom: Jeremy Belnap (Board Member), Dave Huber (Board Member), Carrie Tomlinson (Miles Partnership), Kimberly Ramasawak (Miles Media), Sarah Cichon (Destination Granby)

Also In Attendance: Gaylene Ore, Paula Isakson, Lisa Bornfield (Hot Sulphur Springs Chamber of Commerce), Catherine Ross (Winter Park Chamber of Commerce), Emily Hagen (Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce)

CALL TO ORDER– Kristen Spronz

Kristen called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES– August 2024

Meeting minutes for August 2024 are approved as distributed.

CHAMBER UPDATES

Lisa with the Hot Sulphur Springs Chamber

  • Taxes for Hot Sulphur Springs are down 20% from last year.
  • Several new businesses are opening in 2025 (a restaurant and a thrift store).

Cheryl arrived at 3:02 p.m.

Catherine with the WinterPark Chamber

  • Winter Park has quite a few events going on throughout September.
  • She and her team have been working on the 2025 plan.
  • Several membership events are going on in October for local businesses and member events
  • The chamber is involved with National Public Lands Day and the Rocky Mountain Wine Festival.
  • Sales tax for Winter Park is up, and the town had a strong Labor Day weekend.
  • The chamber did a photo shoot this summer, including images of people paddle boarding, mountain biking, hiking, and fishing at Meadow Creek. The images will be available to all.

Emily with the Grand Lake Chamber

  • This is Emily’s last meeting with GCCTB, presenting as the Executive Director for the Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has hired Kelly Kirkpatrick from Mesa Verde Country.
  • Grand Lake had a busy summer and is waiting on final summer numbers. May was a strong month for the town.
  • The new Chamber website will launch on November 21.
  • The Chamber has a new Photo Booth backdrop. Visitors can post photos on their social platforms.
  • The Chamber will be attending Colorado Snow Mo Expo in Denver October 25-26, 2024.
  • Social media has seen steady growth, with a 17K engagement and a reach of 185 K. There are 41K followers on Facebook and close to 13 K followers on Instagram.
  • A new event, The Grand Lake Ghosts and Gourds, will occur on October 26.
  • The Grand Lake Chamber worked with the AEG Folk Festival, and the festival may become an annual event.

Brittany with the Kremmling Chamber

  • Brittany was not able to attend. Gaylene will share the report the board.
  • Highlights include: Website visits are up 18%. Facebook followers are up 76%.

Sarah with Destination Granby

  • Sarah reported that Destination Granby's social media and website are up 65% from last summer.
  • The information center tracks encounters with guests and is up 69% from last summer.
  • Sales tax information is not available for July. She has heard from local businesses that the restaurants are up, but retail is down (some retail is down 20% from last summer in town).
  • Events went well this summer with Music in Market attendance and beverage sales up from last summer.
  • Sarah worked with Gaylene to create a perimeter (using Datafy) to track visitors attending Granby’s 4th of July events. The data showed that about five thousand people attended the events within the perimeter they set up.
  • Art in the Park went well, with more applicants than in previous years. This was the 4th year for Art in the Park.
  • Granby has a new event for Dia De Los Muertos which Destination Granby is hosting in partnership with the Latino community in Grand County.
  • Destination Granby will be moving the Tree Lighting event to Saturday after Thanksgiving. They hope to also have a Parade of Lights.

APPROVAL OF INVOICES BY FINANCE COMMITTEE- (3 mins)

Gaylene reported that the invoices for July were $136,358.58.

BOARD OF COMMITTEE REPORTS-(15 mins)

Marketing Committee–Elizabeth Brumm

  • The visitgrandcounty.com website had a strong July performance. Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs were some of the top-viewed pages, followed by the events page.
  • Mobile traffic to the website was strong and continues to have a high level of authority.
  • For the photo shoot projects, the marketing committee decided to swap out music events for a trail-building event put on by the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Coalition in coordination with Headwaters Trails Alliance.
  • We will have a photographer at the Troublesome Fest this weekend.
  • Miles Partnership will take the lead in ensuring digital accessibility on visitgrandcounty.com.

Finance Committee–Ron Ellis

  • The finance committee was asked by the county to adjust the income in our 2025 budget from 1.8M to 1.9M.
  • Ron recommended that we include only the scope of work on future contracts and confirm that the future contracts indicate that they are per year.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT– Gaylene Ore(5 mins)

  • Gaylene worked on the budget with the finance committee. She is waiting to hear back from Curtis about the final meeting date where they will confirm the budget.
  • Ron wanted to know if the revised budget needs to be approved by the board. Gaylene will send it to the board for approval.
  • The Marketing RFP went out, and we have had 15 or so agencies reach out with questions. Proposals are due by September 15. Gaylene will send the proposals for the board to review.
  • Gaylene and Ron met with Anterro.
  • Gaylene and Paula will attend National Public Lands day and have a booth for Stand Grand.
  • Gaylene worked with Dave Santucci on Destination Blueprint.

MARKETING UPDATE-Carrie Tomlinson

  • Carrie discussed the Colorado State Vacation Guide. Previously, the board has had full-page and co-op ads with the local chambers and businesses.
  • The ad costs $15,000.00, including the co-op subsidy. The close date for and reserving ad space is October 8.

Cheryl motioned to budget $15,000 to take an ad out in the Colorado State Vacation Guide, and Rebecca seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

  • Carrie mentioned progress on a matching grant opportunity with the CTO. We are applying for promotion of Stand Grand.
  • Kimberly has been working on the grant proposal, and the full plan is available in Base Camp for review.
  • Carrie clarified that the application comes from the board and the grant from the state. We need letters of support from the chambers, the Executive Director, and the Board President.

OLD BUSINESS

  • The Grant Review section of the July Agenda and Meeting Minutes for Destination Granby contained an error. The event was listed as Cinco De Mayo, when the correct name is Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
  • We will be updating our agenda and meeting minutes.

NEW BUSINESS

Dave Santucci Review

  • Dave reviewed the Destination Blueprint Process with the board. He and Gaylene put together a core team that will meet regularly. The team will provide information to help create a plan that includes the board’s top priorities.
  • The core team will then help us gather feedback to help build surveys.
  • After the Blueprint Process, the board can decide whether to adopt the action plan or make changes.
  • According to the Dean Runyan Report, over the past 10 years, Grand County has outpaced the state in growth. During COVID, the county outpaced the state by 40%. Last year, Grand County had a slight retraction and seems to be headed back to the visitation number pre-COVID. Current concerns that might affect future visitation include inflation, the economy, and the upcoming elections.
  • Dave will email his presentation to the board members.
  • Two important meetings are scheduled for November 21, 2024: Sun Outdoors—Destination Blueprint Half Day Workshop and November 20, 2024: Grand County Economic Summit, which board members are encouraged to attend.

New meeting dates/time for Board Meetings

  • There was a discussion about moving the board meeting to another day, date, or time.
  • The new meeting date and time would start in January of 2025.
  • Gaylene will end a Doodle Poll to the board to identify the 2025 meeting schedule.

ADJOURN

Elizabeth moved to adjourn the meeting, and Cheryl seconded it. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 4:23 p.m.

NEXT MEETING:

October 3, 2024

Granby Fire Station in Granby