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Home My WebLink AboutTDA Board Meeting March 27 2024 NEW HANOVER COUNTY TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS March 27, 2024 PRESENT: Nicole Jones, Wilmington Hotel (150-) Allen Oliver, Mayor – Town of Kure Beach Kim Hufham, President/CEO – NHC TDA Eric Credle, NHC Chief Financial Officer Natalie English, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Zach Brigman, Wilmington Hotel Manager (150+) LeAnn Pierce, Commissioner – New Hanover County Lynn Barbee, Mayor – Carolina Beach Angela Rhodes-NHC restaurants Zeke Partin- Wrightsville Beach Board of Alderman Tom Ullring, Carolina Beach Hotel Hap Fatzinger, NHC Attractions Ross Pitman, NHC Bed & Breakfast Bill Saffo, Mayor- City of Wilmington EXCUSED: None STAFF: Kim Little, Administrative Services Manager/Recording Secretary Connie Nelson, Communications/PR Director Lee Davis, Director of Web Services Shawn Braden, VP Marketing John Sneed, VP Sales Linda Brothers, Senior Financial Analyst, NHC GUESTS: ITEM #1 – EXCUSED – None 1 ITEM #2 – APPROVAL OF BOARD MINUTES FOR JANUARY 31, 2024 – Angela Rhodes \[Motion made by Zeke Partin, seconded by Lynn Barbee, and unanimously accepted to approve the January 31, 2024, TDA Board minutes as read.\] ITEM #3- FINANCIALS/ROT REPORT – ERIC CREDLE NHCTDA Treasurer Eric Credle presented the ROT collections report for the period through February 2024. The revenues are currently up 3.7% year to date. \[ A complete financial report of the revenue/expenses for budget details in Exhibit Book XIIII.\]  Audit Contract – Cherry Bekaert was renewed to conduct the NHC TDA audit. Linda Brothers asked all board members to return Kim Hufham’s yearly review by April 6, 2024) ITEM #4 Funding Request for Wrightsville Beach- Kim Hufham WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH:  The Town of Wrightsville Beach Board of Alderman respectfully request TDA funding in the amount of $88,000 to purchase digital message boards in FY 2024. The digital message boards will replace manual signs that limit message content and the immediate dissemination of information. The boards will be visible on the main highways, Highways 74 and 76 and will provide important information event, traffic, beach conditions, and other helpful information that would benefit tourists and visitors as well as residents. Total funds are available in the amount of 88,000.  The Wrightsville Board of Alderman respectfully request TDA funding in the amount of $37,100 to purchase seven new lifeguard stands in FY 2024. The Town of Wrightsville Beach operates thirteen lifeguard stations along the beach strand. Six of these lifeguard stations are reaching the end of their life due to the weather 2 conditions on the beach. The Town of Wrightsville Beach intends to replace these six lifeguard stations and also add one additional lifeguard station, bringing the total along the strand to fourteen. The remaining seven lifeguard stations will be proposed for replacement next budget year. The lifeguard stations are an important fixture to house the lifeguards on duty as they provide rescue and safety services for the Town’s guests. Total funds are available in the amount of $37,100. Total amount of the requests: $125,100. \[Motion made by LeAnn Pierce, seconded by Lynn Barbee and unanimously accepted to approve the funding request in the amount of $125,000 for Wrightsville Beach as read.\] \[Copies of all the funding requests can be found in the Exhibit Book XIIII\] ITEM #5 – CVB Update: Administration: • Wrightsville Beach/CVB update meeting. • Kure Beach MAC Orientation • Visit NC VIC Webinar • Living with Water – USS Battleship NC • Leadership Wilmington • WB MAC Strategic Planning Meeting • CFCC Early College Presentation • Drury Hotels • NC Travel & Tourism Coalition Executive Committee Meeting • CB MAC Orientation • Garden & Gun Event • NC Travel & Tourism Coalition Board Meeting • Highland Group – Hotel Feasibility Study • NHCTDA Executive Committee Meeting • Wilmington City Council – ARPA Budget • NHC 250th Committee Meeting CVB Relocation Update: • Successful Office Move on February 27-28, 2024. • Office is currently 100% functional. th. • Upfit of new space to begin week of April 8 • Anticipated completion date by late May 3 • Planning on May TDA Board meeting in new space Tourism Master Plan: • Letter of Agreement will be signed with Clarity of Place this week. • Timeline & Project Scope are being finalized. • Start date is currently June 2024 • Final details will be presented in May 2024 TDA meeting. Communications: Media • The PR department has been busy hosting press trips; several food & travel writers attended the inaugural Feast Wilmington event; additional out of state journalists will arrive in the coming weeks. • Met with travel journalists during Visit NC’s media marketplace during the Tourism conference earlier this month. Workforce Development • In February, the CVB, along with 3 travel partners, were guest presenters during Wilmington Early College High School’s career lunch & learn event for 150 students. • On April 16, the CVB will participate in the New Hanover County Schools Career, College & Community Expo - 2,000 high school students are expected to attend. Recent Accolades • Wilmington was voted by readers of Southern Living Magazine as the #1 South’s Best City on the Rise and Wrightsville Beach was voted as North Carolina’s Best Waterfront Town. We have magazines available tonight for anyone who wishes to have their own copy. • The North Carolina Azalea festival is ranked #5 among USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice contest for 2024 Best Flower Festival • Voting is currently underway for USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice contest for Best Riverwalk in the U.S.A. The Wilmington Riverwalk is currently ranked th #8 in the polls, so be sure to vote every day through April 8 to help boost our ranking. Upcoming Events • National Travel & Tourism Week will be observed this year May 19-25. Stay tuned for details about our annual Travel Rally Breakfast • Legislative Breakfast – April 16, 2024 at the Embassy Suites 4 Marketing: • Spring/Summer Leisure and Group Advertising Implementation • FY24-25 Strategic Planning and Budgets • Preparation for May/June Photo & Video Shoots for all four destinations for both marketing and 2025 Visitors Guide • Social Local Heros Video Production for all four destinations • The marketing team has been working with ILM and airlines (Sun Country, Avelo, United & American) on cooperative media plan and developing a digital destination ad in the airport. • Survey development is underway for the second wave of visitor research to track changes in consideration and marketing effectiveness of the FY23-24 plan. • All four websites have been refreshed with mobile-friendly videos, new images and refreshed content. Sales/Services: • We have added more than 45,000 tentative room nights to our system so far this year, pacing about 31% behind last year. • Booked room night will close out slightly over 31,000 by the end of this month, pacing about 1% ahead of last year’s record year. ( this is showing a cooling off, we are running out of WCC available dates) • Staff hosted a Sports FAM with 5 organizations represented, we showed them around multiple hotels, facilities and fields for two days. It generated 1 RFP and 3 more are in the works. Technology/Website: • Will be attending the Simpleview Summit from April 7th to 10th in Milwaukee. This summit presents an excellent opportunity for us to stay abreast of the latest developments in Simpleview (our website and database software), gaining valuable insights and professional development opportunities that will enhance our services. • Additionally, our department remains vigilant in scouting for emerging technologies and software solutions that could augment the CVB's operations and services. We understand the importance of staying ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. • Continuously evaluating upgrades for our office hardware and software to ensure optimal performance and efficiency in our daily tasks. These enhancements aim to streamline our processes and maximize productivity across the board. 5 \[Copies of all the presentations can be found in the Exhibit Book XIII\] ITEM #8- PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS – KIM HUFHAM The NHC TDA is working with New Hanover County to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to oversee Wilmington International Airport funding from NHC. Legislative Breakfast scheduled for April 19, 2024, at the Embassy Suites. National Tourism Week will be May 9-15, 2024. We will have the CVB’S Annual Travel Rally Breakfast at the Wilmington Convention Center to celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week during May 2024. Natalie added that the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s trip for InterCity exploration of Savannah, GA is scheduled May 8-10 ITEM #9– CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS- NICOLE JONES ITEM #10- OLD BUSINESS/ NEW BUSINESS - ITEM #11– ELECTIONS OF 2023 OFFICERS Chairman- Tom Ullring Vice- Chairman – Angela Rhodes Secretary- Lynn Barbee Treasurer- Eric Credle \[Motion made by Zeke Partin, seconded by Allen Oliver unanimously accepted to approve the slate of officers presented.\] As there was no further business the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. Next NHC TDA Board Meeting on May 29, 2024 ______________________________ __________________________ Kim Hufham, President/CEO Tom Ullring, Secretary Minutes located in TDA Board Minutes Book XIIII 6