Dear South Texas Friends,
Here's the latest news about the Texas Tropical Trail Region (TTTR) heritage tourism program including a schedule of future meetings.
October 20 Board Orientation/Strategic Planning Session/Meeting Summary
The Board of Directors of the Texas Tropical Trail Region (TTTR) of the Texas Heritage Trails Program met on Tuesday, October 20, 2009, at the Holiday Inn Express at South Padre Island (Cameron County), Texas.
These 20 counties cover over 23,000 square miles and have over 1.7 million residents.
Board Accountability
On October 19, a 90-minute board member orientation and board accountability session, conducted by Rick Stryker and Sue Shore, was held.
Strategic Planning Session
On October 20, prior to the business meeting, a six-hour Strategic Planning Session was held, facilitated by a member of the Texas Historical Commission, to develop a Work Plan Summary for FY 2010.
The organization’s Scope of Work was developed in advance of this session and submitted to the Texas Historical Commission as part of its Contract for Services in the coming year.
Discussion focused on this plan and the level of board involvement according to specific strategies outlined therein. Some revisions were made to the Scope of Work and reflected in the Work Plan Summary.
The three task forces developed last year as an organizational tool also were reviewed and revised to more effectively align with the Scope of Work and board duties.
Business Meeting
Meeting Called to Order – At 2:50 pm on October 20, Chairman Rick Stryker called the 50th meeting of the Texas Tropical Trail Region to order.
Approval of Minutes – Bart Wales made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 15 Laredo meeting. Lili DeRousie seconded the motion. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Review & Approval of September 2009 Financial Reports – The Income & Expense Statement for September 2009 was presented for review and approval. There was income of $18,783.50 and expenses of $6,589.79, resulting in net income of $12,193.71.
The Balance Sheet dated September 30, 2009 showed assets of $14,989.20 in the Freer Brush Country Bank pledge fund account, $56,534.97 in the Kleberg Bank grant/operating fund account and the Petty Cash Fund of $100. Total TTTR assets amounted to $71,624.17 on September 30, 2009.
A listing of nine checks totaling $972.66 was presented to the board for review. These checks included expense reimbursement for Nancy Deviney and Lane Hollingsworth, office and storage facility rent, telephone and internet provider service, bookkeeping services and Texas Association of Museum dues.
Bart Wales made a motion to approve the September financial reports. Azalia Perez seconded the motion; the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Approve FY 2009-2010 Budget - A budget projecting $82,500 in income and expenses was presented for review and approval. Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) of this income is the annual grant money received from the Texas Historical Commission. An additional $7,500 in income was projected as partnership pledge income.
After a brief discussion, Rick Stryker recommended that the budget be increased to $85,000 to reflect an increase of $2,500 as projected partnership pledge income. The additional $2,500 in income will be added to the Marketing Expenses, specifically increasing the Online Advertising/Promotion expenses from $1,000 to $3,500.
Toni Nagel made a motion to accept the amended budget of $85,000. Bart Wales seconded the motion; the motion passed with a unanimous vote. A revised budget form showing the amended $85,000 budget will be distributed to all board members, to THC and to the TTTR bookkeeper.
Regional Coordinator’s Report - Texas Tropical Trail Regional Coordinator Lane Hollingsworth told us about his Regional involvement since the previous meeting including attending the Texas Travel Industry Association (TTIA) Annual Summit Meeting in Arlington, the Texas Coastal Bend Regional Tourism Council (TCBRTC) meeting at the High Lonesome Ranch in McMullen County and the State Fair in Dallas.
Lane's future plans include attending the TTIA Regional Tourism Workshop in Rockport and the TCBRTC meeting in Cuero.
Lane’s special projects include planning future meetings in Oakville in January, in McAllen in December and Padre Island National Seashore in November. He is also working on a potential Hospitality Workshop in the Valley area.
Lane reported that he has also sent out 340 fulfillment (response) letters this month as a result of the TTTR ads run in Texas Monthly magazine. A total of 793 fulfillment letters have been out since the original ad ran in April. He has also been updating the Events Calendar on the web site and used Facebook and Twitter pages to direct traffic to the TTTR web site.
Heritage Trails Statewide Meeting in Austin – Rick Stryker reported that he and Lane would be attending the Heritage Trails meeting in Austin December 9 & 10.
Marketing Committee Report – Bart Wales made a motion and Nancy Deviney seconded the motion to approve TTTR participation in the African-Americans in Texas brochure launch. The motion passed.
Marketing Committee Chair Valerie Bates reported that plans have been confirmed with Texas Monthly to run 6 ads in 2010 at a total cost of approximately $12,000.
Valerie also distributed the new TTTR rack cards and postcards featuring each of the Region’s four Byways – Gulf Coast, Brush Country, Wild Horse Desert and Border. The order includes 10,000 of each Byway (40,000 total) and 20,000 postcards (incorporating all four Byways) for a total cost of approximately $2,200.
Four pull-up banners are also on order, one representing each Byway, at a cost of approximately $165 each plus shipping. These banners measure 24 inches x 90 inches.
Outreach/Partner Services – After a brief discussion, tentative plans are in the works to hold a Hospitality Workshop in South Padre Island in the very near future. More information will be available at the November meeting.
Historic Resources - Those present were reminded about the TTIA workshop “ Innovative Tools and Strategies to Help Texas Communities Build and Sustain Local Tourism Success” that will be held in Rockport on November 4 and the April 2010 “Knowing What You Have: An Introduction to Collection Policies & Documenting Museum Collections workshop to be presented by the THC Museum Services Department.
Partnership Pledge Report – Since the September meeting, one check has been received from the San Patricio County Historical Commission totaling $100. We very much appreciate this generous donation. This is the first partner contribution received in this new fiscal year.
Nancy Deviney
Board Secretary, Texas Tropical Trail Region