VisitRainier Board Minutes: December 2007

Board Meeting Minutes, 10:00-2:00pm, Ashford
Attendance: Dee, David, Maree, Pam, Andrea, Ellie, Sandy, Carol Z and Mary Kay. PC and Vivian were excused.

The meeting was called to order at 10:10 am by President David Wilde

Maree moved and Jeremy seconded to accept the October minutes as distributed. Motion carried. David asked to move election of officers forward in the agenda to allow new board members to participate fully at this meeting. The board agreed.

The November financial reports were distributed. Clarification was asked on the Balance Sheet. After further discussion, the November financials were accepted.

There was no old business to report.

Executive Director Report The 501c6 application and Power of Attorney are ready to be submitted. Our bookkeeper assisted us in preparing both applications and prepared the financial statement for the 501c6 application. A signature is required by an officer of the board. No written report was submitted due to the recent end of the year report that was distributed to Pierce County and all stakeholders including board members.

Mary Kay reported on the extension request for White Pass and Chinook Pass for a west mountain connection. She noted that the board has agreed to allow her time during the month of January, through Visit Rainier, to coordinate meetings and compile a list of contacts who might be interested in pursuing a byway connection. She will be working with Curt Warber and Bryan Bowden to initiate the process in the communities of Eatonville and Enumclaw and other surrounding communities. After a joint meeting, the process will be handed off to a local community group to work on the project. New Business: The board accepted a letter of resignation from David Wilde as President and board member and thanked him for his dedication and support of the organization. His leadership during critical times has been much appreciated. Directors and Officers for 2008 Maree moved and Jeremy seconded to elect PC Dickinson, Andrea Brannon and Pam Newlun to the board for a two year term. (there are no term limits) Motion carried. Jeremy Foust was nominated as board president to be elected at the January annual meeting. Vice President and Sec/Treas. positions will be up in 2009.

Mary Kay and Carol presented a PR campaign annual summary and review. The month by month spreadsheet lists press releases, media contacts and publications that have been done this year. Carol expressed that her focus will continue to be in getting media here to visit and to support signature events. She noted that she still has a challenge in getting writers to use the www.VisitRainier.com website in their articles, as there is typically a more suitable link for their article. She will continue to push for this. Carol announced that Visit Rainier was successful in getting an article published in Travel Age West, a trade magazine for travel agents. She noted that this is especially important as the industry looks to trade magazines for trends and what's new in the industry. In the January issue of Sunset, there will be a "call out" section on Mount Rainier in the travel section. Carol has also been working with Washington State Tourism on itineraries for NTA (National Tour Association) Wa St Tourism has contracted with Edelmann, an ad agency located in Seattle. She is going to try to get an appointment with them to identify Visit Rainier as a resource for Mt. Rainier information.

Website design comments/Review A visual presentation was prepared by Brainkinetics for the board to review. The board critiqued each page and gave suggestions on how it might be improved or where questions were for clarification. This is the first deliverable on schedule from Brainkinetics. With approval of the design portion of the website, the next deliverable will be Feb 22, when the design is actually installed. The board was pleased with the progress to date and Mary Kay will forward comments to them for their consideration. Budget status report / 2008 Budget Review. No information has been received from Pierce County and Lewis County on the funding levels for 2008.

Mary Kay reported that she is working on the 2008 Marketing Plan and will have it ready for review at the January meeting. The amount of carry over will determine how much money we can use from the 2007 budget for Brainkinetics. This will allow more 2008 dollars to be spent for other marketing options. Jeremy stated that he wanted to see more thought put into why we advertise where we do. For instance he would like to think about the methodology of placing advertising, and whether it should be in print, in internet, PR, or direct sales. Mary Kay will look into some of the demographics of where we are placing ads now and what our audience is. We will be able to compare this to the new data we obtain from Google Analytics once our new website is launched.

There was discussion about attending the Pow Wow tradeshow on May 31-June 4, 2008. Typically this has been handled by the Tacoma Regional CVB, but this year they are not attending. David expressed his interest in having Guest Services attend this year, due to the reopening of Paradise Inn and the Visitor Center later this fall. After much discussion, the VR board decided to send one delegate (pending acceptance and space available by Washington State Tourism) who would be chosen and sponsored by Guest Services. Guest Services offered to pay expenses for that delegate whose responsibility it would be to focus on Mt. Rainier National Park. Jeremy moved and Dee seconded a motion to send a representative to Pow Wow in May. Motion carried. Area Updates Due to lack of time, this portion of the agenda was minimal. Maree gave an update on the recent White Pass Scenic Byway Grants awarded to the byway for signage and promotion and for the Morton Depot. The meeting was adjourned at 2:00pm.