April 2022 Board Meeting Minutes and Recording

The audio recording of the April 2022 Board Meeting accessed here:

April 2022 Board Meeting_Part 1.mp3

April 2022 Board Meeting_Part 2.mp3

Please find the meeting minutes below:

PRESENT: Walter Burton, Elizabeth Cromwell, Russ Cronberg, Chris Engel, Chris Eure, Pam Higgins, George Hodson, Jay Pun, Gary Sandling, Gabe Silver

ABSENT: Angelic Jenkins, Roger Johnson, Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Juandiego Wade

ALSO ATTENDING: Lauren Bohdan, Courtney Cacatian, Mark Lorenzoni

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Gabe Silver called the meeting to order at 2:05 PM.


a. Roll Call: Chairman Gabe Silver invited Lauren Bohdan to perform the roll call.

b. Industry Presentation: Executive Director Courtney Cacatian introduced Mark Lorenzoni with Ragged Mountain Running Shop and invited him to present. Mark spoke about outdoor recreation trends, its impact on Charlottesville and Albemarle, and upcoming events. Mark took questions from the Board.

c. Officers’ Welcome: Chairman Gabe Silver and Vice Chairman Gary Sandling recognized Roger Johnson’s and Chris Engel’s leadership through the past couple of years and introduced what they are hoping to bring to the CACVB Board. The Board split into small groups to workshop their “superpower” and aspirations for the CACVB Board. Gabe asked for groups to share what they discussed, which included bringing the right people to the table, determination, being intentional about what Charlottesville and Albemarle will become, institutional knowledge, and being advocates.

d. Consent Agenda: Gabe asked for input on the consent agenda. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda, and the consent agenda was approved.

e. Budget Presentation: Courtney Cacatian presented the FY2023 budget presentation approval, which included an update on ARPA funding. The Board discussed the budget and a motion was made to pass the budget for FY2023 with the proviso that the fund balance will not be spent below $100,000 without further authorization from the Board. The motion was approved.

f. Director’s Report: Courtney presented the Director’s Report, which included a) Highlights; b) Hotel Performance and ADARA Data; c) Marketing and Public Relations Update; d) Sales Efforts; e) Visitor and Community Relations Update.

g. Highlights: Courtney gave an overview of some highlights, including launching Discover Black Cville, holding a sales strategy meeting, kicking off Zartico with tracking points of interests, Courtney being interviewed by Destinations International blogs and podcast features and presenting during Travel Unity’s Southeast Conference in Georgia, holding a collaborative meeting with the Vice President of DEI at UVA, and hosting an arts collaborative meeting.

h. Hotel Performance and ADARA Data: Courtney presented a few charts indicating hotel performance and the ADARA Site Impact data, which included air travel data.

i. Marketing and PR Update: Courtney played a video that resulted from the launch of Discover Black Cville and gave an overview of the launch weekend and the Discover Black Cville Digital Passport. Courtney presented graphs on website visitation trends, updated the Board on staffing and interns, and showed published articles that resulted from hosting media.

j. Sales Efforts: Courtney gave an update on the CACVB’s sales efforts. Teresa attended STS Domestic Showcase and led a FAM tour of the destination with 6 group tour operators. Teresa has also sent out 8 RFPs and 3 of those are booked.

k. Visitor and Community Relations Update: Courtney presented visitation metrics from the Mobile Visitor Centers and visitor request metrics. The Visitor Services team has coordinated FAM tours of the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont and the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at UVA and has attended visitor services professional development meetings and seminars. Cassie is acting as the point person for the arts collaboration and the Mobile Visitor Center has had a presence at special events.

l. Public Comment: Courtney invited Matt Lawless to make a public comment. Matt Lawless made a comment regarding the support that Scottsville has received from the CACVB and the Board.


Chairman Gabe Silver adjourned the meeting at 3:53 PM.