City of Centralia Tourism Commission met July 20.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 P.M.
Attendance:
Mike Schroeder, Rae Ann Quidgeon, Jessiycka Nix Coleman, Mary Davis, Sonya Germann, Tom Walsh, and Melissa Rae Roach
Absent:
Robert “Spanky” Smith, Rob Jackson,
Advisory Staff Present:
Derek Sherman, Assistant City Manager City of Centralia
Others Present:
None
Public Participation:
None
Minutes:
Rae moved to approve, and Jessiycka made a second to approve the June 15th, 2021, meeting’s minutes. All present members voted to approve.
Treasurer’s Report:
Tom Walsh reported the balance of the end of the year (December 31, 2020) was $19,552.88. Revenue thus far was $29,882 and expenditures thus far of $22,679 leaving our balance as of May 31, 2021, of $26,756.40. Additionally, there was a comment from Sonya stating that we are at 47% of our annual revenue for the budget after half the year has passed. Sonya made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report as submitted and seconded by Mike Schroeder. All present voted to approve.
Ongoing Business:
1. Amtrack Station Marketing Decal – Jessiycka said she hasn’t been able to get a hold of Rose Printing and is planning to go up there after he gets open. Sonya commented that she had difficulties getting a hold of Rose Printing as well. Mary said that she has had luck getting a hold of him in the past and offered to reach out to Rose Printing as well. Everyone agreed a multi-person request will hopefully get the decals done. Sonya would like to see more of these decals or signs around at Rotary Park, Fairview Park, and around town in general. Also, other businesses will want the QR codes, and everyone thinks that will increase business for Rose Printing as he can make more decals.
2. Tourism Commission Identification Badges – Jessiycka has donated the lanyards, and the back has a cheat sheet for all the upcoming events.
3. T-Mobile Hometown Grant – Derek has reported that we have not moved forward on the grant writing process. Mayor Kuder had seen the Amtrak station and he was in support of doing something to revitalize it. Commission thinks it is a good idea to invite the Mayor to the next Tourism Commission Meeting.
4. Community Photo Contest – Derek stated that we have not had any forward progress. It was determined we needed a scoring rubric for the contest.
5. Review of ILSouth Springs/Summer Tourism Times – Derek wanted to Commission to review the marketing to look for regional partners to work together on Tourism marketing and growth that is mutually beneficial to all cities. The discussion drifted towards a more active presence on social media. Sonya mentioned that she didn’t see the Downtown Winery Concerts on See Centralia’s page, and thinks businesses should tag See Centralia on Facebook & city staff needs to make sure they are update the See Centralia website/Facebook page regularly. The Commission discussed putting a reminder in the water bills for businesses to submit an event on See Centralia. Also, it was discussed that we need to show how to submit the events on See Centralia website to make it clearer. The Commission discussed avenues to get a contractor or an intern to assist with the Tourism marketing & social media. Additionally, the Commission would like more effort put into the maintaining the See Centralia website.
6. Review of ILSouth Visitors Guide – Sonya mentioned that we should utilize ILSouth’s videos, and that we should start planning to have videos completed. Additionally, it was brought up that we should buy in to the radio programming ILSouth has started doing. Sonya discussed that we should start planning to use this service for our new events happening in Centralia. The Commission decided we should have a special meeting to discuss fundraising and the projects we would want to use the fundraising on. The meeting will be held on August 11th at noon.
7. Volunteers to take photos – Derek mentioned that we should have the Tourism Commission members take some photos when they are around town and send them on to Derek to add to our photo stores and to supplement Pat’s photos. It was mentioned that we should have Pat Hodges and the Mayor come to one of our Tourism meetings to discuss how to utilize Pat more often and get the Mayor caught up on tourism.
New Business:
1. ILSouth Tourism Video Contents – It was discussed earlier in the meeting.
2. Fall Tourism Marketing Ideas – It was discussed earlier in the meeting.
Discussion:
Sonya: We need to talk to Kim about how we go about using peddler’s corner. We will need insurance and the available dates. Also, we need to decide what we are raising donations for. Melissa mentioned that she has sponsorship forms that she made a few years ago to help with fundraising.
Derek: The Chamber wanted to know if we are having a booth there. It was decided that we would not have a booth. It was brought up if we are putting the Trolley back at Balloon Fest or if we want to put it somewhere else in town for people to see. Mary said the Trolley should be out since it is a big tourist weekend.
Mike Schroeder: St. Jude’s run that comes to Centralia needs to be promoted more since it a cool event.
Adjournment:
Rae motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Tom seconded the motion. All voted yes to adjourn the meeting carried, and the meeting was adjourned.
https://cityofcentralia.org/vertical/sites/%7BFC680FE7-BE5C-4903-A103-67AF5EF51655%7D/uploads/7-_July_20_2021_Minutes.pdf
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