July 2016 Minutes

 Historic Hannibal Marketing Council

July 2016 Minutes

The meeting was called to order on July 19, 2016 at 5:15pm by President Paul Lewellen. Members present: Gail; Kenna; Mary Jae; Kristine; Dena; Lisa; Paul; Gloria; Debbie; Joe; Wesley; Joe; Pat.

The agenda was approved.

There were no minutes to approve from the May meeting – notes were lost. Gloria apologizes! A quarterly meeting was held in June at the Mark Twain Cave complex.

The treasurer’s report was distributed. Mike is recovering from back surgery and not in attendance. We have a balance of $31,600, but in actuality, it’s closer to $25,000. Several bills are still outstanding including the rental of Scottie’s Potties for BAM. A couple of ads that were purchased for the magazine have not been paid as well.

HCVB: Gail reported that there a man from St. Joe is interested in providing carriage rides for Christmas and possible throughout the year. Trip Advisor has awarded 20 Hannibal businesses with Certificate of Awards. The large riverboats are starting to make their arrivals. The hotels have been booked 5-6 weeks, Gail attributes this to the new website. A lot of positive feedback has been heard from tourists, boaters, visitors and visitors are staying 2-3 days because there is so much to do. The 2017 Visitors Guide is in the works. Joe commented how wonderful it is to see the improvements happening on Broadway.

Committees:

Membership R & R: Nothing to report. Potential new members are North St. Station; Karlock’s Car Museum and the Haunted House.

Events: The events committee met last week. Lisa wants to move forward with the assistant to help with next year’s planning. TOM- discussion to keep the festival the same, maybe even to scale back a little and eliminate some of the vendors who offer questionable merchandise. Victorian Christmas – a new power board at lighthouse, now is the time to start thinking of Christmas. Coming up – 150th birthday of Molly Brown- should there be some kind of event next July? 2 more events to consider offering are Bat Fest and Witch’s Night Out. This is huge in some markets. Lisa said additional volunteers are needed to plan events. This is another reason to get paid staff. Joe brought up the fact that we need a strategic plan in place for the next 3-5 years. The question was asked how to get members involved. A discussion followed on inviting the Strategy group back and review what was discussed the last time and work on new planning. Pat and Lisa will meet Aug. 10th for strategy planning. Pat suggested that we meet with the chamber, HCVB, Economic Development, etc.. Joe, Pat, Wesley, Paul and Mackenzie will meet.

Beautification: Things have slowed down last 2 months. Group is looking into getting banners and no parking signs to place on Main St during events. The looking good awards are being given to Aswin Patel for Mississippi Marketplace; The Crossing; Rialto; Y Men’s Pavilion; Bobby Boland. The kiosk is still in the works. The poop stations are all in place. The new lights will be installed as we want on Broadway.

Upcoming events: Rendezvous at Cave Hollow – we will sell beer if we get a $500 guarantee, Golden Eagle will be approached. Dena made the motion, Joe seconded, all approved.

Steampunk is Labor Day weekend. Another beer vendor is needed – Lisa asked HHMC if we’d like to take it on. Volunteers are needed to help sell tickets. Contact Lisa if you are available. Lisa thanked HCVB for the additional revenue to promote the events. Lisa reported she has seen a tremendous increase in likes and shares on facebook.

In light of the recent tragic shootings Hannibal is hosting a Community Unity Week. This week is dedicated to bringing police/ community together and promote diversity, understanding, etc.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Gloria Burns, Secretary