Home Where to Stay Things to Do Around the Area Media General Info
New Smyrna Beach Florida
Visitors Guide
Search Our Website
HOT DEALS
GREAT PLACE for FAMILY REUNIONS
CHECK OUT our LOCAL WEATHER
Event Calendar
View All
Sing Your Way to Mexico - FINALE
Sep 03 - Sep 03 MORE
The Green Fair
Sep 06 - Sep 07 MORE
KIDZ DAY on Flagler Avenue
Sep 13 - Sep 13 MORE
Battle of the Badges Family Funfest
Sep 19 - Sep 21 MORE
New Smyrna Beach JAZZ Festival
Sep 25 - Sep 28 MORE
Founder's Day Festival
Sep 27 - Sep 27 MORE
Port Orange Family Days 2008
Oct 02 - Oct 05 MORE
New Smyrna Beach UnCorked
Oct 10 - Oct 13 MORE
Pop Warner Southeast Regional Football Championship
Nov 08 - Nov 08 MORE
Flamingo Follies
Nov 08 - Nov 09 MORE
Important Features
Video Presentation
Newsletter Signup
Cultural Experience
Wedding Planner
Pet Friendly Info
Build Your Itinerary
Contact Us
Media Center » Press Releases
Printer Friendly Version Email this Information

[Return To Press Releases]
Minutes of Board Meeting - Tuesday, October 3, 2006
27
Nov '06
Minutes of Board Meeting - Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Members Present:

Kelley DeSoto, Brendan Galbreath, Doug Hodson, Patty Post, Terry Roberts, Ted Ruta, and Cliff Wharin

Other Attendees:

Deborah Boyd-Director, NSB Visitors Bureau; David Mancia-Radio Disney; Melynda Sachs-Sachs Realty, Ann Brady-Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cindy Finney-Volusia County, Melanie Stawicki-News-Journal; and Edee Dalke-Orlando Sentinel

Chairman Terry Roberts called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. Deborah Boyd called roll.

Terry welcomed Kelley DeSoto and Brendan Galbreath as new SVAA Board members.Terry also thanked Melynda Sachs for her six years of dedication and service on the SVAA Board and presented her with a commemorative plaque and photo.

Election of Officers

Secretary/Treasurer - Terry opened the floor for nominations.Doug Hodson nominated Cliff Wharin, the nomination was seconded by Ted Ruta.The Board felt that Cliff has done an excellent job as existing Secretary/Treasurer.With no other nomination brought to the floor, all Board members were in favor.Cliff Wharin was elected as Secretary/Treasurer.

Vice Chairman - Cliff Wharin nominated Ted Ruta to run again as Vice Chairman, Doug Hodson seconded the nomination.With no other nominations brought to the floor, all Board members were in favor.Ted Ruta was elected as Vice Chairman.

Chairman - Cliff Wharin nominated Terry Roberts to run again as Chairman, Doug Hodson seconded the nomination.All Board members were in favor.Terry Roberts was elected as Chairman.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Ann Brady - Atlantic Center for the Arts.Ann Brady spoke requesting $15,000 in advertising funds for outside Volusia County.This provides a 100% investment.Ann shared that ACA has doubled the number of patrons over last year.They have also increased sponsorship by 40%.Ann reported the 2006 attendance was 20,000+ representing 600 room nights.There were 122 room nights from the artists.A 10' x 10' tent is included in the request where the Visitors Center can collect attendee data; the New Smyrna Beach logo and 800 # will be included on all advertising.Advertising includes neck ringers, eight magazine ads, five newspaper ads, five radio ads as well as online links.

Discussion - Patty asked how much was given last year.ACA had received $5,000.Deborah feels that ACA is the easiest group to work with and our logo is always there.Ted feels it doesn't come close to a return on investment and doesn't bring room nights.The dates for Images are February 10 and 11, 2007.Ted would like to support this event but not at this level.Patty would like to see them weaned off.Cliff feels that Images today is not the same as years ago and money is not wasted.Ann stated that the marketing plan is included in the packet.Terry feels that Images does a lot for the community.The total budget was discussed.

Ted Ruta made a motion to fund Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) $7,500 toward out of County advertising.The motion was second by Patty Post.Cliff requested increasing the amount to $8,500 to encourage growth of the event.The Board did not agree.Doug disclosed that the Pennysaver has an in kind relationship with ACA and Cliff mentions he donates personally.With a 4 / 3 vote the Board awarded $7,500.Terry Roberts, Cliff Wharin and Doug Hodson voted no.

MINUTES

On a motion by Cliff Wharin seconded by Doug Hodson, the Board approved the minutes of August 8, 2006.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - Terry Roberts

Terry shared that during the past year the dynamics of the SVAA have changed.Advertising has moved in house and it has gone well.Port Orange has joined.Radio Disney has been a positive happening for SE Volusia and also the success of the Daily Buzz national advertising program.Terry also stated that the website was reconstructed.He recommended that this year the current Mission Statement and Marketing Plan should be reworked to include additional forward thinking.

Terry recommended seeking out and building events that are compatible with the community and would bring awareness to the area all year long.For example the AMA Super Motocross Race had been well supported; however, the City Council meeting did not like the idea of holding it on Canal Street.The mayor commented that he didn't care if anyone else knew about New Smyrna Beach.The nationally televised motocross is considering other areas to be an ongoing event.

Ocean Center - Terry read a letter about the TDC meeting of October 10, which is being postponed until November.The letter stated that construction on Phase II is progressing and that the evaluation should be complete by mid-October.The TDC will continue to provide updates.

Brand Hotel - Terry stated that New Smyrna Beach is lacking a brand-named hotel.Deborah shared that at FACVB she met those who know hotel people who provided her with a checklist of what they look for before they build in an area.Deborah and Kathy Wood are working on completing this checklist.Deborah also mentioned that at a recent Board of Realtors meeting she made contact with a realtor who is working with a hotel developer who is looking into bringing a hotel/conference center to town.She also reported that Port Orange has plans to build a Country Inn & Suites without a conference center.Ted shared that density regulations state that only around 24 units per acre are allowed.The Board felt the old high school property is a potential location.Terry would like Deborah to pursue to advise the Board as to how they could move forward on this issue.

ADVERTISING AGENT'S REPORT / VIC REPORT -Deborah Boyd

Fish Stock - Deborah pointed out the information on Fish Stock that Dan Jacobs dropped off; however, she reported that he has not submitted a funding proposal.She informed Dan that his request for $30,000 would most likely not be approved.Deborah does not feel the money is there to fund such a large request.Dan will be invited to the next Marketing workshop.

Family Reunion Market - Deborah shared that New Smyrna Beach is a great market for family reunions.Currently the Visitors Center provides photos, goodie baskets and pictures in our local newspaper, as well as theirs.She stated that she learned at the Southeast Tourism Society meeting that DeKalb County has a large reunion focus.They mailed us the information they use to help families which has given us many ideas.

Weddings Market - Deborah shared that the new staff member, Lisa McInnis, has received her notary license and can perform weddings.She is currently gathering information to build a wedding information brochure.

Eating - Deborah reported that she took a class in culinary tourism with IACVB to learn how to promote restaurants.She reported that Riverside Catering has started cooking classes which will be promoted.She received a phone call from Galleria de Vitro and will be working with them to put together a food and wine festival in New Smyrna Beach.

Radio Disney - The first Radio Disney event was held in September.Bottled water with the New Smyrna Beach and Radio Disney logos were distributed.There was an attendance of 2,000-3,000.Over 29,000 flyers were distributed to area schools, which resulted in a 10% return.Many families visited Canal Street and Flagler Avenue and the merchants reported an increase in business.Deborah stated that even though they didn't stay in hotels, she feels they were introduced to the area and will come back.Kelley attended with four children and would like to see additional activities.

Dining Guide - The Dining Guide is ready to go and will be here by the next meeting.In the future, we may look into selling advertising to defer the cost.The first printing will be 5,000 copies at a cost of $2,400.ADeo charged$2,000 to put the guide together.

Daily Buzz - The Daily Buzz promotion was great!Christian Brothers from Michigan was the winner of the promotion.Six hours of video was shot for the promotion and was purchased for $300.

Website - The technical changes are finished and content changes are continuing.

Cliff asked about the Inquiry Report's low responses.He encouraged the marketing department to review.He does not feel the total picture is being represented.Deborah shared that reader cards are not effective.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Marketing & Advertising Committee - Patty Post

No meeting was held.

DBIA Working Group - Clifford Wharin.

Cliff talked to Steve Cooke and there has been nothing new to discuss, therefore no meeting was held this month.Kelley asked what the purpose of this group was.Cliff shared what DBIA needs to do to promote Volusia County and to disseminate information.ERAU has been very active in obtaining traffic trends.

Committee appointments - Terry asked Patty and Brendan to sit on the Marketing & Advertising Committee.He asked Doug and Kelley to review the Mission statement as well as the Marketing Plan and provide recommendations on changes and direction.Terry would like Cliff to continue on the DBIA Working Group.

David Mancia, Radio Disney, shared that on October 1 the new contract went into effect.Radio Disney has been running commercials and attending events.The Visitors Bureau has printed over 100,000 goodie bags, which will be distributed throughout Florida at over 500 schools containing 300-500 kids per school.The bags will include the new Radio Disney postcard developed by the Visitors Center.He stated that future Radio Disney events would take into consideration the comments for improvement.David commended Deborah in her job in promoting the event.He reported that by the end of the month the vehicles would be wrapped.He also reported that two commercials per day would run to promote New Smyrna Beach (a value of $36,500 for the year).He has had a very positive response in New Smyrna and noted that listeners are calling Radio Disney to get information about New Smyrna Beach.

Frisbees - Deborah obtained three estimates to order 100,000 more mini-frisbees to be added to the goodie bags.The Board would like to have them produced locally.

On a motion by Ted Ruta, seconded by Patty Post, the Board unanimously agreed to award the contract to Image Services & Solutions in the amount of $27,200.

FINANCIALS - Cliff Wharin

Cliff recapped the financials and reported that the SVAA is up over 8% year to date over last year.He commented that we are doing well compared to the other Volusia County Ad Authorities.Patty asked if the Port Orange addition is contributing to the increase.Deborah responded that Port Orange's share is very low.

NEW/OLD BUSINESS

Auditor - Cliff reported that even though we voted on a new audit firm, Deborah received a phone call stating we should continue to use James Moore & Co..Cliff does not feel we are in a position to take on County Council on this issue.Deborah shared that the original ordinance states that they have every right to request that we use James Moore & Co.Ted does not mind using their auditor, but does not feel we should pay 20% more to do so.Terry, Patty and Cliff shared that they have already talked with our County Councilman to voice their opinion.Ted suggested a letter be sent to go on record that we feel the cost is too high.

Cliff Wharin moved that we revert to the original auditor - James Moore & Co.Deborah shared there may be a cost to cancel the other one.Doug seconded the motion.Amendment:Ted suggested we send a letter to the County Manager's office asking them to review the higher cost.All Board members were in favor of the motion and amendment.

Central Florida Sports Commission - Deborah received a bill for $6,200 to fund the Central Florida Sports Commission.She spoke to an attorney and he said we could fight it, but at what cost.Randy Johnson stepped down as president while making a salary of $230,000 per year.The new president's salary is $150,000 per year.Cliff has heard that things are starting to happen, most recently the College mascot games in Daytona.Deborah shared the invoice payment would be sent to the County.Ted said we requested a presentation and they refused.Brendan feels we need to know what we are allocating money to.Deborah shared that the two other Ad Authorities have already paid their share.

Cliff Wharin made a motion to pay the Central Florida Sports Commission $6,200 from the 2005/06 fiscal year budget.The motion was seconded by Doug Hodson.Terry feels we should set up a meeting with Central FL Sports Commission to see what they are going to do for Southeast Volusia.The motion passed with a 4 /3 vote.Patty Post, Brendan Galbreath and Ted Ruta voted no.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for November 7, 2006 at 1:00 p.m.

Having no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Ledbetter

Printer Friendly Version Email this Information

New Smyrna Beach Visitors Center The City of Edgewater Port Orange Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce
 
Powered and Designed by Alternate Image Web Services