Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
Board of Directors
January 26, 2022
The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB Board of Directors met Wednesday, January 26, 2022. Chair-Elect Cynthia Carson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. She welcomed all new directors to the board. Tom Healey provided the opening prayer.
Review of Minutes – Cassie Cunningham moved to approve the minutes of the December 15, 2021 meeting as presented. Pam Yancey seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
Financial Report – Treasurer Yancey reviewed the current financials of the organization. Phil Cox moved to approve financial report as presented. Sam Voisin seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
2022 Proposed Budget – President/CEO Jason Outman reported the PPP loans had been forgiven. He reviewed the proposed budget. Wendy White moved to approve the 2022 proposed budget as presented. Scott Bailes seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
Ex-Officio Reports – City of Branson, Stan Dobbins – Administrator Dobbins reviewed the city neighborhood water main improvements/street improvements project list, which is planned through 2031. He thanked all for helping with the successful renewal of the tourism tax. 2021 was a record year for city sales tax and tourism tax. He applauds the BLACC/CVB for their marketing efforts and the business community for keeping it going.
Tourism Community Enhancement District Board, Derek Smith – Chair Smith reported it is a record year for the TCED as well, but the final numbers won’t be in until February. He reminded all the TCED Board added $1.75 million during 2021 for additional marketing to continue the momentum. Smith is excited and cautiously optimistic for 2022.
City of Hollister – Rick Ziegenfuss – Administrator Ziegenfuss recognized the Taney County Partnership for a successful Workforce Summit this week. There are exciting things on the horizon that will make a difference in the community. Hollister’s budget year begins April 1. City staff salaries will be increased to be comparable to same size cities in Missouri.
Kanakuk/Link Academy Opportunity – John Jensen and Adam Donyes provided history and update of Kanakuk Ministries. Donyes provided an overview of Link Academy and talked about the elite athletes who attend the gap year academy.
The academy is expanding. Renderings of the new construction was shown in the meeting. They’re conducting an assessment to help determine what sport(s) fit best. The project is estimated at $40 million.
Membership Update – Janet Minor reviewed the report included in the packet. We ended the year with 751 members. Pam Yancey moved to approve the drop list as presented. Cassie Cunningham seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
Legislative Priorities – Public Affairs Committee Chair Cassie Cunningham explained the process we went through to develop the proposed priorities. Updates will be provided monthly to the committee and the board as session moves forward. Cunningham moved to approve the 2022 state legislative priorities as presented. Phil Cox seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
There was discussion regarding the recent release from the Mansion and proposed state legislation that could benefit the project as well as attract others to the state. Sam Voisin talked about the success Louisiana has seen since they implemented this kind of incentive. The economic return to communities and the state can be tremendous.
Legislative Update – Monica Evinger reviewed the congressional map passed by the House of Representatives. The map, in its current form, would split Taney County into two congressional districts. The eastern half would be in District 8 while the western half would remain in District 7. It is now in the Senate for their consideration.
The new Missouri House of Representatives map has some districts shifting, too. Monica talked about how that affects local districts. The court has the Missouri Senate map.
Chairperson’s Report – Chair-Elect Cynthia Carson congratulated Jason on his first year leading the organization. She thanked him and the staff team for all their hard work. Carson talked about the importance of connections, intentionality and working together. She thanked ex-officio members Stan Dobbins, Derek Smith and Rick Ziegenfuss for being involved with the board and organization.
President/CEO Report – Jason Outman reported the senior leadership team met the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce recently to learn more about their organization. They have been awarded chamber of the year five times in the last 20 years and have built strong regionalism that we hope to do here, too.
Updated research was posted on BransonChamber.com recently. A big change was to the average adult age, which is now 45.
Destination Master Plan – Focus groups and the DNEXT Survey are complete. The next step is to send out the resident survey.
Branson is #3 on Trip Advisor’s “Top 10 Trending Destinations in the USA”. It was picked up by Forbes and reposted with a 69 million reach. It looks like the PR ad equivalency will end 2021 with a 50-1 ROI!
This meeting of the BLACC/CVB Board of Directors adjourned at 10:10 a.m.
Present: Scott Bailes, Randy Brashers, Cynthia Carson, Mike Combs, Cy Cooper, Bryan Cossiboom, Phil Cox, Steve Crtichfield, Cassie Cunningham, Jon Davidson, Robert Griffith, Tom Healey Tammy Johnson, Mary Kellogg, Raj Patel, Mike Patrick, Sam Voisin, Wendy White, Lynne Yaggy, Pam Yancey.
Absent: Joe Loth and Steve Scherer
Ex-Officio Members Present: Stan Dobbins, Derek Smith, Rick Ziegenfuss