Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB
Board of Directors Meeting
June 26, 2024
The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Chair-Elect Mike Patrick called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Steve Critchfield provided the opening prayer.
Lakes Area Leadership Academy – Grant Sloan spoke briefly about the leadership academy, who attended the meeting as part of their curriculum.
Review of Minutes – Cynthia Carson made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 22, 2024 board of directors meeting as presented. Joe Loth seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
Financial Report – Treasurer Pat Cox explained the responsibilities of the Finance Oversight Committee and briefly reviewed the financial report. Bay Mourer moved to approve the report as presented. Cassie Cunningham seconded the motion. All approved. Motion carried.
Sports Facility Strategy – Jonas Arjes provided a brief history regarding sports facility needs in the area. He shared highlights of what stakeholders learned from meeting with representatives of the Rock Top facility in Gatlinburg and a trip to Homefield Kansas City. Indoor facilities can help the community expand to a 12-month economy as well as increase visitation and return visits for vacation. Arjes noted Homefield Kansas City was booked for the entire year a week prior to opening. We ran a conservative estimated economic impact of this type of facility based on 50 weekends (Thursday-Sunday) a year, which shows a $60 million impact to the community.
Taney County Partnership’s Executive Committee voted to recommend to their full board to allow staff to select a company for a feasibility study for all facilities, not just indoor.
Ex-Officio Reports – City of Branson – City Administrator Cathy Stepp shared the Board of Aldermen passed the bonding authority for the new police station. The projected finish date is December 2025. An economic development package, which consists of $330,000 reimbursement for extraordinary site cost for Social Birdy, passed on the first read.
Tourism Community Enhancement District – District Board Chair Dennis Wood spoke briefly and deferred to Executive Director Kirk Elmquist who reported April numbers are up over last year. Yearto-date collections are 6.9% up over 2023 YTD. He noted that district board members, Rob Johns and Cindy Merry, terms expire soon.
City of Hollister – City Administrator Rick Ziegenfuss reported the last open store front on Downing Street has been purchased and is in the process of being filled. Hollister added 20 parking spaces to downtown by leasing space at the open lot by the U.S. Post Office. The Tall Timbers development has begun phase two. Ziegenfuss also talked about the public/private partnership they’re trying out to add 34 single family homes called Downing View.
Membership Update – Janet Minor reviewed the report included in the meeting packet. Brad Thomas moved to approve the report as presented. Pat Cox seconded. All approved. Motion carried.
Chairperson’s Report – Chair-Elect Mike Patrick shared information Chair Griffith provided at the Executive Committee meeting regarding the recent four-day event, Jeep Branson 2024. This was a grass roots effort that could grow even larger in the future. Three thousand tickets were sold. The folks that put it on made their investment back and contributed the rest to charity. There was discussion of how we can foster and encourage the continuation of this event and others like it.
President/CEO Report – President/CEO Pam Yancey reported she welcomed two leadership groups to Branson in recent weeks. Attendees were impressed with our community.
Hilary Cleaver was introduced as the new Membership and Community Relations Manager.
A few positions have been filled recently. New staff members will be introduced at a future board meeting.
New Business – A groundbreaking ceremony will be held this week for the new Element by Westin. The hotel is going up near Ballparks of America and White Water. Paul Satterwhite reported Ballparks will continue to work with existing lodging partners as well as this new property, which is being built by Bryan Properties.
This meeting of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB Board of Directors adjourned at 9:25 a.m.
Present: Cynthia Carson, Mike Combs, Pat Cox, Steve Critchfield, Cassie Cunningham, Katie Hodges, Marshall Howden, Joe Loth, Bay Mourer, Mike Patrick, Paul Satterwhite, Steve Scherer, Brad Thomas and Wendy White
Absent: Bryan Cossiboom, Cole Currier, Rob Griffith, Tom Healey, John Parker and Scott Skoglund
Ex-Officio Members Present – Cathy Stepp – City of Branson, Rick Ziegenfuss – City of Hollister, Kirk Elmquist and Dennis Wood – Tourism Community Enhancement District.