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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMiinutes Marketing Committee 09/16/0603 PALM DESERT PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, September 19, 2006 — 2:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Chairwoman Bowen called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Norine Bowen, Chair Rick Darius Emily Bird-Hrivnak Ric Mandelbaum Sara O'Flynn Staff/Others Present: Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Richard Kelly, Mayor Pro Tempore Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager Kristy Kneiding, Marketing Manager Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager Piper Close, Full Gallop Marketing Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR Members Absent: Ray Rodriguez Michael Shimer, Vice -Chair A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JUNE 27, 2006 Mr. Mandelbaum moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the minutes of the June 27, 2006, meeting. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried 5-0. V. NEW BUSINESS A. CALIFORNIA WELCOME CENTER Ms. Kneiding gave a brief presentation on this item. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 Ms. Gilligan stated that the City of Banning was requesting verbal support from the City. She said the County of Riverside and the State of California gave monetary support to the City of Banning. The consensus of the Committee was that Banning would be the preferable location for a new California Welcome Center. Mr. Mandelbaum moved to support the California Welcome Center being located in Banning. Motion was seconded by Mr. Darius and carried 5-0. B. BOB HOPE CLASSIC JOHN FOSTER, president of the Classic Board, said there is a new emphasis on the Classic with the addition of George Lopez bringing more star power to the event. He said it has been difficult to get out and get people excited. The addition of Lopez and the Berger Foundation's donation of the Classic Club to the tournament are two exciting happenings. He said the board wants the City of Palm Desert to have a byline for the tournament and an opportunity to brand itself with the tournament. He said Palm Desert is a much better partner than other cities because of its proximity to the Classic Club. He said the Classic board has added community members such as Kevin McGuire and Larry Mathis so that the tournament can be more of a community event. He introduced Lea Goodsell and Michael Milthorpe, Classic executive director, who also works for SFX and Clear Channel. LEA GOODSELL said the Classic is the only PGA event to have a celebrity host. A press conference about the Classic in Los Angeles got attention from Entertainment Tonight, the Los Angeles press and national magazines. She said Lopez is highly ranked in terms of likeability and public awareness and gave a brief background on Lopez's credentials as an actor/comedian. She said Lopez has a good relationship with the Golf Channel so there will be additional synergy. Ms. Goodsell named some of last year's celebrities at the Classic and some who will be present this year too. Having celebrities at the Classic tournament adds a pop culture take, making it more than a sporting event. Mr. Foster noted he and Mr. Dunlevie met with Dolores Hope and got her full endorsement for Lopez as host. He said this is the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by George Lopez. It is not the George Lopez Classic. Mr. Foster said sports such as the NFL are moving from broadcast networks onto cable channels such as ESPN and the NFL Network. He said Comcast bought the Golf Channel and Comcast has a 15-year deal with the PGA Tour. In another decade, he said almost all PGA Tour events would be on the Golf Channel. MICHAEL MILTHORPE said the PGA Tour recently announced its television partners including a 15-year deal with Golf Channel for which the channel paid more than $200 million per year. The PGA Tour wants the Golf Channel to become the Tour's network so it does not have to invest money to create its own channel. The Golf Channel will carry the first three PGA Tour events from start to finish including early round Thursday and Friday coverage of all 32 tour events 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 excluding the majors. In previous years, he said, coverage on those days could be found on USA Network or CNBC or ESPN and ESPN2. He said the Golf Channel will start promoting their coverage of the PGA Tour in December. The Golf Channel currently reaches 80 million households and by 2009, plans to reach 110 million households. The broadcast networks have the potential to reach 105 million homes which means more potential viewers for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Besides live coverage Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he said the Golf Channel would air a rebroadcast each night. On Saturday and Sunday, the Classic will be on from 4 to 7 p.m. Eastern time and will replay from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern time. Because it will air on Golf Channel, it will not be preempted, unlike with ABC. He said there will be 30 hours of Classic golf coverage and commercials that run during the day's live coverage will air again at night during the rebroadcast. The Golf Channel viewer demographic is upscale, the customer that the Valley is looking for. Ms. Goodsell said the people who watch the Classic during the day will not be the same who watch in the evening, so the tournament replay will broaden the Classic's reach. Mr. Foster asked if everyone got a copy of the Classic's material. DAVID ERWIN cited page three of the Classic's material, and referred to an area labeled benefits to City of Palm Desert, noting there are a number of items that are of tremendous benefit to the City. The Classic provides the City with an opportunity to establish its own brand. He referred to a staff report that suggests a $50,000 city contribution. He said it appears to him that there is a considerable amount of benefit to the City in excess of $50,000 referring specifically to five days of television exposure. RIC MANDELBAUM asked if there was more to the presentation and said he has comments. Mr. Foster replied no. Mr. Mandelbaum agreed that the benefits were worth a lot more than $50,000 if the money is there to spend. He said Palm Desert is the closest city to the tournament, and the association with the Classic would help the City, although he suggested that Palm Desert might benefit anyway without a larger sponsorship because of the tournament's impact on area hotels, restaurants, other businesses and property sales. He said maybe the right sponsorship amount was between $50,000 and $350,000. He suggested that the City appoint a liaison to work with tournament officials to strengthen City benefits, such as finding places to pass out information to attendees, links with websites and other ways. He said he agrees that the Classic benefits to Palm Desert are worth a lot more than $50,000. Mr. Foster said the links would be easy to do and supported the idea of a liaison. He said it would be easy to have links on Classic website to hotels. SHEILA GILLIGAN asked Kristy Kneiding to elaborate on the staff funding recommendation and the reasons for it. KI APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 KRISTY KNEIDING said one of the challenges was determining what has the most value because so many entities come to the City wanting marketing dollars. She said the City really needed to examine how much direct value it was getting. She said the City sponsored the Palm Springs Film Festival for a similar amount and staff is not sure what the exact return on investment was. She said support of the Samsung evolved out of the City's support from the Skins Game and Battle at Bighorn, which took place entirely within the city at Bighorn. Because the Samsung tournament takes place entirely in Palm Desert, has raised its level of interest and the quality of players, and is getting more recognition, the City has given them $150,000 for coverage on NBC and the Golf Channel. She said the Classic is a four -day tournament, as far as television coverage is concerned, spread out over four courses that are not necessarily in the City, although some people equate the Classic Club with being near Palm Desert. She said it was up to the Committee to decide if the Classic is the right partnership for the City in terms of branding and whether that is worth supporting it with such significant dollars. She said it took eight years for the City to get to its current $150,000 sponsorship level with the Samsung tournament. She said the most the City ever gave the Battle at Bighorn was $125,000 in that tournament's final year. She said there are a lot of quality events in the Valley that are beneficial to the City. Mr. Mandelbaum said the Classic is a 7-day event because it starts the previous Monday. He said the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic is a prestigious tournament with a prestigious name. He said there are more people at it because of the amateurs who play for four of the five days as well as two days of practice. He said the total benefit of being involved and being the sponsoring city is huge and starts the year off at a good time to promote the City. Mr. Foster said the Classic is the first event on the PGA tour. He said there are people in the valley who are here because they saw it on TV. He said the Samsung is a fine tournament, but the Classic has been here 48 years and believes it will be here for 148 more years. He said the Samsung is on for three days and up against college football on Saturday. He said the Samsung will be on NBC for two hours Sunday and contending for ratings against pro football. He said the PGA Tour avoids competing with football for ratings because it would get killed. Foster said the Samsung tournament will be lucky to get good ratings and is at a disadvantage because it is happening in the middle of October. He said the City would not draw a lot of people in the middle of October, or fill hotel rooms. He said the Samsung was probably trying to leave the valley and has no vested interest here. He said the Classic is made up of community people who want to promote the community as much as the City. He said the Classic gave $1.85 million away this year and will probably continue to give away more. Mr. Foster said he gets a little defensive when he hears comparisons between the Classic and the Samsung or Skins tournaments. He said the Classic is looking for a long-term commitment from and partnership with Palm Desert. He said the City would be investing in the desert's premier golf event. He said some of the money that the City gives to the Classic would end up back in the community in parts of Palm Desert, in the hospital, in social services. Mrs. Gilligan said that when the Skins Game and Samsung tournaments came to the City, the Marketing Committee had just been reorganized. She said those 4 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 tournaments provided the City with national exposure that Palm Desert could not afford to get any other way. She said October is the shoulder season and the Committee is very interested in filling hotel rooms then. She said the City has received a nice benefit from its support of the Samsung. Mr. Mandelbaum said it is true that with the other tournaments, the City started with small contributions that grew larger. He asked if there was a middle ground that the committee could consider to be the Classic's city sponsor between $50,000 and $350,000 that could grow. He said the City has been burned a few times when it thought it was going to get more than it did. He said that would not be the case with the Classic. EMILY BIRD-HRIVNAK said Marriott Desert Springs does see a number of room nights as a result of the Classic, but not an exorbitant amount. She said the City has a lot of programs and needs to stick with a benchmark that is under $100,000. She said that amount is fair when viewed in the context of City sponsorships for Art of Food & Wine and Fashion Week, which are big iconic events for Palm Desert. She said since the partnership with the Classic is just beginning, she would like it to start small and then build a relationship that would generate room nights at Desert Springs and bring shoppers to the City. She said she would not feel comfortable committing $350,000 and that $50,000 is a fair number. Mr. Foster asked if any of the events that Ms. Bird-Hrivnak mentioned were giving the City national television coverage. He said the Classic probably books 1,000 room nights at Marriott Shadow Ridge and another timeshare property in the City. He said the Classic books 150 room nights at the City's Holiday Inn. He said the tournament also has a positive impact on Palm Desert restaurants. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak agreed with Mr. Foster, but said the City has multiple events to sponsor. Mr. Milthorpe said nobody else is offering the City the extenstive television coverage like that from the Classic. He said someone in New York isn't going to know about Palm Desert's fashion show or its food, arts and crafts events. He said the City would be getting 30 hours of national television with the Classic not including international television exposure. Ms. Kneiding said that the tournament and any exposure the City would get is spread over four golf courses. Mr. Milthorpe replied that the main television broadcast will be from the Classic Club adding that broadcasters will say, ""We're at the Classic Club Palm Desert." He said the Sunday broadcast will be all from the Classic Club. Ms. Kneiding said the other events are bringing in business to the City. She said $350,000 is a lot of money for the first time, adding that the City had a history of sponsoring the Classic when it was at Indian Ridge. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 Mrs. Gilligan said she thought the City's sponsorship of the Classic when it was at Indian Ridge was $350,000 a year for three years. Mr. Foster said he thought the City paid $250,000 and asked Mr. Dunlevie what his recollection was. ERNIE DUNLEVIE said the City paid one half of $500,000. He said the City really didn't get anything from its sponsorship other than a mention that the tournament was held within City limits. Ms. Goodsell said Palm Desert would be the only city offered a 60-second vignette. She said the sponsorship equates directly to the cost of airtime. Mr. Dunlevie said the Classic Club will be the tournament's host club from now on. He said the Classic won't go anywhere else and has a long-term commitment. NORINE BOWEN asked if the Classic had approached other cities about sponsorships. Mr. Foster said they wanted to come to Palm Desert first. He said the City is the logical one to be involved. He said it is an opportunity for the Classic and the City. He said $50,000 does not make sense. He said comparing the Classic with other events is comparing apples and oranges. He said the Classic's commitment would be to work with the City to ensure it got bang for its buck. He said he did not support the concept of a small sponsorship initially with the City evaluating the results and then considering giving more. Mr. Mandelbaum said because of the Classic Club's location, it makes sense for Palm Desert to be the sponsor more than Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, or La Quinta. He said he was not stuck on $50,000, but suggested something in between that figure and $350,000. Mr. Foster said the Classic would entertain a sponsorship less than $350,000, adding that tournament organizers could modify or increase aspects of the sponsorship that the City thinks are important. He agreed that Palm Desert is the logical City sponsor. Mr. Mandelbaum asked Foster when he needed a commitment. Mr. Foster said print advertising would start early and the City could miss out on some of that publicity by not acting soon. He said most of the activities would start in November. Mr. Milthorpe said the deadline is November 1. Mr. Mandelbaum announced a motion to table a decision for 30 days during which time the City would form a committee to work with the Classic and come to a meeting of the minds in terms of benefits and costs. 1.1 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 Ms. Bowen asked if that committee would be a subcommittee of the Marketing Committee. Mr. Mandelbaum said that was correct. Mrs. Gilligan said the Marketing Committee's recommendation would still have to go to the City Council for approval in the first or second week of October so that a 30-day continuance would be too late if November 1 was the deadline. She said she thought Ms. Kneiding had been working with representatives of the Classic. Ms. Kneiding said she had been working with Ms. Goodsell and Kevin Mc Guire to answer questions and information about past sponsorship opportunities and the City's desires in terms of exposure and involvement. Ms. Goodsell said she looked at La Quinta's sponsorship of the Jim Murray event and Palm Springs's sponsorship of the International Film Festival and Indian Wells sponsorship of its tennis tournament. She said they represented those cities' signature events and thought the Classic was an opportunity for City of Palm Desert to own and build on and help create additional promotional activities as part of the Classic that the Golf Channel could cover. Ms. Bowen asked if Mr. Mandelbaum's motion would work. Mrs. Gilligan said a month's continuance was too much if the Classic is gearing up for a November 1 printing. Discussed ensued as to which benefits were appropriate for the City, the timing of next committee meeting, and the Classic's deadlines. Mr. Mandelbaum retracted his motion. Following further discussion, Mr. Mandelbaum announced a new motion to adjourn the Marketing Committee to October 10, at 10 a.m. Motion seconded by Sara O'Flynn and carried unanimously. Ms. Bowen announced a motion to appoint a subcommittee to work with Classic representatives and report back to the Marketing Committee on October 10. Motion carried. Mr. Mandelbaum, Sara O'Flynn, and Ms. Bird-Hrivnak volunteered to be on the subcommittee. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 NOTE: THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WERE LISTED ON AN AGENDA ADDENDUM POSTED 72 HOURS PRIOR TO THE MEETING. C. EASTER BOWL TENNIS TOURNAMENT Kristy Kneiding stated that Seena Hamilton, the coordinator of the Easter Bowl Tennis Tournament, reduced the amount of the original sponsorship request to $15,000. In the past, the tournament had brought in groups of families that stayed in Palm Desert hotels and frequented Palm Desert restaurants; however, it was very hard for her to justify the $15,000 sponsorship amount for the event. Upon question by Ms. Bowen, Ms. Kneiding stated that the event would be held with or without the City's sponsorship funds. However, she was not certain whether the event would be held next year if it did not receive the support needed this year. Mr. Mandelbaum agreed with staffs recommendation. Mr. Darius moved to accept staff's recommendation to deny the request. Motion was seconded by Ms. Bird-Hrivnak and carried 4-1. Mr. Mandelbaum was not present for the motion. D. THE DA VINCI EXPERIENCE MICHAEL MATTHEWS addressed the Committee. He gave a brief background of the Leonardo Da Vinci Experience. The Exhibit would carry 61 original inventions by Da Vinci. Ten of the replicas were full-sized, some 25 were interactive, and five would be individually demonstrated. The machines will be grouped into three major categories of interest: Transportation, Military, and Mechanical. Mr. Matthews distributed display boards depicting the layout of exhibit areas throughout the Museum. The exhibit would arrive on November 3, 2006 and run through March 25, 2007. He anticipated 150 to 200 thousand people would visit the exhibit. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to purchase items associated with the City of Palm Desert in the gift shop located at the end of the exhibit. In late January 2007, the head artisan will be at the exhibit for two weeks' as he will be constructing an air wing within public view. The sponsorship package was discussed with regard to benefits associated with being a title sponsor. He expressed his hope that the Committee would see the value of becoming a part of the Da Vinci Experience. KEN KATZ described in detail the marketing effort that would be made on behalf of Palm Desert. He spoke about the educational aspect of the exhibit. A portion of the City's sponsorship funds would be used towards the cost of bringing children who could not afford to attend, either in transportation or ticket price, to the Experience. Upon question by Mr. Mandelbaum, Mr. Katz responded that Palm Springs would probably have its tourism department working on the event. He said they came to Palm Desert because they envisioned the Da Vinci Experience to be a Valley wide event. He said he spoke with Ms. Bird-Hrivnak regarding room nights at the n. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 Marriott Desert Springs. He added that Lexus was the official car sponsor and Gallo would be the featured wine. Mr. Matthews said the exhibit was currently in Melbourne, Australia and had over 8,000 people visit that exhibit. Prior to that, the Auckland location had over 100,000 visitors. The Palm Springs Air Museum would be hosting the exhibit for a much longer period of time than either Melbourne or Auckland. Upon question by Ms. Gilligan, DEAN HAY, Project Manager for the Da Vinci Experience, responded that a presentation was made to the City of Palm Springs for a sponsorship amount of $225,000, although they had not yet heard of its decision. He said they were hoping for sponsorship from Palm Springs in other ways, i.e., taxes, etc., as well. Upon question by Ms. Close, Mr. Katz responded that the tour takes approximately 2 hours to tour the exhibit. Upon question by Ms. Kneiding, Mr. Katz stated that the tickets would be slotted and timed. There will only be a certain amount of people in the exhibit at one time. The bookings would be in 30-minute increments. Mr. Hay said the exhibit would open at 8 a.m. for members, 9 a.m. for schools and then 10 a.m. to the general public. The exhibit would remain open until 5 p.m. Special groups are already requesting tours in the evening. Advanced sales have been very good. Upon question by Mr. Darius, Mr. Matthews stated that the ads would be specific to Palm Desert. Ms. O'Flynn commented that from an intellectual and creative standpoint she could definitely support the event; however, the problem for her was that it was a Palm Springs event. Mr. Mandelbaum was in agreement with Ms. O'Flynn. Mr. Hay addressed the concerns raised by the Committee. He spoke about an advertising agent who believed that the Coachella Valley had the wherewithal and interest to associate itself with such a tremendously talented individual as Da Vinci. He believed that the City of Palm Desert was the perfect choice for a title sponsorship due to the sophistication and distinction of the exhibit. Mr. Mandelbaum moved to accept staff's recommendation to deny the request. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried 5-0. Motion was carried unanimously. E. OPPORTUNITY TO NEGOTIATE WITH A PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM (Added item by unanimous vote.) Ms. Kneiding explained that when the City Council voted to remain in the CVA it set aside $200,000 to supplement the City's current advertising campaign. The Council requested that the Marketing Committee use those funds to create a i• APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 branding campaign. As part of the $200,000, staff talked about launching into a public relations campaign to support advertising and to increase the awareness of Palm Desert. Ms. Kneiding presented background information on the search for a public relations firm. The City received two proposals, one from the Blaze Company and the other from Nancy Friedman with whom the Marriott currently had on retainer to oversee its renovation campaign. Ms. Kneiding said the Blaze Company's retainer fee was $7,500 per month and would not go any lower than that amount, and could possibly go as high as $12,000 per month. Ms. Kneiding, Ms. Gilligan, and Ms. Bird-Hrivnak met with Ms. Freedman. Ms. Friedman offered the City a lower monthly rate in order to tie in the Marriott's renovation with the City of Palm Desert's message. Ms. Friedman's retainer would be $6,000 per month, which was negotiable. In partnering with Ms. Friedman and the Marriott, staff would try to negotiate the lower monthly retainer amount. She added that Ms. Friedman's firm was located in New York City, which is in the hub of the travel magazines of interest to Palm Desert. In addition to the Marriott's renovation message they would also promote Palm Desert and its many qualities including being an environmentally friendly city. Ms. Bird-Hrivnak commented that as the press trips begin next year, the Marriott would put forth the money to include the City of Palm Desert. Ms. Gilligan said the City cooped with the Marriott last year on an advertising campaign and saw a huge return on that investment. If the Marketing Committee were on board with the idea of hiring a public relations firm, staff would bring back a marketing plan for its review. Mr. Mandelbaum moved to approve the concept of hiring a public relations firm and direct staff to bring a formal proposal back to the Marketing Committee. Motion was seconded by Ms. O'Flynn and carried 5-0. VI. OLD BUSINESS None VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None Vill. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) Councilmember Spiegel reported on developments at the CVA. The CVA had secured a convention for the Marriott Desert Springs that would bring in about $500,000. The convention was scheduled for 2008. Ms. Kneiding stated that the CVA formed a Tourism Committee, which was divided into two subcommittees. Ms. Gilligan and Ms. Kneiding were appointed to the CVA's 10 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 Marketing subcommittee and a meeting was scheduled for Thursday, September 28, 2006. Ms. Gilligan reported that David Hermann was hired as the Administrative Analyst in the Community Services Department. Mr. Herman was formerly a reporter with the Desert Sun and the Press Enterprise. He will be assisting Ms. Kneiding with a number of projects. IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Chair Ms. Bowen reported that Macy's had a successful Saturday, September 9, wherein they exceeded its sales plan by 40%, and on Saturday, September 16, it exceeded its sales plan by 20%. HIV Awareness Day was scheduled on Saturday, September 30, 2006. She added that Santa Claus would be arriving at the mall on November 11, 2006. B. Committee Members Ms. Bird-Hrivnak gave a status report on the renovation of the Marriott Desert Springs lobby area. She said the lobby was scheduled to open on October 15, and completion of the entire lobby areas was slated for November 15, 2006. She was working on a direct mailer piece that would launch the lobby renovation in cooperation with the City and the "Cool of the Desert" campaign. She looked forward to sharing that piece with the Committee when complete. Mr. Mandelbaum reported that Bristol Farms was expected to open some time around December 1, 2006. The American Saver magazine has reached a circulation of 50,000. The magazine was doing quite well. Ms. O'Flynn announced that Paula Kraemer, aka the Pink Panther, was launching her own line of sunglasses, which will be distributed by the Sunglass Hut stores. The Gardens will be hosting Ms. Kraemer's press conference on Friday, October 13, 2006, in partnership with IMG, in the center lawn at The Gardens. She was happy to report that a press conference would be held Thursday, September 28, 2006, at10 a.m., for the Art of Food & Wine Event. Mr. Darius reported that the McCallum's 2006-2007 season was kicking off with the original members of Asia. He distributed McCallum brochures to Committee members. C. Staff Ms. Kneiding reported that there had been some changes made with regard to the direction of the Art of Food & Wine Event. The prices were reduced and events were now available a la carte. She encouraged the Committee members 11 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 to talk about the event with their friends and family. Tickets would be available on-line at the beginning of next week. The Palm Desert ATHENA Awards have been announced. The luncheon will be held on October 25, at Desert Willow, the cost was $45 per person. This years honorees were Jeannette Banoczi and Judee Cox. X. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Visitor Center Activity Report Ms. Gomez spoke to the Visitor Center's Activity Reports. She had received positive feedback with regard to the new directional signage from the freeway to the Visitor Center. A draft Business and Marketing Plan for the Visitor Center will be on October's Marketing Committee's agenda for review. She looked forward to the Committee's comments and input on that document. The Visitor Center would be hosting the Desert Horticultural Society's event on October 14, 2006, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Expected attendance would be around 500. She announced that the Visitor Center would have a display table located at BIGHORN during the Samsung World Championship in October. Visitor Center employees would man the table throughout the event. Ms. Gomez received a packet from the CVA's new tourism division offering its materials to be presented in the Visitor Center. Mr. Mandelbaum complimented the staff at the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center would be carrying two Palm Desert ornaments this year. There will also be promotional giveaways this season. 2. Holiday Decorating Contest The Visitor Center will be hosting a Holiday Wreath Lighting Ceremony. The October 2006 BrightSide will have an article inviting the residents to participate in an ornament making contest. The ornaments received will be judged in four separate categories divided by age groups with an individual winner from each group receiving a prize for the best ornament. A quartet of carolers will be singing Christmas songs and traditional refreshments will be served. A visit from Santa will also take place. The event was scheduled for December 1, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Ms. Gomez asked if any Committee members would like to 'volunteer to be judges of the holiday ornaments. She said the judging would take place the week after Thanksgiving. Prizes for the winners of the ornament competition were still being decided. 12 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT MARKETING COMMITTEE XI. ADJOURNMENT SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary 13