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Approved Jan 21, 2015 <br />MINUTES <br />Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting <br />November 19, 2014 <br />The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau met at <br />Durham Tech, Orange County Campus <br /> <br />Board Members Present: Anthony Carey, Dave Gephart, Lee Storrow, Debbie Hepp, Jim Parker, Karen DeHart, Aaron <br />Bachenheimer, Lee Pavao, Michelle Johnson, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Annette Stone, and Meg McGurk <br />Not Present: Mark Sherburne and Greg Overbeck <br />Staff attendance: Laurie Paolicelli, Marlene Barbera, and Tina Fuller <br />Also present: Justin Herberger, Caroline Weisenhorn, Stephanie Perri, Tom Hickey, Jill McCullough, Nitin Khanna, Libbie <br />Hough, and Bonnie Hammersley <br />Call to Order <br />Chairman Anthony Carey called the meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. <br />Approval of Minutes <br />Mr. Carey requested a motion to approve the October 15, 2014 minutes. Lee Pavao so moved and Penny Rich seconded. <br />With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted. <br />Introductions were given, proclamations were presented to outgoing member’s Dave Gephart and Jim Parker. Greg <br />Overbeck was unable to make the meeting. <br />Executive Director Laurie Paolicelli thanked board members for their service this year noting a 7% growth in occupancy <br />and 7% growth in average daily rate. Ms. Paolicelli commented that the economy is in our favor however we still need a <br />greater marketing focus on mid-week hotel demand. She informed board members that staff would be sending a survey <br />for their input and recommendations on overall visitor’s bureau performance and productivity as well as a request for <br />suggestions on how meetings could be tweaked for greater conversation. <br />Chairman Carey welcomed new board members Libbie Hough, Jill McCullough, and Nitin Khanna. Each gave a brief <br />overview of their background history. Rosemary Waldorf was unable to attend. <br />Budget Update <br />Penny Rich reported on the current budget stating that it is on track. She noted that fund balance usage conversations <br />are ongoing and we anticipate the fund balance growth to continue and a recommendation for increased marketing is <br />recommended. <br />Ms. Rich updated the board on the pride of attending the recent GAA/BAR annual meeting, which was successfully <br />brought back to Orange County. She also reported that a new Sustainability Coordinator was hired, and the BOCC voted <br />to implement an environmentally friendlier policy, including discontinuing use of Styrofoam at meetings. <br />Website Analytics/Trends and Marketing Update <br />With that, the floor was given to Justin Herberger and Caroline Weisenhorn with VisionPoint Marketing for a ‘web <br />marketing 101’ update. The Bureau’s website analytics for demographics, content, social media, goals, and devices used <br />were reviewed and discussed. Q&A followed.