citr business/organization members

CITR BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION MEMBERS
Adventureland
AIB - College of Business, Des Moines
Albia Chamber of Commerce
Altoona Area Chamber of Commerce
AmericInn Motel & Suites of Grimes
AmericInn Hotel & Suites of Osage
AmericInn Motel & Suites of Osceola
AmericInn of Newton
Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau
Barn Boutique, Northwood
Belva Deer Inn, LLC
Best Western Hotels of Iowa
Blank Park Zoo
Bluegrass Music Association of Iowa
Boone Area Chamber/CVB
Boone County Fair
Boulders Inn Newton
Boulders Inn & Suites - Polk City
Boxwoods Fine Furnishings
Bridge View Center
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Cedar River Complex
Center Grove Orchard
Centerville Area Chamber of Commerce
Chariton Valley Planning &
Development
Charles City Area Chamber of
Commerce
CIT Signature Transportation
City of Eldora
Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
Colo Development Group
Comfort Inn, Story City
Country Cabins LLC
Country Inn & Suites, Clive
Country Inn & Suites, Northwood
Country Inn & Suites, Pella
Courtyard By Marriott, Ankeny
Creston/Union County Tourism
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
Des Moines Marriott Downtown
Des Moines Metro Opera
Des Moines Performing Arts
Des Moines Playhouse
Des Moines Register
Dexter Community Foundation
Diamond Jo Casino, Worth County
Dysart Development Corporation
Eastern Iowa DMA - Associations Inc.
Fairfield Iowa CVB
Fort Custer Maze
Fort Dodge CVB
The Fort Museum
Fox Ridge Winery LLC
Franklin County Fair Association
Franklin County Tourism
Frontier Trading Post, Inc.
Gaela Wilson Consulting
Greater Des Moines Convention
& Visitors Bureau
Greene County Chamber and
Development
Griff's Valley View RV Park
Grimes Chamber & Economic
Development
Grinnell Chamber/Convention
& Visitors Bureau
Growing Family Fun, Geisler Farms, Inc.
Hamilton County Conservation
Hamilton County S.E.E.D.
Heart of America Group
Heart of Iowa Wine Trail
Hilton Garden Inn, West Des Moines
Historic Park Inn
Historic Valley Junction Foundation
Hobo Museum/Foundation
Holiday Inn Conference Center,
Des Moines Airport
Honey Creek Resort
Hospitality Investors - County Inn &
Suites & AmericInn, Ames & Country
Inn, Grinnell & Coralville
Hotel Ottumwa & AmericInn of Ottumwa
Hotel Pattee
Image Solutions
Inbound Iowa, LLC
Indianola Chamber of Commerce
Iowa Arboretum, Inc.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Iowa Falls Chamber/Main Street
Iowa Gold Star Museum
Iowa Golf Trail
Membership is available to counties within the region and to businesses,
organizations and others interested in tourism in Central Iowa. In 2015,
membership in CITR totaled 200 members including 12 new members.
Iowa Hall of Pride
Iowa Mormon Trails Association
Iowa Museum Association
Iowa Railroad Historical Society Boone & Scenic Valley RR
Iowa Speedway
Iowa State Fair
Iowa State Historical Museum
Iowa State Snowmobile Association
Iowa State University Extension
Jasper Winery
John Wayne Birthplace Society
Jordan Creek Town Center
Knoxville Chamber of Commerce
Knoxville Raceway
Lake Red Rock
Lakeside Casino Resort
Legacy Learning Boone River Valley
Legacy Tours & Northland Travel Hawkeye Stages, Fort Dodge
Living History Farms
M. Catton & Company, LLC
Madison County Chamber of Commerce
Mahaska County Historical Society
Main Street Cultural District, Ames
Marion County Development
Commission
Marshalltown Convention & Visitors
Bureau
Matchstick Marvels Tourist Center
MyCountyParks.com - Iowa's County
Conservation System
National Balloon Classic
National Balloon Museum
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame &
Museum, Knoxville
Nevada Chamber of Commerce
Newton Convention and Visitors Bureau
Niland's Café & Colo Motel
Osage Chamber of Commerce
Osceola Chamber-Main Street
Oskaloosa Area Chamber of Commerce
Ottumwa Area CVB
Our Iowa Magazine
Pella Convention and Visitors Bureau
Pella Historical Society
Pella Opera House
Perry Chamber of Commerce
Polk County Conservation
Prairie Meadows
Prairie Rivers of Iowa
Premier Travel Media
Queen Anne Bed & Breakfast, Nevada
R Campground Inc.
Raccoon River Valley Trail Association
Reiman Gardens, Ames
Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel
Royal Amsterdam Hotel, Pella
Science Center Of Iowa
Seven Oaks Recreation, Inc.
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage
Area
Sleep Inn, Inn & Suites, Pleasant Hill
Slykhuis Twilight Tearoom
Southern Iowa Tourism
Star Destinations, Inc.
Story City Greater Chamber Connection
Summerset Winery
Surf Ballroom & Museum
Tassel Ridge Winery
Terrace Hill
"The Cow" Coffee & Pie Shoppe
The Hemken Collection
The Iowan Magazine/
Pioneer Communications
Top of Iowa Welcome Center
Tourism Lucas County/Chariton
Chamber
Traer Historical Museum
Traer Salt and Pepper Shaker Gallery
Trainland U.S.A.
Trans Iowa Charters, L.C.
Travel Organization Network Exchange
Tyden Farm No. 6
Valley West Mall, West Des Moines
Visit Mason City
Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau
Webster City Chamber
Winn-Worth Betco
CITR COUNTY MEMBERS
Appanoose, Boone, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Clarke, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Floyd, Franklin, Greene,
Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Jasper, Keokuk, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall,
Mitchell, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek, Story, Tama, Wapello, Warren, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago,
Worth and Wright.
Central Iowa Tourism Region
PO Box 454, Webster City, IA 50595-0454
515.832.4808 or 800.285.5842 Fax: 515.832.4809
www.iowatourism.com
Ann Vogelbacher, Executive Director
[email protected]
2015 Annual Report
2015 BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Officers
President
Shannon Espenscheid
Marshalltown Convention
& Visitors Bureau
Treasurer
Ginger Williams
Charles City Chamber/
CC Whitewater
CENTRAL IOWA TOURISM REGION
Past President
Jill Vandevoort
Pella Convention
& Visitors Bureau
Matt Kiernan
Renaissance Des Moines
Savery Hotel
Kerrie Kuiper
Fort Dodge Convention
& Visitors Bureau
JoAnn Ruopp
Matchstick Marvels
Diana Thies
Iowa Falls Chamber/
Main Street
Gaela Wilson
Gaela Wilson Consulting
REGION STAFF
Executive Director
Ann Vogelbacher
Administrative Assistant
Susan Leman
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Steering Committee Members: Mark Eckman, Carla Eysink, and Shannon Espenscheid.
In FY 15 the tourism regions were invited to submit proposals to the Iowa Tourism Office/IEDA to undertake special
projects. The steering committee reviewed projects from the previous year and ideas for new projects. Four projects
were selected by the board of directors to take to the proposal phase and were approved by the Iowa Tourism
Office/IEDA.
Iowa Tourism Leadership Institute
Power of Travel Day
Planning Committee Members – Carla Eysink and Mark
Eckman
• Held April 9-10, 2015 at the Hotel Pattee, Perry.
• Seventeen industry members from across Iowa participated.
• The Institute offered Iowa tourism professionals an
opportunity to expand their leadership skills and knowledge, along with networking opportunities.
• Sessions included core courses dedicated to personality
assessment, marketing and branding, board/ staff partnerships and leadership influence. Additional electives
focused on volunteer recruitment and training, signage,
fundraising, cell phone/social media photography,
meeting facilitation skills, and retail sales data.
Planning Committee – CITR Representatives:
Greg Edwards and Ann Vogelbacher
A joint partnership between Iowa’s three tourism regions
and the Iowa Tourism Office/IEDA.
• One day education and networking opportunity designed
to energize and thank the Iowa tourism industry for
their partnerships, and to kick off the spring and
summer travel seasons.
• Keynote speaker Steve McClatchy, New York Times
Best Selling Author of Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce
Your Stress & Lead by Example.
• Attended by 115 industry members and all received
a signed copy of the book.
Customer Service/Hospitality Training
Culinary Tourism Business Consultations
Planning Committee – Diana Thies
Partnered with Iowa State University Extension &
Outreach to provide customer service/hospitality training
to front line staff at the local community level.
• Host communities were responsible for providing the
training venue, promoting to local attendees, and coordinating registrations for their session.
• Funding was available for ten sessions, with six additional communities on a waiting list. Communities hosting sessions:
• Iowa Falls Chamber/Main Street
• Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Perry Chamber of Commerce/Dallas County Tourism
• Honey Creek Resort/Organizing For Main Street
Centerville
• Top of Iowa Tourism (Clear Lake, Forest City,
Charles City, Osage and Algona)
• Marshalltown Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Pella Convention & Visitors Bureau/Marion County
Development Commission
• Newton Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Ottumwa Convention & Visitors Bureau/
Wapello County
• Davis County Development and Promotion
& Bloomfield Main Street
Contracted with Rebecca LeHeup, Ontario Culinary
Tourism Alliance, an internationally known expert on culinary tourism to provide in-market business consultations.
Visits scheduled for June 2015 at seven locations:
• Hotel Ottumwa
• Hotel Pattee/David’s Milwaukee Diner, Perry
• Maytag Dairy Farms, Newton
• Niland’s Café, Colo
• Prairie Canary, Grinnell
• Relish: Local Foods, Global Flavors, Grinnell
• Tassel Ridge Winery, Leighton
.
Mission Statement
To enhance tourism in central Iowa through information, education,
and promotion in cooperation with government and business.
The Central Iowa Tourism Region,
also known as CITR is a non-profit organization that was incorporated in 1987. Since its inception
the Region has worked closely with communities, attractions, events and visitor services on tourism development
and marketing initiatives. Region programs are determined by the board of directors
and are carried out by committees from the membership and facilitated by region staff.
CITR is one of three tourism regions in the state of Iowa. The region encompasses a
35 county area between the Minnesota and Missouri borders.
MARKETING
CITR Travel Guide Committee – Linda Bacon, Jill Vandevoort,
and Becky Wigeland
Travel Iowa Marketplace Committee – Tara McLaughlin,
Diana Thies, Sarah Thompson, Katie Stien, and Gaela Wilson
• Produced the 2015 Central Iowa Travel Guide, a
72-page magazine style publication supported solely
through advertising.
• Coordinated advertising sales for the 2015 Central
Iowa Travel Guide with 50 members purchasing ads
in the guide. Advertisers receive leads from a reader
response card included in the travel guide.
• Over 25,000 Travel Guides were distributed to the
Iowa Welcome Centers, in response to web site
inquiries and other visitor inquiries.
• Maintained iowatourism.com website and updated
information and listings. User sessions totaled over
16,150 this past year, with over 47,300 page views.
The average visitor spends over two minutes on the
web site and views three pages per user session.
• Coordinated the 19th annual Travel Iowa Marketplace
held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Varied Industries
Building.
• Sixty-six exhibitors and nine sponsors participated as
partners in the marketplace and sixty-five planners
attended the marketplace. Of these, 32% of the planners had not previously attended the show and 15%
did not attend in 2013. In a follow-up evaluation,
100% of the planners reported they plan to incorporate
a destination or activity in a future tour as a result of
meeting with an exhibitor at marketplace.
• Attended the Midwest Marketplace held in Madison,
Wisconsin in March 2015. Met with 25 tour operators
and group leaders from six states during business
appointments conducted at the show.
LEGISLATIVE
CITR liaisons to the Travel Federation of Iowa Board for
2014-2015 – Lori Chappell, Greg Edwards, Carla Eysink,
Gaela Wilson, and Ann Vogelbacher
• Co-sponsored the annual Iowa Tourism Conference
and Tourism Awards.
• Coordinated statewide survey to determine the legislative needs and priorities of the tourism industry.
• Coordinated statewide district leader program to
facilitate industry communications with elected
officials about issues facing the tourism industry.
• Produced annual Fast Fact Tourism statistics and
awareness information.
• Sponsored Annual Legislative Showcase. Event is held
to bring industry members together with elected state
officials to explain the economic importance of tourism
to Iowa and our economy.
EDUCATION
Education Committee – Terry Baker, Joyce Bieber, Angie
Bolinger, Shannon Espenscheid, and Tara McLaughlin.
Annual Meeting Committee Members – Sue Armour, Linda
Baynes, Angie Bolinger, and Katie Stien
Hosted educational programs in conjunction with region
membership meetings:
• Five In Twenty-Four. Bonus Session: Iowa Tourism
Grants Training
• Bringing Your Brand to Life. Bonus Session: Sharing
Session Region Members
• 5 Ways to Stir Up Your Business: Swizzle Stick Strategy
• Iowa Tourism Town Meeting with the Iowa Tourism
Office Staff and Signage Session with the Iowa
Department of Transportation.
• Annual Meeting Keynote Big Dreams, Bold Goals!