Tourism

TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, December 12, 2023 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Dave Lemke, Sue S wiantek, Krist Punzel, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Lisa Carbaugh. Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Brian Wilson -Star News, Sue Emmerich, Billie Hartwig - Medford Chamber and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Lemke, seconded by Punzel, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the October 10, 2023, meeting: Motion by Punzel, seconded by Liske, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Point of View Multimedia- Mike Beebe- Tourism Video update: Beebe called and said he is still finishing the video, so he sent a link t o the vid eo on YouTube which was sent to the committee. He will attend the February 13th meeting as all will be finished by then. Tourism Grant Requests: Medford Broomstack Beerfest- Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson was present to speak to the committee on behalf of the Medford Curling Club ’s req uest for $2,500.00 . This event is scheduled for April 13, 2024, Noon to 5:00 P.M. to celebrate craft brewing and bring people to the Medford community. There will be at least 10 craft breweries as well as food vendors. They anticipate 300 people attending from within a 150-mile radius. There was a motion by Swiantek to approve $1,000.00 towards t heir request, but with no second it failed. The committee then asked what the total available for grants in 2024 was, Farrand stated it was $10,000.00. The committee then decided to hear the next grant request before making their decision. Taylor County Li ons Maplefest -Dave Lemke presented to the committee and stated that they have received money in the past but reduced their request by $1,000.00. Lemke stated this event is put on by all 5 Taylor County Lions Clubs. They expect attendance to increase again this year now tha t it is an inside eve nt. There was a mot ion by Swiantek to appr ove $1,500.00 for the Curling Club and $1,000.00 for Maplefest, with no second, the motion failed. There was a motion by Liske, seconded by S wiantek, to approve $1,500.00 for the Curling Club. Motion carried. There was a motion by Liske, seconded by Punzel to approve $2 ,000.00 for the Li ons Club. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Brian Wilson stated he: • Distributed the hunting section. • Covered Harvest Days activities. • Christmas activities. • Will be covering the upcoming fishing contests. • The “between the lines ” contest was successful, and he plans to do it again in spring or summer. Chamber report: Hartwig provided an update on the Chamber’s tourism related activities: • They attended the small community fo rum in Gilman and met with Jeff Anderson from Travel Wisconsin. The Perkinstown Win ter Sports Area and Forest Springs will now be updating t heir cross-country ski t rail and tubing hill con ditions th rough the Travel Wisconsin website. • Harvest Days went very well. • Adult trick or treating had a great turn out and there were additional stops this year. • They are sending out a lot of snowmobile maps. • Munch and Punch is underway with 35 venues participating. • Caught you shopping local is going on now. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices : Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $6,451.00. Motion b y Lemke, seconded by Punzel, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Tourism website updates: Grimm presented the committee with several options to update the Tourism website, stating that it is outdated tech nology and has also been crashing. We have a quote from Kelley Patrick of Visionary Design Concepts to do the upgrade for $3,000.00. Grimm also provided the option of ha ving Kelly Phillips of the Extension office do the up grade with a website building tool called Squarespace. A fee of approximately $260 .00 is all we will have to pay. Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Liske , to approve the u pdate through the Extension office, w ith a not to exceed of $1 ,000.00 of the $2,500.00 budgeted for the website. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Punzel, seconded by Swiantek, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, October 10, 2023 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present : Diane Albrecht , Dave Lemke, Sue S wiantek, Lisa Carbaug h, Krist Pun zel, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: none. Other Attendees: Sue Emmerich, Billie Hartwig - Medford Chamber and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the August 8, 2023, meeting: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Parkfest 2023 grant request event summary: Billie Hartwig presented the event summary and receipts to the committee for Parkfest 2023. She stated it was well atte nded, up from 2022, with an e stimated 4500 people . She shared a portion of the clip of Ma d Dog and Merrill and their promotion of Taylor County. All in all, a great event. They were approved for $2,000.00 and provided receipts totaling $14,797.38. M otion by Swiantek, seconded by Lemke, to approve $2,000.00. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Brian Wilson was unable to attend so he prov ided Farrand with a written report which she read for the committee: • Fall/Winter recreation guides are printed and in the process of being distributed. • They did a preview story in August for the 100-mile race and provided coverage of the race held on the Ice Age Trail. • In September they help ed promote and provide coverage for Bucktoberfest in Perkinstown. • They did a preview story on Rice Bull Riding finals and provided coverage of the event. • They have been running the “Between the Lines” contest. The locations so far have been Sackett Lake, Mondeaux Recreation Area, Miller Dam and the Rusch Preserve near Rib Lake. • They will be working on the hunting section. • Poster of events is also in the works and will be produced quarterly. Chamber report: Hartwig provided an update on the Chamber’s tourism related activities: • Providing updates to the fall color reports. • Providing trail maps. • Emmerich shared with the committee the upcoming Service and Services event scheduled for next week at Lake 11 Brewery put on by the Chamber a nd the Medford Area Development Foundation. It is a chan ce to meet representatives from the local VFW post and Ame rican Legion to lear n about what they have to offer, including the medical items they loan out. There will also be several other businesses there to “meet, chat and ask questions of”. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices : Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $6,241.03. Motion b y Punzel, seconded by Liske, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Tourism website updates: There has been discussion about u pdating the tourism website. Liske brought in scre enshots of exa mples of things that are out of date and suggested other additions. Punzel provided Farrand w ith contact information for Kelley Pa trick of Visiona ry Design Concepts. Farrand stated that she will reach out to Kelley for information on fees for the updates. Hartwig and Grimm offered their assistance. Hoping to have updates to share at the next meeting. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Carbaugh, to adjourn . Motio n carried. Meeting adjourned at 11:33 a.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, August 8, 2023 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:03 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Dave Lemke, Sue S wiantek, Lisa Carbaugh, Ken Klahn, Krist Punzel, and Don Liske. Members absent: Michelle Grimm Other Attendees: Sue Emmerich, Billie Hartwig, Laura Ulrich and Vi Nelson - Medford Chamber, Jenn Hargot-Grass on the Black, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve th e Age nda: Motion b y Swiantek, seconded by Lemke, to approv e t he agenda . Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the June 13, 2023, meeting: Motion by Liske, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Grant request event summaries: Huey’s Hideaway-Billie Hartwig pr esented the event summary on behalf of Huey ’s Hideaway’s event at Freedom Fest. They were approved for $ 1,000.00 but only spent $564.00 on advertising, so they are eligible for 75% of that or $423.00. Motion by Klahn, seconded by Punzel, to approve 75% of marketing funds spent. Motion carried. Carbaugh arrived at 11:12 a.m. Grass on the Black- Jenn Hargot presented the event summary on behalf of Grass on the Black. The event was larger than the previous year. They primarily advertised with banners and posters distributed outside the area, each of the participating bands does their own marketing, and the Star News did a story of the event prior to the date. Th ey were approved for $2,000.00 and provided receipts totaling $3,648.58. M otion by Klahn, seconded by Swiantek , to approve $2,000.00. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated he did a story on Grass on the Black prior to the event, and it was also featured in other pap ers within a 75-mile radius. Wilson stated he is starting a new contest, Between the Lines scavenger hunt, from October to December as a fun and intera ctive feature. This will be no cost to the county and will be a fun way to highlight different areas of the county. There will also be a chance for people to win some Taylor County swag. Chamber report: Emmerich provided a l ist of all the e vents for the year that the Cha mber is involved with, emphasizing that they are throughout the county, not just in Medford . She also stated they have seen a big increase in members this year, mostly from home-based businesses. Parkfest is next week and will be bigger than ever with Keith Anderson and Mad Dog and Merrill as the entertainment. There are 22 vendors selling food as well as 20 other vendors. All vendors are Chamber members. There were questions regarding the sign at the fairgrounds and whether or not that was going to get fixed, and it is going to be referred to the Buildings and Grounds committee. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices : Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $6,108.11. Motion b y Liske, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Set 2024 Tourism budget : The committee discussed the new budget and decided to request an increase f rom $72,000.00 to $80,000.00 to cover the wages for the Chamber . They average about 165 hours per month at $16.00 per hour for a total on average of $2600.00 per month. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Lemke, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 12:23 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 13, 2023 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:03 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Dave Lemke, Sue S wiantek, Lisa Carbaugh, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Ken Klahn and Krist Punzel Other Attendees: Sue Emmerich, Billie Hartwig - Medford Chamber, Marilyn Frank and Jenn Hargot-Grass on the Black, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the April 11, 20 23, meeting: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Grant requests: Medford Area Chamber of Commerce-Parkfest 2023- August 17, 2023: Sue Emmerich and Billie Hartwig were present t o request $4,000.00 from the committee for advertising the event. Parkfest began in 2015 and attendance has been goi ng up since they started having bi gger artists the last 3 ye ars, thanks t o corporat e spo nsorship of the e vent, 2021 was over 3000 people and 2022 was over 4000. Parkfest 2023’s entertainment will be Keith Anderson as well as the syndicated cooking show Mad Dog and Merrill. Grass on the Black- July 7-9, 2023: Marilyn Frank and Jenn Hargot were pres ent to represent the Grass on the Black bluegrass festival and their re quest for $4,800.00 for advertising their event. This is a collaboration of local businesses; bars, restaurants and other businesses to bring bluegrass bands to the county for a weeken d festival. Last year was the first year and it drew over 1000 people in the 1 ½ days. This year it will start on Friday and run through Sunday and there are five additional venues added, so attendance is expected to increase. After the presentations by both g roups there was some discussion a mong the com mittee members about the remaining budget for grants. There was a motion by Carbaugh, sec onded by Swiantek, to give $2,000.00 to each event. Motion carried. Event summary for grant disbursement-Maple Fest- Dave Lemke: Dave Lemke provided a summary of Maple Fest. The most notable change this year was the venue. For the first time in ten years, they have been having Maple Fest , it was held indoors at the Simek Center, and they had great attendance. The event is a collabo ration of the five Lions Clu bs in the county and estimate the attendance was 3200 with 924 for breakfast alone . There was participation in the maple syrup contest from as far a way as New York. There was a motion by Liske, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the grant disbursement of $3,500.00. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated he will be doing profiles of all the bands participating in Grass on the Black, he has al so started Camper of the week a gain. There was disc ussion abo ut the event posters that were p ublished every other month and dis tributed thr oughout the county, advertising the upcoming events. Wilson stated they could do this again; it was stopped during covid. The cost would be $100.00 every othe r month. Motion b y Carbaugh, sec onded b y Swiantek to publish the p osters again. Motion carried. Wilson will start with the July/August events. Chamber report: Hartwig shared the latest tourism impact numbers for the sta te and noted that Taylor County tourism impact was $53,000,000.00 in 2022, up from $51,000,000.00 in 2019, pre-pandemic. The Chamber office has had an increase in the number of walk -ins and phone calls related to tourism. The Pine Line Marathon was a big success, although the weather didn’t cooperate. They had to make last-minute adjustments to the course but all went smoothly. In 2022 they had 150 runners and in 2023 they had over 200. Next will be Boots on T our, a bus trip with local business owners and others from the community, and this year they are traveling to Tay lor Falls/St. Croix Falls. It is a good opportunity to network and learn from another community and bring new ideas home to Taylor County. Finally, they are g earing up for Park Fest. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $6,804.65. Motion b y Liske, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Lemke, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 12:17 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 11, 2023 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Dave Lemke, Sue Swiantek, Lisa Carbaugh, Michelle Grimm, Krist Punzel and Don Liske. Members absent: Ken Klahn Other Attendees: Sue Emmerich, Billie Hartwig and Laura Ulrich - Medford Chamber, Dave and Christina Rice of Rice Rodeo, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Lemke, seconded by Punzel, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the February 14, 2023, meeting: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Grant request-Huey’s Hideaway- Monica Halopka: Halopka att ended via Z oom to discuss her request. She stated that this is to advertise Freedom Fest, the one-day family event held in the City park on July 4th. Th e eve nt itself is free , there is only a char ge for the food and beverages. Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Lemke, to approve the grant request from Huey’s Hideaway. Motion carried. Rice Rodeo: Dave and Christina Rice were present to provide an update on the rodeo grounds since they bought it and their planned events for 2023. They are bringing a two-day Pro Rodeo, two-day Pro bull riding and barrel racing tour finals as well as sev eral barrel racing and bucking bull competitions. They are expecting total attendance of 8000-12000 for these events. They requested $10,000.00 to use for a dvertising, and Albre cht explained that they w ill need to complete the tourism grant request form and send it in so it can be added to the June agenda. Farrand to send them the form. No action taken. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated the Spring/Summer recreation guides wi ll be out April 12 th and will highlight M ondeaux Dam Lodge, the upcoming 100-mile race a s well as the newer e vents. There will be a quilt show this wee kend and the Pine Line Marathon is the following weekend. Farrand asked about the eve nt posters th at they used to d istribute, Wilson s tated that was stopped during covid and he will check into bringing them back. Chamber report: Hartwig said the snowmobile trails and Perkinstown Winter Sports Area kept them busy all winter and now they’ve been sending out ATV maps. The Home Show was a huge success, and all booth space was occup ied. There were over 4000 p eople that attended the three-day event, which is up about 1000 over last year. The health fa ir was also a success with over 500 peo ple attending. They have 180 ru nners signed up for the Pine Line Marathon and the Park Fest reveal party will be April 27th at 11:00. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $10,977.88. Motion by Liske, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Review of the grant request forms: Klahn had asked for this to be added , but he was una ble to attend, so we will add it to the June agenda. No action taken. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Liske, seconded by Punzel, to adjourn . Motio n carried. M eeting adjourned at 11:46 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, February 14, 2023 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present : Diane Albrecht , Ken Klahn , Dave Lemke, Sue S wiantek, Lisa Carba ugh, Michelle Grimm, Krist Punzel, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: None Other Attendees: Sue Emmerich , Billie Hartwi g and Laura Ulrich - Medford Chamber, Sara Matyka- Perkinstown Winter Sports Area Manager, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the December 13, 2022, meeting: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Update on the Winter Sports Area-Sara Matyka: Sara provided an update to the committee since they provided the money necessary to sell apparel at the Winter Sports Area. This sea son they have had over 3900 guests and sold $2,800.00 in app arel. She said i t has been very well received. Updates from Mike Beebe of POV media: Beebe shared the full 14-minute video with the committee. I t is not finished yet and t here were some comm ents that it needed more on canoeing, kayaking and ATVs/UTVs. Beebe agreed and said he has some segments to shoot yet. Overall the video is very well done. Beebe then introduced Rod of Mad Dog and Merrill Grillin ‘ via Zoom. They are a cooking show that travels the country promoting tourism. They are a 30- minute, syndicated show that airs on several local channels and will come to Medford to shoot a show if we are interested. We would provide them with bullet points of what to fe ature. Costs are $5,000.00 plu s expenses for a weekday shoot, or $7,000.0 0 plus expenses for a weekend shoot. Expenses include $2 .00/mile from DePere. We pick the date and location and can partner with a business. No action was taken. Booth at the Home S how?- March 24-26: Committee agrees to have a booth at the Home Show. Farrand will send out a schedule and ask for all to take a shift working it. Beebe will have the video available if we can get a TV for the booth. Taylormadeatv.com has made a c hange to th eir website: Liske shared the updated website and video that was provided to the m from Travel Wisconsin. They provide links to trail maps, trail conditions and alerts, and DNR information. Grant request-Maplefest: Klah n is representing Maplefest and their request for $3500.00 for this year ’s eve nt. Motion by Punzel, sec onded by Sw iantek, to a pprove t he gr ant req uest. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated he has been covering lots of fishing tournaments and the upcoming Women’s Weekend . He asked the committee if they want to take an a d out i n the Spring/Summer Visitor Guide. We usually take out a premium ad on the inside back cover and the price this year is $560.00. A full-page color page would be $495.00. The ad for the Fingertip guide was also discussed, we typically have run an ad for the Winter Sports Area. A double business c ard size ad is $230.00. Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Lemk e, to go with the premium ad in the Spring/Summer Visitor Guide for $560.00 and the double ad in the Finge rtip guide. Motion carried. Chamber report: Hartwig said they’ve been doing a lot of trail updates, mailing visitor guides and getting ready for Women’s Weekend which is sold out. The Home Show is March 24-26 at the Si mek Center. The Chamber is also working with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and they will be holding a spring round table here in Medford on March 2nd 9:00-1:00 at Lake 11 Brewing. All are welcome. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $20,000.00 for the Tourism grant to the Chamber, and $10,811.38 for the balance of i nvoices. Motion by Klahn, seconded by Liske, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Lisa Carbaugh left at 12:26. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 11th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Liske, seconded by Punzel, to adjourn . Motio n carried. M eeting adjourned at 12:28 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk