At the August 8 City Advertising and Promotion Commission meeting, Executive Director Mike Maloney guided commissioners through the draft of a proposed agreement with the Chamber of Commerce for purchasing ad space in the 2019 Visitor Guide. Maloney and commissioners batted around logistics of when the publication would be completed, when, where and how many boxes of Guides would be delivered, plus storage plans for boxes to be delivered later. In the end none of it mattered because the vote to approve the plan fell one vote short.
Maloney began working on the plan in the spring with former Chamber President Paul Miller on a new agreement between the two entities for the Guide because the current agreement expires at the end of the year. Commissioners spent the entire June 27 workshop discussing the proposal, and Maloney subsequently engaged an attorney to formalize the agreement with the Chamber.
The plan was for the CAPC to purchase the equivalent of 33 pages of content to advertise for tax collectors which would have expanded the Guide to 102 pages. Damon Henke, speaking for the Chamber, said Chamber staff was already selling ad space, and Maloney urged commissioners to make a decision right then.
Commissioner Terry McClung moved to approve the agreement subject to suggestions made at the meeting. McClung, Chair Susan Harman and commissioner Carol Wright voted to approve the motion. Newly-seated commissioner Bob Thomas was attending his first CAPC meeting, and voted Present because he said he had not seen the document before then. Commissioner Greg Moon first voted Yes, but upon clarification of what was being voted on changed his vote to No, so the motion failed 3-1-1, and an uneasy silence followed.
Maloney said he would develop a proposal regarding mailing the Guide.
Director’s report
- The Arkansas Film Commission is working on better statewide coordination so all communities will know what film activity is going on elsewhere.
- Two new videos were launched in the past month and one more is planned later this year. Links are available on capc.biz. Maloney intends to re-use the Halloween video produced last year.
- A committee is moving forward on plans for activities during the Christmas season.
- More Wayfinding signs are coming soon.
- The Northwest Arkansas Tourism Association will be launching a new website by the end of the year.
- Maloney said he is part of a group developing a regional website called Ozarks.com for promoting events and activities in Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri.
- The Bluegrass Festival is August 17-18 with free entertainment both days in Basin Park.
Next workshop will be Wednesday, August 22, at 4 p.m. and the next regular meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m.