Present: C. Mason, B. Lewis, M. Vanek, J. Kline, M. Alberici, J. McCormick, P. Johnson, J. d
I. Approval of the Minutes
M. Vanek made a motion to approve the July 24th minutes, seconded by B. Lewis. All were in favor, and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
II. Planning & Development Committee
C. Mason said, Summer History Corps Peer Coordinator, Andy Ellis recently left for his first year at University of New Hampshire. C. Mason, A. Ellis and M. Vanek had a final luncheon meeting to debrief on the program. Copies of the summary of the program, drafted by Ellis, were circulated. C. Mason said copies of all the paperwork are organized in a binder, stored at the Tourism Office. C. Mason said the program went well over all, the students increased their knowledge of the area, with the workshops and the scavenger hunt. The Corps activities and expenses stayed within budget. During the next committee meeting, the future form of the program will be discussed. The committee will also discuss the strategic plan, which is tentatively planned for the winter.
III. Nominating Committee
C. Mason said there is one “at large” opening on the Commission that the committee will be looking to fill.
IV. Marketing Committee
M. Vanek said the Tourism Office responded to 320 brochure inquiries since the July meeting, and the website had 543 new hits since the last report. Total number of hits for the website is 10,271. J. Kline circulated the new matching funds criteria and applications for Commission member organizations, discussed at the last committee meeting. M. Vanek said, advertising money will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. The money is meant to promote special events, exhibit openings, lectures, concerts, etc. not to be used for a “generic” ad about your site. The ad must include the Commissionmotion carried.
J. Kline gave site representative copies of the Enchanted Holiday Trails brochure to display, and offer to their visitors. M. Vanek said “Holiday Traditions” is included in the brochure, with all the participating sites listed. Enchanted Holiday Trails is a regional initiative, promoting holiday events happening from Canandaigua to Cazenovia, and south to Ithaca. J. Kline passed out copies of an article on the Finger Lakes Region that ran in the New York Times. The Tubman Home was featured, with a photo of Pauline Johnson, and the Seward House. J. Kline also circulated copies of an e-mail that was received from a past Auburn resident. She thanked us for the time we took with the website, and commented on how nice it was. The next Marketing meeting is set for September 25th at 10AM at the Tourism Office.
V. Events Committee
J. d
VI. Other Business
C. Mason said M. Alberici has volunteered to Chair the Holiday Traditions committee. She will be meeting with J. Kline to start plans for this year
M. Alberici said she and her husband staffed the I Love NY Tourism booth at the NY State Fair. She said she enjoyed it, and the State presentation was impressive.
The Commission adjourned at 4:35PM.
The next Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, September 25th at 3:30PM, third floor meeting room at City Hall.
Please call the Office of Tourism at 255-1658 if you are unable to attend the meeting.
Recorded by Jesse Kline
