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Special Horrors <br />Ms. Paolicelli asked that she be granted a few minutes to express her appreciation to the board for the time they devote <br />to the promotion of tourism in Orange County. Jill McCullough, representing the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough is <br />leaving the board due to a time conflict and Ms. Paolicelli thanked her for her service to Orange County Tourism. She <br />presented her with resolution of appreciation. <br />Guest /most speakers <br />Ms. Paolicelli introduced Jessica Hurst, Sr. Account Manager and Tim McCraley of Simpleview whose web design firm is <br />building the Visitors Bureaus new website. Ms. Hurst shared that Simpleview specializes in destination marketing, <br />serving 380 destinations with a 95% retention rate. They will deliver quality, innovation and care through a dedicated <br />team implementing twelve steps to a better website. It is their practice to include the client on every step for a unique <br />site design. They shared a staged version of the site showing drop- downs, search area and weather making up a great <br />visual site. Members of the board shared questions and comments. Meg McGurk asked about the events calendar, <br />Laurie Paolicelli explained that events are the number one reason visitors visit our website followed by restaurants, <br />towns, and regions. The website will utilize a map to facilitate these searches. A blog will be included in the website <br />with blogs authored by many of Orange County's award winning authors including Daniel Wallace, Jill McCorkle and <br />Michael Malone. These blogs will be featured every month with the authors writing about why they choose to live here. <br />Mr. McCraley pointed to the fact that the site will be easily customizable. A social area will be included on the home <br />page. Ms. Paolicelli reminded the board that the website includes a balanced representation across the county while <br />maintaining the VisitChapelHill brand awareness and bringing the university closer to the front as the driver of our <br />business. Chair Waldorf asked what the key search words would be for people visiting this site. Ms. Hurst replied that <br />Simpleview employees an analyst to study the analytics of our webpage searches and reported that the most searched <br />was "Carolina Basketball ". Ms. Paolicelli stated that the launch date is scheduled for July 14, 2016. At Ms. Paolicelli's <br />request Simpleview's representatives shared additional high resolution photographs with the board. Aaron <br />Bachenheimer inquired about an inclusivity scan to see if we are representing our population and Nitin Khanna asked if <br />we had included any pictures of Indian weddings to promote that market in the county. In conclusion Ms. Hurst <br />informed the board that the website would be a responsive design in which the content is stacked so it renders to <br />phones, tablets, computers or televisions. <br />Executive Directors Report <br />Laurie Paolicelli, Executive Director reported that a meeting was held with Conventions, Sports and Leisure, a feasibility <br />company that is studying demand generators for the board to find what we need going forward in order not to <br />cannibalize each other's business. Bill Krueger, who will be conducting the study for CSL will attend our next board <br />meeting. There is sentiment in Orange County that we need sports fields to bring visitors rather than additional <br />conference space. Ms. Paolicelli shared with the board that there is women who runs a LGBT comedy event who would <br />like to share with the board her reasons for not bringing her event to North Carolina. After discussion of whether the <br />board would find this helpful all decided it would be and Laurie will extend an invitation. In response to H132 our ad <br />agency has recommended that we use earned media to get out the word that we have always been at the forefront of <br />social justice issues. They suggest a strong national campaign. Ms. Paolicelli included a resolution in the agenda packet <br />for the board to approve regarding its position on HB2. After conversation about moving ahead with a vote on the <br />resolution Penny Rich interjected that the county is involved with a bill coming through the legislature regarding the <br />funding of the jail the county is planning to build in Hillsborough. The board agreed to put off our vote until that bill has <br />been approved. Ms. Paolicelli provided all board members a copy of the annual strategic plan and stated that she would <br />ask them to approve it at the next board meeting after the County passes the new budget. <br />21 Page CHOCVB BOD Meeting May 18, 2016 <br />