Tourism Committee Regular Meeting January 20, 2015

SIMSBURY TOURISM COMMITTEE
"Heritage, Charm, Adventure"
SIMSBURY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
749 Hopmeadow Street
Regular Meeting Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015 7:30pm

Attending were Dominique Avery, Diane Phillips, Kathy Oakes, Rick Wagner, Cathy Barnard, Paulette Clark, Barbara O’Connor, and Lisa Gray.

Meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm. Lisa Gray, the new Executive Director of the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the committee. Lisa then outlined some of the plans and new ventures of the Chamber. Of particular interest to the Tourism Committee is the possibility of sharing space with the Chamber in a visitors’ center. Other areas of cooperation, such as links on each others’ websites, were also discussed.

The minutes of the November and December meetings were approved.

OLD BUSINESS

A. Hudson House The town’s Open Space Committee is investigating possible uses. They have received a copy of the Tourism Committee’s ideas.
B. Septemberfest That committee is planning to revamp the layout of the event to reflect more of the street design of the old Septemberfest. The Tourism Committee had submitted a letter with suggestions that will be incorporated.
C. Volunteer Expo Due to a lack of manpower and resources, the Committee will not be sponsoring the expo this year. If another organization wants to sponsor it, we will provide our previous releases, emails and mailing lists if wanted.
D. Souvenirs and Simsbury Gifts The committee is not in a position to be directly involved in the production of Simsbury-themed gifts and souvenirs, but would be willing to work with private entrepreneurs to provide input and moral support. If a Visitors’ Center is developed, the committee would try to sell such things there.
E. Tourism Website The restaurant list was discussed. Barbara and Kathy will work on this more.
F. Bench Update No report at this time.
G. Map and Calendar of Events This is a project to be held in case the shared space with the Chamber and other organizations comes to be. Proximity would greatly help getting this together.
H. State Tourism Plans and Simsbury Participation The state has not announced any plans for a summer still revolutionary contest. They will know more in February. The convention is planned for May 12. Any members wishing to attend should let Dominique know. At the meeting, Dominique and Barbara expressed interest in attending.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Visitors Center Shared Space Proposal was addressed earlier in the meeting.
B. Committee Budget The committee will request a budget of $5,000.00 to cover the cost of producing a short video, revising and reprinting some brochures, website/domain name costs and the Valentine’s Day promotion C. Valentine’s Day License Event Once again the Town will absorb the costs of marriage licenses applied for on Valentine’s Day. Simsbury Main Street Partnership is putting together some prize packages.

There were no other significant updates on other issues.

Meeting adjourned at 8:50pm.

Respectfully submitted by Barbara O’Connor