Board Meeting Minutes and Recording - April 2026
April 29, 2026
The audio recording and Board packet documents from the April 2026 CACVB Board meeting can be accessed here:
CACVB Board Presentation - April 2026
CACVB Board Member Job Description
Please find the meeting minutes below:
CACVB Board Meeting
April 27, 2025 – 1:00p.m.
CACVB Administrative Offices
PRESENT: Olivia Branch, Kelly Brown, Chris Engel, Emily Kilroy, Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Jennifer Lyon, Zach Roberts, Danny Shea, Brad Uhl, Juandiego Wade, Zarina Yafizova (presence of Ms. Brown not reflected in recording).
ABSENT: Andrea Copeland, Athena Eastwood, Lisa Jevack, Darcie Weigand
ALSO PRESENT: Courtney Cacatian, Lauren Bohdan, Jessica Rice, Jason Burch, Roy Van Doorn, Stewart Key, Teresa Lamb, Cassie Ivey, Anna Whitlow
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Wade called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m.
INDUSTRY PRESENTATION: Jason Burch, CEO of Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (CHO), talked to the Boad about developments at the airport. CHO is the 163rd busiest US airport, with 370 operations per day. The authority that operates CHO does not rely on local government funding but is self-sufficient (though the federal government pays CHO for numerous services). Half of revenues are generated through airport parking.
CHO is exploring potential for a direct route to Boston to serve the approximately 57,000 Charlottesville area travelers who fly to Boston either via CHO or other regional airports. A Boston connection would mean that CHO would offer direct flights to all the largest regional air hubs, as well as Chicago. The proposed connection would generate $21 million for the regional economy annually. CHO is exploring incentivizing airlines to fly this route by offering a minimum revenue guarantee.
CHO has a ten-year plan to modernize the airport's infrastructure, much of which is not suited to support mid- and large-sized modern jet aircraft. CHO owns sufficient property to make the proposed expansions. The expansion is currently in conceptualization and community engagement stage.
Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley asked Mr. Burch about options for low-cost flights. Some airlines exist that will fly government subsidized routes. Ms. Brown asked about the timeline for the grant supporting the Boston route. CHO is expecting a grant award in the Fall, to begin operations to Boston in the Spring. Ms. Brown asked about support from the local biotech industry. Nikki Hastings from CvilleBioHub, the local biotech hub, has led the local industry in support of the Boston route.
CHO LETTER OF SUPPORT: CHO is pursuing a Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Grant, the application for which is due in May. Ms. Lyon stated her support for the grant but asked where the CACVB would pull advertising campaigns back to support advertising in Boston. CACVB Director Cacatian suggested that the current economic uncertainty in the Northern Virginia/District of Columbia region makes it a good time to draw down advertising there, but that no decisions have been made. She indicated that if the grant was successful, she would evaluate the situation at that time. Ms. Brown asked whether the new Boston route would be seasonal or year-round. The route would be daily year-round. Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley moved to authorize the Executive Director to sign the letter, seconded by Kelly Brown. The motion was passed unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Approval of previous meeting minutes
Financial reports
Kelly Brown moved to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Brad Uhl. The motion was approved unanimously.
FOR BOARD DISCUSSION:
Executive Director performance review process: Jessica Rice, Albemarle County HR Director Ms. Rice reminded the Board that CACVB staff fall under the policies and procedures of Albemarle County Human Resources. The CACVB Executive Director is seeking to have a better process for guiding the Board through her performance review. The current process involves Board members individually providing input after reflecting upon the past year. This can be challenging in a fifteen-person Board representing multiple institutions and industries – sometimes feedback can be contradictory. Additionally, the current timeline of the review process presents challenges relating to the fiscal year. Albemarle County HR plans to change the deadline of the review to August. County HR recommends each Board member coming up with individual feedback and then joining in a closed session to create harmonious feedback. They would invite the Director into the process but have the opportunity to ask the Director to leave so that they can continue evaluating performance. County HR would facilitate. Mr. Engel asked whether the timing presents challenges relating to compensation. Ms. Rice did not anticipate any problems – any recommended pay increase could be applied retroactively to the beginning of the fiscal year. Ms. Cacatian will complete a self-evaluation on April 28, after which the process will move to the Board. Mr. Uhl expressed appreciation for the change of timeline, as it opens up opportunities for a smoother process of back and forth with Ms. Cacatian without being pressed by deadlines. Mr. Wade expressed appreciation for the opportunity to give Ms. Cacatian more feedback and guidance.
CACVB Board member job description: The Board member job description was discussed at the last Board meeting. No changes have been made since that meeting. Ms. Kilroy moved to adopt the job description, seconded by Ms. Brown. The Board unanimously approved the motion.
FY2027 budget finalization: There have been some changes to the CACVB budget, based on changes to the Albemarle County budget. The draft budget had salary increases based on a 3 percent increase. The County budgeted for a 2 percent increase with a 2 percent bonus, and the CACVB budget has adjusted correspondingly. Part-time salary has been reduced to $0, based on how the CACVB has been utilizing part-time staff in recent years. Staff insurance and benefits have been changed to reflect changes to salaries. General liability insurance went down slightly, as did IT. Ms. Brown asked whether the level of benefits is standard for County government. Ms. Kilroy stated that the salary and benefit figures felt familiar from her experience as the Economic Development Director for Albemarle County. Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley asked whether the office was always in use. Ms. Cacatian explained that, while the CACVB uses a hybrid work structure, the office is in use almost every day. Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley asked about purpose of paying cell and toll phones. The CACVB maintains a toll number, which is frequently used, especially by older travelers. County IT systems do not allow staff to access using personal phones, which is why the CACVB pays for work phones. Mr. Shea moved to approve the budget, Mr. Uhl seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Ms. Bohdan informed the Board that the County and the CACVB received a Freedom of Information Act request from the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association (VRLTA), which the County Attorney’s Office has been assisting in responding to. CACVB Director Courtney Cacatian informed the Board about the CACVB's recent work and the state of regional tourism.
The CACVB has taken part in multiple events including the Tourism for All conference, the announcement of the statewide tourism strategic plan, meetings of the regional arts council, Founders Day, and the upcoming trip to Chapel Hill by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
CACVB has continued to collaborate with partner authorities. Ms. Cacatian recently gave the annual operations and impact report to City and County elected officials, and presented on the CACVB's contributions to VA250 to the City Council. CACVB has welcomed the creation of the Piedmont Tourism Region by the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), which allows VTC to better tailor research and resources to regional needs. CACVB is currently undergoing annual staff performance reviews.
Ms. Cacatian briefed the Board on Strategic Plan progress. The CACVB's rebrand rollout is ongoing. The Mobile Visitor Centers have been re-wrapped, visitor brochures have been redesigned, and staff are seeing community excitement over the new branding.
The Charlottesville-Albemarle region is seeing an uptick in hotel occupancy and a downturn in daily rates this year to date. Ms. Yafizova stated that her hotel had seen around 90 percent occupancy in the last two months.
The CACVB marketing team is leveraging opportunities for greater reach, partnering with VTC to support international marketing, and assisting local partners in creating organic promotional content.
Social media engagement with CACVB posts has increased 35% year over year. The strongest engagement is with food imagery, humorous content, and save-the-date posts.
Website views have increased 39 percent year on year. This is likely to be due in part to increased web trawling by artificial intelligence agents. The marketing team is ensuring that the web page is up to date and can provide good information to AI agents, but CACVB does not use AI in its photo and video generation.
The CACVB Sales manager distributed 29 requests for proposals for meetings and conferences. CACVB is attending more conferences this year due to a larger number being held in Virginia to celebrate the 250th.
CACVB has been collaborating with regional partners to improve workforce development for the hospitality industry and improve local access to outdoor trails and recreation.
PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comment
BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS: Chair Wade and Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley to attend Toastmasters event. Ms. Lyon announced the Pen to Paper event on Monticello’s West Lawn on Saturday May 2 at 3 p.m. Mr. Uhl reminded the Board that regional vineyards have been hit particularly hard by the recent frost.
ADJOURN: Chair Wade adjourned the meeting at 2:50 p.m.