Board Meeting Minutes and Recording - February 2026

The audio recording and Board packet documents from the February 2026 CACVB Board meeting can be accessed here:

Audio Recording

CACVB Board Presentation - February 2026

CACVB Board Member Job Description

Financial Report

Please find the meeting minutes below:

CACVB Board Meeting
February 23, 2025 – 1:00p.m.
CACVB Administrative Offices

PRESENT: Olivia Branch, Kelly Brown, Andrea Copeland, Athena Eastwood, Chris Engel, Lisa Jevack, Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Jennifer Lyon, Zach Roberts, Danny Shea, Brad Uhl, Juandiego Wade, Darcie Weigand, Zarina Yafizova (presence of Olivia Branch and Andrea Copeland not reflected in the recording).

ABSENT: Emily Kilroy

ALSO PRESENT: Courtney Cacatian, Lauren Bohdan

CALL TO ORDER: Outgoing Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. Senior Assistant County Attorney Lauren Bohdan performed the roll call.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Outgoing Chair LaPisto-Kirtley nominated Juandiego Wade to be the Board Chair. The nomination was seconded by Chris Engel. The Board approved the nomination unanimously. Chair Wade thanked outgoing Chair LaPisto-Kirtley. Chair Wade nominated Brad Uhl for the position of Vice Chair, which was seconded by Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley. The Board approved the nomination unanimously.

ESTABLISHMENT OF MEETING SCHEDULE: In 2025, the CACVB met on the fourth Monday of every second month at 1:00 p.m. (December’s meeting was on the third Monday of the month, due to the holidays). Chair Wade proposed maintaining the existing schedule for 2026. Ms. LaPisto-Kirtley seconded the motion. The Board approved unanimously.

RULES AND PROCEDURES: The CACVB bylaws mandate that the Board adopt rules and procedures for meetings in the first meeting of the year. CACVB Director Courtney Cacatian outlined Roberts’ Rules for small boards, the rules and procedures currently used by the CACVB Board. Mr. Engel moved to adopt Roberts’ Rules for small boards, which was seconded by Athena Eastwood. The Board approved unanimously.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Approval of previous minutes
Financial statement

Kelly Brown moved to approve the consent agenda, which was seconded by Ms. Eastwood. The Board approved unanimously.

PROPOSED CACVB BOARD MEMBER JOB DESCRIPTION: Ms. Cacatian and Chair Wade have collaborated to create a detailed job description of the roles and responsibilities of a CACVB Board member. Chair Wade proposed giving the Board more time to review the job description, with the intention of voting on the job description in the next meeting.

FY27 BUDGET PRESENTATION: The CACVB bylaws state that the budget must be adopted before May 1 of each year.

Ms. Cacatian presented a draft version of the CACVB budget for fiscal year 2027 to the Board. Many budget lines (for example, those relating to payroll) are pre-determined by the CACVB’s fiscal agent, Albemarle County. Ms. Cacatian encouraged Board members to review the December Board meeting for a greater understanding of the CACVB’s revenues. For FY2027, the CACVB budget includes an appropriation for interest gained on the CACVB fund managed by the County. Bank interest has been deposited in the CACVB fund in previous years but not appropriated. Marketing is the largest item in the CACVB budget, and unspent funding from other budget areas can be reallocated to the marketing budget, usually after a review in April. For FY2027, the CACVB has increased its budget for meals; this primarily reflects a change in categorization for meals supplied during the Tourism for All conference.

FOIA/COIA TRAINING: Ms. Bohdan presented information relating to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Conflicts of Interest Act (COIA) that affects officers of public bodies such as the CACVB.

Public meetings must be publicly noticed in advance. Any meeting of three or more members of the Board where the participants discuss business directly with each other is considered a public meeting. This can include email exchanges. CACVB Board members are encouraged to take care when meeting with each other and communicating electronically. Staff may communicate and distribute information to Board members – generally, they will BCC Board members, to avoid a member hitting “Reply All” and inadvertently creating a public meeting. Board members wishing to discuss an issue have a number of options, including requesting that an item be added to the next meeting’s agenda or proposing a subcommittee.

FOIA covers all records in possession of a public body. If CACVB Board members receive a FOIA request, they are advised to immediately notify the County Attorney’s Office and the CACVB Director. If Board members cannot access their email, they are encouraged to set up an out-of-office message directing the inquirer to another person.

Ms. Brown asked what kind of FOIA requests are received by CACVB. Ms. Bohdan said that requests generally focus on financial issues, for example the budget, or Transient Occupancy Tax figures. Olivia Branch asked how long documents must be retained. Ms. Bohdan advised that documents should be retained for 3 years from their creation and use. Ms. Eastwood asked whether handwritten notes taken in meetings count. Ms. Bohdan advised that handwritten notes do count – she encouraged the Board to type up handwritten notes and save them before disposing of the handwritten page.

COIA sets out disclosure and disqualification requirements for members with a personal interest in transactions with the public body. The County Attorney’s Office helps Board members navigate the requirements. They maintain a form for COIA disclosures and do not accept disclosures via email or phone.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Ms. Cacatian reported on CACVB staff activities over the past two months. Highlights include Ms. Cacatian meeting with new CACVB Board members, participating in the Arts Council steering committee, meeting the leadership of Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport to discuss destination promotion and enhancement, collaborating with County IT and HR departments in order to pursue accreditation through Destinations International, and working with Marketing Director Anna Whitlow and volunteer Board members to draft the crisis communications plan, which was implemented during the recent extreme weather event. CACVB was able to share hotel availability with City and County crisis management teams, allowing for easier accommodation of emergency workers. Board members LaPisto Kirtley and Wade recently spoke at the National Parks Service Chesapeake Gateways Partner Meeting. The Downtown Mall began its Ambassadors program on February 1; CACVB’s Director of Visitor and Community Engagement Cassie Ivey trained the ambassadors. The CACVB will host the Tourism for All conference on February 24. The next Destination 20+45 event will be on March 25.

Ms. Cacatian outlined important agenda items for upcoming Board meetings. In April, the Board will approve the budget for fiscal year 2027. In June, the Board will be briefed on the CACVB’s strategic plan implementation progress.

The Founding Footprints podcast series is now complete, with an organic reach of over 900 listens. CACVB Destination Development Manager Carla Mullen’s presentation on the series at the Chesapeake Gateways Partner Meeting was full, showing interest across the Commonwealth in how CACVB enacted the project.

CACVB has encouraged sustainable economic growth for the region by engaging workforce development. Staff reviewed curriculum materials for the Savor Studios Gateways Course and will participate at the upcoming Senior Stay Day at Piedmont Virginia Community College. The Mobile Visitor Centers will host lantern-making activities to support the Downtown Mall 50th Anniversary lantern parade.

The CACVB subscribes to CVENT, a service which alerts the CACVB to Requests for Proposals for big events that might be hosted in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. The $11,000 CVENT has generated over $500,000 in RFPs from a variety of event types, including tour groups, government and association events, and pharmaceutical and medical group events. Currently, only 5 hotels locally meet the typical requirements for events.

Kelly Brown asked what the typical booking window of leads from CVENT is. Ms. Cacatian said that booking leads for large events tend to be multiple years. Often, local hotels do not pursue RFPs with such long lead times, in part because they are dependent on UVA sports schedules. The CACVB is working with local hotels to increase opportunities for successful proposals for large events.

Ms. Cacatian presented data on hotel occupancy from 2021 to 2025. The trends show a return to pre-pandemic seasonal patterns. National economic disruptions since the start of 2025 have increased the cost of business and travel and are expected to impact visitor patterns.

The CACVB subscribes to AirDNA, a service that tracks short-term rental data. The Charlottesville-Albemarle region is seeing an uptrend in revenues from luxury short-term rentals. Data shows that short-term rentals are in direct competition with local hotels.

The Mobile Visitor Centers saw a 6 percent year-on-year increase in visitation to 7,453 in 2025. The MVCs participated in more special events last year, including UVA events, the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival, the Charlottesville Grand Illumination, and IX Art Park events. Darcie Weigand asked whether the MVCs will be at NCAA sports events. The CACVB is in discussions with UVA to be able to allow that.

The CACVB helped partners secure $110,300 in grant funding in 2025. The Destination Development Team approved over 700 calendar events and 32 new partner listings on the Visit Charlottesville website.

The CACVB is finalizing a rebrand. The website has been updated with new branding, pending a comprehensive overhaul next fiscal year. The visitor guide has been redesigned, and new promotional items have been purchased. The Marketing Team has presented the rebrand to partner organizations to help them engage with it. The CACVB’s What’s New press releases have been seeing a lot of engagement from local partners.

PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comment

BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS: Ms. Eastwood reminded the Board that Wine Week will be from June 25 to June 28. The Monticello Wine Trail are looking for sponsors and hosts for the Monticello Cup. The event is in final planning stages, and more public announcements are expected soon. Ms. Branch informed the Board that the Southern Living Ideas House recently closed. The Ideas House had over 15,000 visitors from all 50 states and three foreign countries. The three charitable partners for the Ideas House together received over $200,000. Chair Wade reminded the Board that the Downtown Mall’s 50th anniversary is approaching, and many activities are planned for July 3 and July 4.

ADJOURNMENT: Chair Wade adjourned the meeting at 2:47 p.m.