04-15-15 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
April 15, 2015
3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Minutes
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Vanessa Nordahl, Dan Moderie, Dawn Hendrickson, Karena Bemis, Gib Bissell,
Lisa Brown
Board Members Absent: none
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Joe Unterreiner, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Meeting was called to order by Janet Clark, vice -chair, at 3:07 PM.
1. Hear from the public — none
2. Board Action
a. Approve minutes from the March 11, 2015 meeting:
Action: Motion was made by Gib Bissell to approve the minutes. Motion seconded by Dawn
Hendrickson.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. TBID financial statements for February, 2015:
Action: Motion made by Lisa Brown to approve the financial statements. Motion seconded by Dan
Moderie.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c. Approval of FY'16 marketing plan:
Action: Motion was made by Lisa Brown to approve FY'16 marketing plan. Motion seconded by
Dawn Hendrickson.
Discussion: FY'16 goals, objectives and budget were approved at March 11 board meeting. Board
discussion of the marketing plan narrative focused on leveraging the National Park Centennial,
promoting history -based tourism and the growing farm -to -table trend. Challenges continue with
seasonality of visitor traffic, the drop in Canadian visitation/spending and lack of transportation
infrastructure. Emerging markets include business travelers, multi -generational groups,
volunteerism and a trend in the meetings & conventions sector toward more meetings with fewer
attendees. Montana Department of Tourism is not offering Visitor Center grants this summer so
weekend staffing may be cut back slightly. Board approved unanimously.
d. Approval of nomination from Dan Moderie to continue for another term. No other nominations
were received.
Action: Motion was made by Gib Bissell to approve the nomination. Motion seconded by Lisa
Brown.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
e. Approval of following slate of officers to serve May 1, 2015 — April 30, 2016:
Janet Clark - President, Vanessa NordahI —Vice President, Karena Bemis —Treasurer.
Action: Motion was made by Dawn Hendrickson to approve the slate of officers. Motion seconded
by Gib Bissell.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
3. Board Discussion
a. Dragon Boat venue change update: application for Conditional Use Permit was approved by the
Flathead County Board of Adjustment with 12 conditions that will be addressed by the CVB. Next
step is to obtain the road -closure permit from Flathead County. Staff is putting together an
agreement with property owners detailing how each property will be handled during the event.
b. Other event updates: At City Council's invitation, Diane attended a work session to discuss
modifying the alcohol ordinance to better facilitate beer service at future events in Woodland Park.
The park is being considered as a possible venue for the 2016 Pond Hockey Classic. The 2014 Pond
Hockey Classic was awarded Event of the Year by the Montana Office of Tourism.
Montana High School Rodeo Finals are June 9-14. First committee meeting was held April 9.
Spartan Race: 6,000 racers are projected over both days. The more challenging Spartan Beast is
offered on Saturday, May 9 and the Spartan Sprint on Sunday, May 10. NBC Sports will film The
Sprint. Volunteers are needed for the event. TBID members can pick up a VIP Parking Pass and
Spectator Pass at the VIC.
Western B Tournament attracted 4,471 paying fans according to the Athletic Director at Flathead
High School. Kalispell will be hosting a large number of state and regional high school sporting
events over the next two years.
Kalispell Beer and Wine Open will be held at the Fairgrounds, June 13-14. Focus will be on
educational opportunities for commercial and home brewers. 21 breweries have agreed to
participate. Event is a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House.
c. Group, M&C updates: Dawn has visited nearly all properties. A Meeting Focus FAM group is
scheduled to be in Kalispell May 5-6 as part of a collaborative effort with Glacier Country, Whitefish
and Missoula CVB's. Clan MacDonald is planning a site tour in May in preparation for its September,
2016 convention. National Guard of Montana has requested a proposal for a convention in April,
2016. Dawn is forming a Kalispell CVB sales group that will meet to discuss RFP's and exchange
ideas. A new RFP template is being developed. CVENT, a lead generation site, is experimenting with
a new Missoula/Glacier region at the suggestion of KCVB. Professional Outdoor Media Associates
2016 Convention was awarded to Kalispell. Dawn and Diane attended Governor's Conference on
Tourism and returned with a lot of new information including techniques for using social media to
connect with meeting planners. CVB was approached by the Montana Wilderness Association about
holding WildFest 2018 in Kalispell. CVB owns URL meetinmontana.com which will be used for
Meeting Focus FAM and attached to the M&C page of website. Dawn is developing a digital meeting
planning kit for M&C page of Discover Kalispell website that will allow tracking of downloads.
d. Marketing updates: Senate Bill 264 that would offer a new funding stream for CVB's and other
organizations is still being considered. Legislation strengthening protection offered by liability
waivers is looking promising.
Online winter campaigns in Spokesman Review, Calgary Herald, Google Display Network provided
1.2M impressions with an overall CTR of .07%. Placements that targeted Eastern WA and northern
ID outperformed Calgary. Winter landing page saw 2,241 sessions, over 84% of those visits were
first time visitors. Ski page had an 80% increase in sessions over same period last year and 92%
increase in mobile visitors. Engagement increased from 2:44 to 3:32 min on page. Orbitz ads were
directed toward promotion of Glacier AERO's United flight from Chicago.
Joe reported that $30,000 is owed to United in payment toward the revenue guarantee . Total
guarantee was $235,000. United wants to repeat the flight. Glacier AERO is asking TBID members
to provide data on guest arrival and departure dates, December 1, 2014—April 1, 2015
Meeting was adjourned at 4:15 PM
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, Please Contact
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808