Tourism

TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, December 13, 2022 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:01 a.m. Members Present : Diane Albrecht , Ken Klahn , Dave Lemke, Sue S wiantek, Lisa Carbaug h, Michelle Grimm, Krist Punzel, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: None Other Attendees: Billie Hartwig and Laura Ulrich - Medford Chamber, Sara Matyka- Perkinstown Winter Sports Area Manager, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Klahn, seconded by Lemke, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the October 11, 2022, meeting: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Update from the new Manager of the Winter Sports Area -Sara Matyka: Sara introduced herself to the committee and shared her ideas to sell apparel at the hil l as the committee ha d talked about doing a few years ago. She shared a samp le of the logo she plans to have on a sweatshirt and long sl eeve t -shirt as well as a knit hat and coffee mug. She was asking for $1,000.00 seed money to get started and will plan to replen ish as she sells items. Mot ion by Swiantek, seconded by Carbaugh , to approve the $1,000.00 seed money for apparel at the hill. Motion carried. Review of grant request form and instr uctions: Klahn shared his u pdates to the request form, instructions and event summary. After reviewing there were a few s uggested changes. Farrand to make the changes for final review at the February meeting. Updates from Mike Beebe of POV media: Beebe was unable to attend the meeting , but he provided a spreadsheet o f the “Event, Shoot and Edit Schedule Break down” for the committee, as well as the upcoming events. He plans to send the “year in review” video once complete and attend the February Tourism Committee meeting. Reports: Star New s: Wilson stated they have been cov ering a lot of hunting events, Lighting o f the Lights, Christmas P arty in Gilman Park and collecting snow photos. He wants to discuss advertising for the Winter Sports Area but w ill attend the Buildings and Grounds meeting on Monday. Chamber report: Hartwig introduced Laura Ulrich, an addition to the Chamber staff, who will be working with the Tourism Committee. She also stated they have been busy with fall color reports, trail conditions and sending Winter Visitor guides . They have revamped the Tourism website and are keeping it up to date, there have been a lot of craft fairs, the Holiday Munch and Punch cards featuring 39 Taylor Co unty restaurants are out, and the lig hting of the lights and winter fireworks. Hartwig asked that the co mmittee send letters of support for their Bandshell and Whelen Park projects. Farrand will send the letters to Hartwig by the end of the month. Hartwig asked if we were going to upgrade the sign at the corners of Hwy 13 & 64 , Albrecht asked that this be added to the Buildings and Grounds agenda. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand, totaling $7,520.88. Motion b y Liske, seconded by Klahn, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 14th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Liske, seconded by Swiantek, to adjourn . Motio n carried. M eeting adjourned at 11:51 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, October 11, 2022 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, Lisa Carbaugh, Ken Klahn, Krist Punzel, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Dave Lemke Other Attendees: Billie Hartwig - Medford Chamber, Jake Walcisak and Jordan Lutz-Forestry, 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 August 9, 20 22, meeting: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Review of grant request form and instructions: Klahn stated that the State doesn’t approve the gr ants they provide until the follow up is done and only matches a certain percentage . Klahn suggested a simple form is created for the follow up. Further discussion about ensuring we cover onl y the advertising costs or a portion thereof. Motion by Liske, seconded by Swiantek, to review and revise the form and i nstructions. Motion carried. Grimm and Klahn to work on the updates. County employee positions: Liske stated that it was brought up at the budget review meetings to reduce the Forestry staff by one and he felt it was important to understand all that is done for Tourism. Jake Walcisak -Forestry Adm inistrator and Jordan Lutz -Assistant Adm inistrator were present, Walcisak presented his letter to the committee and asked for their support. No action taken. Feedback on Midwest States 100 race : Grimm met with Michelle Hartwig of Or nery Mule racing the day of the r ace and discussed par king. They a greed they coul d have parking in a nearby field and shuttle the rac ers. The weather was bad the day of the race and caused the worst possible conditions, but the runners apparently loved it. 85 out of 100 racers comp leted the race and there is good potential for us to host it again next year. Reports: Star New s: Wilson shared the new Fall/Winter Recreation G uides that are currently being distributed. The cover is no longer glossy paper in order to save on cost . Mondeaux Lodge is already asking for more copies. He told the committee that the Kiwanis event, Bucktoberfest exceeded all expectations and drew a lot of people from Clark County. They had 35 UTV’s and ATV’s in the poker run. Chamber report: Hartwig stated they are working on the colors and leaves reports. There was a Tourism float in the Ice Age parade and will be one in the Harvest Day parade. The new Gift Shop is opening in Gilman and will have tourism information on display there. Public input/correspondence: None. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand , totaling $7,404.24. Motion b y Liske, seconded by Punzel, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Klahn, to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 12:11 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, August 9, 2022 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:05 a.m. Members Present : Diane Albrecht , Lisa Carbaugh, Ken Klahn, Krist Punzel , Dave Lemke, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Sue Swiantek (due to Farrand not including her on the email for the meeting) and Kayla Ahles. Other Attendees: Billie Hartwig and Sue Emmerich - Medford Chamber, Mike Beebe-Point of View Multimedia, , Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Klahn motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the June 14, 2022, meeting: Punzel motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Update on promotional video-Mike Beebe of Point of View Multimedia: Mike Beebe shared a 90 second video o f what he has completed so far. He also shared some of the taglines and asked for feedback. The committee preferred, Come Live, Come Work, C ome Play …Taylor County. He will add the graphics and ta g lines to the video then send so we can start adding it to social media and the website. He will continue to take photos as events occur throughout the rest of the year. Tourism Grant requests: Medford Kiwanis Club -Bucktober Fest: Brian Wilson spoke on behalf of the Kiwanis and their request. The event is September 16-18 at the P-Town Saloon. The event celebrates fall and the start of bow season with music, food and a UTV poker run. Motion by Lemke, seconded by Klahn to approve the $1500.00 requested. Motion carried. Update on Orne ry Mule Racing: Grimm provided the committee with an update. There are currently 90 participa nts with most from the Midwest. Michele Hartwig of Ornery Mule stated they are keeping the race small since the pa rking wasn’t approved as she wanted it. They will see how this year goes and see if they can increase participation to make it viable for future years. Grimm will work with them on the parking. Budget review: Sue Emmerich provided the committee with information on the money that goes to the Chamber and what it covers . The $20,000.00 Tourism C ouncil Grant is for the Chamber Office to run the “Tourism Office ”. They field call s, send packets of information as requested, answer emai ls and help the visitors that walk in. The monthly invoice we see for temp wages is for the events that they are developing and running throughout the county, for example, Parkfest, Gilman Farmers Market, Pine Line Marathon, Moos and Cruise to name a few. These hours are directly tie d to the many events and they are only charging the Tourism Committee $12.00 per hour. The committee reviewe d the budget w orksheet and made suggestions for areas to increase. Tourism is sch eduled for budget review with Finance and Personnel at 11:00 a.m., September 15th, all are welcom e to attend . Motion by Lemke, se conded by Carbaug h, to approve the proposed budget at $60,000.00. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated the Star News has been taking pictures of the recent events including Grass on the Black. He also stated they provided the Fai r with pictures from over the years for their new website. He advised the committee that the Fall/Winter Visitor Guide will be coming out October 6 th with 10,000 copies distributed. They were able to secu re the glossy paper and the cost for the premium ad inside the back cover will be $550.00. Motion by Lemke, seconded by Carbaugh to approve the same Perkinstown Winter S ports ad we ran in last year’s guide. Motion carried. Chamber report : Hartwig shared one of the VIP chairs from Parkfest and showed that the Tourism logo is included with the other sponsors. She also shared a sur vey she recently participated in wi th WEDC (Wisconsin Econo mic Development Corporation) showing that both in-state and out-of-state residents view Wisconsin as a good place to do business, raise a family and enjoy a high quality of life. Public input/correspondence: Farrand shared the thank you notes from the Director of Huey’s Hideaway as well as some children for the recent grant request. Punzel shared that Ice Age Days in Rib Lake would go on as planned August 12-14. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand , totaling $7,573.10. Motion b y Carbaugh, seconded by Punzel, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Klahn asked that we review the Grant Request Form and instructions so that we start gett ing more feedback from the grant recipients as to how the money they receive is spent. Farrand will add to the October agenda. Adjournment: Motion by Punzel, seconded by Liske, to adjourn . Motio n carrie d. M eeting adjourned at 12:33 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 14, 2022 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:05 a.m. Members Present : Diane Albrecht , Lisa Carbaugh, Ken Klahn, Krist Punzel , Dave Lemke, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Sue Swiantek (due to Farrand not including her on the email for the meeting) and Kayla Ahles. Other Attendees: Billie Hartwig and Sue Emmerich - Medford Chamber, Mike Beebe-Point of View Multimedia, , Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Klahn motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the April 12, 2022, meeting: Punzel motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Update on promoti onal video-Mike Beebe of Point of View Multimedia : Mike Beebe shared a 90 second video of what he has completed so far. He also shared some of the taglines and asked for feedback. The committee preferred, Come Live, Come Work , Come Play…Taylor County. He will add the graphics and ta g lines to the video then send so we can start adding it to social media and the website. He will continue to take photos as events occur throughout the rest of the year. Tourism Grant requests: Medford Kiwanis Club-Bucktober Fest: Brian Wilson spoke on behalf of the Kiwanis and their request. The event is September 16-18 at the P-Town Saloon. The event celebrates fall and the start of bow season with music, food and a UTV poker run. Motion b y Lemke, seconded by Klahn to approve the $1500.00 requested. Motion carried. Update on Orne ry Mule Racing: Grimm provided the committee with an update. There are currently 90 participa nts with most from the Midwest. Michele Hartwig of Ornery Mule stated they are keeping the race small since the pa rking wasn’t approved as she wanted it. They will see how this year goes and see if they can increase participation to make it viable for future years. Grimm will work with them on the parking. Budget review: Sue Emmerich provided the committee with information on the money that goes to the Chamber and what it covers . The $20,000.00 Tourism C ouncil Grant is for the Chamber Office to run the “Tourism Office ”. They field call s, send packets of information as requested, answer emai ls and help the visitors that walk in. The monthly invoice we see for temp wages is for the events that they are developing and running throughout the county, for example, Parkfest, Gilman Farmers Market, Pine Line Marathon, Moos and Cruise to name a few. These hours are directly tie d to the many events and they are only charging the Tourism Committee $12.00 per hour. The committee reviewe d the budget w orksheet and made suggestions for areas to increase. Tourism is sch eduled for budget review with Finance and Personnel at 11:00 a.m., September 15th, all are welcom e to attend . Motion by Lemke, se conded by Carbaug h, to approve the proposed budget at $60,000.00. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated the Star News has been taking pictures of the recent events including Grass on the Black. He also stated they provided the Fai r with pictures from over the years for their new website. He advised the committee that the Fall/Winter Visitor Guide will be coming out October 6th with 10,000 copies distributed. They were able to secu re the glossy paper and the cost for the premium ad inside the back cover will be $550.00. Motion by Lemke, seconded by Carbaugh to approve the same Perkinstown Winter S ports ad we ran in last year’s guide. Motion carried. Chamber report : Hartwig shared one of the VIP chairs from Parkfest and showed that the Toursim logo is included with the other sponsors. She also shared a sur vey she recently participated in wi th WEDC (Wisconsin Econo mic Development Corporation) showing that both in-state and out-of-state residents view Wisconsin as a good place to do business, raise a family and enjoy a high quality of life. Public input/correspondence: Farrand shared the thank you notes from the Director of Huey’s Hideaway as well as some children for the recent grant request. Punzel shared that Ice Age Days in Rib Lake would go on as planned August 12-14. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand , totaling $7,573.10. Motion b y Carbaugh, seconded by Punzel, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Klahn asked that we review the Grant Request Form and instructions so that we start gett ing more feedback from the grant recipients as to how the money they receive is spent. Farrand will add to the October agenda. Adjournment: Motion by Punzel, seconded by Liske, to adjourn . Motio n carrie d. M eeting adjourned at 12:33 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 12, 2022 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Gene Knoll, Chair, was absent and appointed Diane Albrecht to run the meeting. Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Ken Klahn, Krist Punzel , Dave Lemke, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Gene Knoll and Earl Hinkel. Other Attendees: Billie Hartwig, Sue Emmerich and Kayla Ahles - Medford Chamber, Mike Beebe-Point of View Mult imedia, Debbie Rabska - K Bar R Arena , Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Klahn motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the February 8, 20 22, meeting: Punzel motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Tourism Grant requests: It was requested that Parkfest be first on the agenda. Parkfest: Sue Emmerich was present to address the committee. She stated that the last Parkfest was a huge success fo r all and this year they are “next tier” Country performer with 2- #1 hits. This is a big event for the resta urants as well as there will be Food Alley again. Last year, all food vendors sold out of their food. There were over 3000 pe ople in attendance from all over the area . This performer will cost $20,000.00 and they will spend about $6 ,000.00 in advertising and they are requesting $ 4,000.00 for the advertising costs. Motion by Lemke, seconded by Punzel, to approve the $4,000.00 request. Motion carried. K Bar R Arena: Debbie Rabska was present to address the co mmittee. They are requesting $6,000.00 for advertising for their Horns and Hooves Challenge. It is the only rodeo event in Taylor County and they are bringing in entertainers to draw crowds. In 2020 the y had 1500 spectators and in 2021 they had 1800 and they are expect ing over 2000 thi s year. They advertise locall y as well as throu ghout the state and bring in people from as far a way as California and Massachusetts. Motion by Lemke, seconded by Albrecht to approve $4,000.00 for advertising their event. Motion carried. Update on Ornery Mule Racing: Grimm provided an update and said they will be coming to the area to do some finalizing of the event. There are currently 72 registered for the race. They are still working on the permit with the Forest Service. Update on grant applications: Ahles stated the Joint Effort Marketing Grant will nee d some information from the committee. The deadline is August 1 st and it is a reimbursement g rant with a $10,000.00 maximum. Additional Advertising opportunities: Ahles presented a few more marketing opportunities that she’s been made awa re of to the committee. Klahn stated he likes adver tising for specific events more than running general ads. No action taken. Point of View Multimedia-Tourism video: Mike Beebe was present to discuss the creation of a marketing video. He played a two-minute demo video for the committee. Taylor County will own the video, all raw footage and the finished prod uct. The cost of everything wi ll be $18,000.00, billed at $1500.00 per month for 12 months. After some discussion, Klahn made a motion, seconded by Punzel to spend $1500.00 per month and get start ed with the video right away. Motion carried. Resolution requesting declaration of the second Saturday in May as World Migratory Bird Day: Motion by Liske, seconded by Lemke to approve and send to County Board for adoption. Motion carried. Reports: Star News: Wilson stated that they are currently working on getting the 2022 Spring/Summer visitor guides out. They will be sent out in Taylor, Marathon, Clark and Chippewa counties next week. Chamber report: Ahles reported the upcoming events are, Pine Line Marathon on April 30 th with 120 signed up al ready, Parkfest Reveal party April 14 th, MACC golf outing June 10 th, and Parkfest August 18th. She also highlighted the past events; Women’s Weekend February 25th & 26th was a huge success with mor e than 250 women participating and the H ome and Business Expo, March 25th – 27th with about 4,000 people attending. Public input/correspondence: none. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand , totaling $6,811.00. Motion b y Liske, seconded by Klahn, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor County Board Room. Adjournment: Motion by Punzel, seconded by Lemke, to adjourn . Motio n carrie d. M eeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk TOURISM COMMITTEE Tuesday, February 8, 2022 County Board Room-Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Gene Knoll, Chair, was absent and appointed Diane Albrecht to run the meeting. Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Ken Klahn, Krist Punzel , Dave Lemke, Michelle Grimm and Don Liske. Members absent: Gene Knoll and Earl Hinkel. Other Attendees: Kayla Ahles and Vi Nelson - Medford Chamber, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Liske motioned, seconded by Punzel, to approve t he agenda. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the December 14, 2021 meeting: Punzel motioned, seconded by Lemke, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Tourism Grant requests: Chequamegon Bird Club: Joe Scott was p resent from the Bird Club . He said the club meets all the requirements of the Bird C ity Wisconsin Association which then gives us the Bir d County recognition. The club is asking for reimbursem ent of the $175.00 application fee, up from $125.00 in past years. There was some discussion as to how th is helps tourism . Joe explained that the assoc iation’s website lists all municipalities and counties that are Bird Cities and Bird Counties as well as points of interest. It was also discussed that we will add the link to this site on ou r Tourism website and Taylor County website . Punzel motioned, seconded by Liske t o appr ove t he grant request o f $175.00 to c over the club ’s application fee. Motion carried. Update on Ornery Mule Racing: Grimm provided an update and said they’re still planning the event for August 27th. They are currently waiting on federal Covid guidelines. Update on applyin g for grants: Ahles stated the committee did n ot receive the Tourism capital grant. They will now be applying for the Joint Effort Marketing grant. Star News Fingertip guide ad for Winter Sports Area: Farrand stated that the fingertip guide was being published again this year, but after the WSA is closed fo r the sea son. The committee thought it may be better to highlight other ou tdoor ac tivities, so Liske mot ioned, seconded by Lemke to run the ad for $225.00 and Wilson will create the ad and send a proof for the committee’s approval. Motion carried. Reports: Star News : Wilson s tated that they a re currently workin g on the Spring/Summer Recreation Guide, and it will be out in April , featuring events that run April thru October. Last year our ad space was the inside back cover, and the cost was $460.00. This year, the same ad space will be $475.00-$500.00. Lemke motioned, seconded by Klahn, to run the ad again on the inside back cover. Motion carried. Wilson also asked for photos from snowmobile events if anyone has any. It was suggested that we post on the Chamber and Tourism pages asking snowmobilers to send photos, Ahles to post. Chamber report: Ahles reported a very suc cessful Munch and Punch event. There were 29 restaurants that participat ed and an estimated $10,000.00 was spent at the rest aurants dur ing the promotion. Caught You Shopping Locally was also a big success. One of the people “caught” was actually here shopping from Wausau because she loves our gift shops. There was a 9 -pin t ournament with 21 teams participating . All money raised going towards Parkfest. Upcoming ev ents include Women’s Weekend, February 25 -26. They are just a few women short of the goal of 250 women registered. The Home and Business Expo will be held at th e Simek Center the weeken d of March 25-27 and we were as ked if Tourism would li ke to have a booth. The $275.00 fee would be waived and we will be next to the Chamber booth. The committee thought the booth would be a good idea. Farrand will c omplete the registration form; Grimm will coordinate the materials and Farrand will also reach out to the committee for times they want to man the booth. Finally, the Pine Line Marathon will be held April 30th. Public input/correspondence: Farrand read a thank you card from Monica Halopka of Huey’s Hideaway, thanking the committee for their tourism grant money. Approve the invoices: Invoices were presented by Farrand , totaling $6,309.60. Motion b y Klahn, seconded by Liske, to approve the invoices as presented. Motion carried. Next Committee Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12th at 11:00 a.m. in the third floor Jury Room. Adjournment: Klahn motioned to adjourn, se conded by Punzel. Motio n carrie d. M eeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk