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Tourism Bureau holds first meeting under new leadership
 

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[April 22, 2015]  LINCOLN - On Tuesday April 14th the Logan County Tourism Bureau held its first meeting of 2015 under new leadership.

As part of the merger between the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce and the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County under the umbrella of the Logan County Alliance, the board of directors for the Bureau dissolved at its December 2014 meeting.

Under the new format with the LCA, the Board of Directors has been replaced with a Tourism Council. The Council will consist of seven members, but at the first meeting only five were seated. The five members of the council are Director of Sales for the Hampton and Holiday Inns, Jean Bruner-Jachino; Lincoln College Professor and Director of the Lincoln Heritage Museum, Ron Keller; Owner and manager of the Best Western, Lincoln, Paresh Patel; Assistant Director of Heartland College Lincoln Campus, Kristi Powell; and owner/manager of Logan Lanes, Shawn Taylor. Two members will be added at a later date, one being a representative of the sporting activities in Logan County, and the other being an appointee from the Lincoln City Council.
 


Also on hand for the meeting were newly hired Executive Director for Logan County Tourism, Maggie McMurtrey; LCA vice-chairman, Greg Basford; LCA member Frank Adubato, and LCA Executive Director, Andi Hake. Hake explained that she was at the meeting to assist McMurtrey as she makes the transition to her new position with the Bureau.

Hake offered the council an update on merger activities as they pertained to the Tourism Bureau. When the city of Lincoln took on the oversight of the Bureau, tourism became an entity of the city operating under the city’s employer ID number and tax-exempt status.

In the last quarter of 2014, the Bureau began the process of separating itself from the city and becoming a standalone entity. This is necessary so that it can qualify for a 501(C)3 not-for-profit status and be able to receive state grant awards as a member of the LCA.

The Bureau hired an attorney to assist in getting all the proper paperwork filed. Hake said that this had taken longer than anyone expected and that for the time being, the Bureau is still an entity of the city of Lincoln.

She said the paperwork has been completed with one exception. The Bureau needs to name its officers. Currently, Jachino is listed as the chairperson of the Council, but the listing on the 501(C)3 application also needs to include a vice-chair and a treasurer.

Hake said that those two offices needed to be decided immediately, so the names could be added to the application on Wednesday. Once the names are added, the Bureau’s part of the work is finished. She noted that once in the state’s hands the council has no control on how soon the 501(C)3 will be granted. Therefore, the Bureau will remain with the city for the time being.

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This led to the discussion of who would fill those positions. Hake suggested Powell for the treasurer, but Powell said that was an office she did not want to fill.

Taylor said he was willing to help, but at the moment, the entire program was new to him, and he didn’t feel comfortable jumping into an office with no tourism bureau experience.

Jachino talked about the role of the vice-chair and explained that it would be primarily filling in for her when she was not able to attend meetings or certain events. She indicated that it would not be a huge responsibility for anyone who chose to take the seat.

Hake also spoke about the treasurer position saying the primary responsibility would be to review and sign the checks issued by the Bureau. She explained this was a less complicated task now than in past years because the Bureau is now using QuickBooks to track its dollars; financial reports are more accurate and easier to review.

In addition, the full Tourism Council receives monthly reports on the Bureau’s finances. They receive a copy of the most recent bank reconciliation, a list of bills paid, and a report of revenues versus expenditures.

The discussion moved on to who has the final say on dollars awarded for tourism promotion? The question was posed, would the LCA Board veto decisions made by the Tourism Council?

 



Basford addressed the question saying that he felt it was highly unlikely that the LCA Board would veto any recommendation from the Council. The thought behind this is that the various councils under the LCA are designed to be the authority on a specific topic. For the Tourism Bureau, Council members are to know and understand the goals and mission of the Bureau and assure that dollars awarded and activities they are involved with adhere to those goals and mission.

In the end, Powell said she would volunteer to be the vice-chair of the council, and Patel volunteered to be the treasurer. A single motion was made to accept both to their respective positions and passed by unanimous vote.

[Nila Smith]

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