Commissioner Bobbie Foster nominated Carol Wright to fill the vacant seat, and with no other nominations, vote to approve Wright’s nomination was unanimous. Commissioners also voted to re-nominate Susan Harman to her seat.
Going Green
Events Coordinator Andy Green said he has divided his time between filling out the 2017 calendar and finding ways to get the attention of agencies so he can attract acts in the future. He is scheduling a country act later this year, plus Paul McCandless, jazz reed player known for his work with the group Oregon will bring Charged Particles to town in autumn.
Green is also trying to create smaller venue jazz events, a strategy which works for other cities to develop audiences for larger shows. He said it is time for the Folk Festival to regain its former stature, and intends to bring in fresh ideas and reinvent the folk music weekend in Eureka Springs.
Help wanted
Finance Director Rick Bright told commissioners they are down to one part-time concession volunteer for shows at the Aud, and cannot run events without trained ushers. He estimated they need at least five volunteers for each event. He also mentioned the CAPC offers a reduced rental price for nonprofits, so suggested they require those agencies or entities to provide volunteers for their event.
Director’s report
Maloney said analytics indicate his strategy of attracting millennials to the website by targeting Chicago, Minneapolis and Austin, with Chicago proving most attentive, is effective. He said directing a viewer to maps of the biking trails at Lake Leatherwood City Park has been successful.
RightMind, the company producing video and print content for the CAPC, will be shooting content all over town with a particular focus on families of all makeups. Maloney said ads in Southern Living and Garden and Gun elicited positive responses, and bicycling ads are having national clicks.
Maloney also mentioned Winrock International brought in a representative of Grainster, an online grain trading business based in Conway, who is seriously considering creating a call center in Eureka Springs which could create as many as 200 new jobs.
Maloney presented his ad buy schedule to commissioners, and they encouraged him to promote events earlier. Harman suggested three months’ lead-time, while commissioner Dustin Duling said he wanted more ads promoting weekday tourism. Maloney said it would be easy to move his schedule up a bit, and commissioners will discuss it more at a workshop.
Chair steps down
Chair Ken Ketelsen announced he does not have the time required for being chair, saying he would step down immediately. He agreed to act as chair until commissioners elect a new one at the July 12 meeting.
Public comments
Beau Satori gave a brief historical review of decorating the town for Christmas, lamenting it has not been as robust as it once was, and encouraged the CAPC to pick up some of the slack. He said other cities start planning in the spring for a big Christmas display to pull in visitors.
Next workshop will be Wednesday, June 28, at 4 p.m., at the CAPC office. Next regular meeting will be Wednesday, July 12, at 6 p.m.