04-03-13 TBID MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
April 3, 2013
M i nutes
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chris Walters, Lisa Brown, Angie Bowman, Gib Bissell
Board MembersAbsent: Lori Fisher, Dan Moderie
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Fbb Brisendine
Guests Present: Brandon Peterson - Holiday Inn Express, Derick Tungwenuk - Best Western Flathead Lake, Paul Bell -
Travelodge, Rich Vasquez- Kalispell Wrestling Club
Meeting was called to order by Janet Clark, Chairman of the Board at 3:00 PM.
1. Hear from the public- none
2. Rich Vasquez, Kalispell Wrestling Cub, gave a post event report on the Little Guy Mate Wrestling
Tournament held in Kalispell on March 23-24. He reported that 26 dubs attended, approximately 1,000
total kidswith approx. 600 from out of market. Tournament was held Friday evening and Saturday until
6pm. The dub submits a z9ro bid to the state wrestling board to assure Kalispell is awarded the
tournament. The gate proceeds are split up among the participating dubs. Rich feels that this scenario is
part of the reason why it was awarded to Kalispell the second year. Additionally the location of the
tournament allows for 14 full mats where in other locations there are fewer mats and they are split. They
will continue to need sponsorship from the local community to enable them to bid and be awarded the
tournament. They are requesting a $3,600 sponsorship from the TBID to cover the full venue rental for next
year's tournament. Rich will submit a post event report including specific attendance data.
3. Board Action
a. Approve Minutesfrom the March 6, 2013 Meeting:
Action: Motion was made by Gib Bissell to approve the minutes. Motion seconded by Angie
Bowman. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. TBIDfinancial statements:
Action: Motion was made by Angie Bowman to approve the financial statements. Motion seconded
by Chris Walters. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c. Approval of F12014 marketing plan and budget: Gib asked if theMCsummer hourswill be
extended. The group discussed whether that extension should include just longer Saturday hours or
also include Sunday. Number of hourswill be based on available funds. Diane hopes to utilize funds
from the MTOTMC Program funding. The board agreed to allocate some funds from TBID if
necessary.
Action: Lisa Brown moved to approve the FY14 marketing plan and TBID budget. Motion was
seconded by Chris Walters. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
d. Approval of nominations for vacating board seats: Notification was sent to the full TBID requesting
nominations for the two small hotel category seats up for renewal. No applications were submitted
but Janet Clark and Gib Bissell agreed to stay on and be reinstated for another 4-year term.
Action: Lisa Brown moved to approve the reinstatement of Janet and Gib asTBID board members
representing the small hotel category for the May 1, 2013-April 30, 2016 term. Motion was
seconded by Angie Bowman. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
e. Bection of board officers for May 1, 2013-April 30, 2014: According to the TBID By-laws, Lisa
Brown will move from Vice -chair to Chair. Lori Fisher submitted her nomination for the vice -chair
position. Angie Bowman volunteered to be treasurer.
Action for Vice Chair: Gib Bissell moved to approve Lori Fisher asvice-chair for the TBID board of
directors. Motion seconded by Janet Clark. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
Action for Treasurer: Janet Clark moved to approve Angie Bowman as Treasurer for the TBID Board
of Directors. Motion seconded by Gib Bissell. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
4. Board Discussion
a. Wrestling Tournamentgoonsorship: The board wants to assure that the Kalispell hotels are
promoted through promotion of discoverkalispell.com in tournament marketing materials and
onsite. The group discussed that there are opportunities to drive more bookings directly to the
hot el s versus to the 3rd party booking agents. Incentives such as free breakfast can be offered and
promoted through contacting the participating dubs directly and promoting on tournament
website, etc. Chris saw more pickup from the event than he anticipated and agrees that the TBID
should support the event to allow them to continue to keep them at a zero bid.
Action: Chris Walters moved to approve a TBID sponsorship of $3,600 for the march 2014 Little Guy
Wrestling Tournament to be used for venue rental. Gib Bissell seconded the motion. Discussion:
none. Board approved unanimously.
b. Western B Basketball Tournament recap: KCVBrecruited the Western Btournament to be held in
Kalispell every other year in February. 8 boys and 8 girls teams competed in a 3 day tournament
held at Flathead High Spool. The community and hotels experienced great pick up and value in
hosting this tournament. TBID sponsorship of the tournament totaled $4,746 which covered lodging
for refs, parking enforcement, traffic control and operational staff expenses.
c. Event updates:
artan - over 3,000 registrations in place. Volunteer day Saturday April 13th to dean up the race
course. Pre -Game event will be held on Friday May 10th at the vacant lot next to 90ortsman and will
include music, free food samples from local restaurants, and local beverages for sale.
Fond Hockey - agreement has been completed with Fond Hockey Classic. The Montana
tournament has been added to www.pondhockeydassic.com and a logo has been created for our
event. Fbys Lake is planned to be the venue, Fbb and Diane are meeting with the County Parks
board to discuss. Initial media announcement will occur mid- April.
d. KCVB Updates: Seattle Smart Mart - Fbb attended the Smart Mart put on by 9rnart Meetings in
Seattle. He reached 70 planners from the Pacific Northwest including; Boeing, Amazon, Eddie Bauer,
3d Party Planners that plan more than 500 meetings a year throughout North America. We held 15
one-on-one meetingswith those planners specifically interested in Kalispell and were able to
develop a relationship with these planners for the future correspondence and offerings. February
online marketing report was distributed showing a 134%increase in unique website visits over
February 2012 which included a 1080%increase in unique visits from Canada. The Canadian visits
show an 898%increase from Alberta and a 1126%increase from British Columbia. Fbport also
showed a42%page view increase and 72%increase in total dicks/ interactions on the Kalispell Trip
Advisor page. STRF;bport showed a 12.2%increase in occupancy, 5.6%increase in ADRand 18.5%
increase in F;bvPARfor February. Calgary radio ad, Shine FM, is running through April 10th. The
audience is heavily dominated by women who have a focus on family and travel. The ad promotes
Mother's Day weekend in Kalispell both as general information (shopping/family activities) and
encouraging registration for Spartan for both kids and adults. SID far we have seen a 117%increase
in visits from Calgary to discoverkalisell.com during the first 10 days of the campaign vs. 10 days
prior.
M eet i ng was adj ourned at 4:30 PM
F;bspectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, Rease Contact
Janet dark, Board Chairman, jca@darkmontana.com or 406-261-0027
Diane Medler, CBDirector, dianem@kalispellchamber.com or 406-758-2808
2013 Board Meeting S�hedule - Kalispell Chamber Conference Flom at 3:00 PM
g 3 May 1 June 12 July 10
August 7 October 2 November 6 December 4