The Rock Port Tourism Board met September 26, 2024. Board members present were Jody VanSickle, Jim Clodfelter, Alyssa Beck, Phillip Angle, Elizabeth Dillman, and Karen Brown. Mayor Amy Thomas was also present.

Jody called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

The first order of business was to redeem the Lewis & Clark bucks that were turned in by organizations and businesses from Old Fashioned Saturday Night.

The agenda was approved.

The minutes and financials were not available to be reviewed and approved. They were postponed until the next meeting.

Old Business

There was a recap of Old-Fashioned Saturday Night:

• The Tourism Board needs to give a better explanation of Lewis and Clark (L&C) Bucks for vendors and kids, but the bucks kept the money spent with the vendors on Main Street that night.

• Kids need to be kept away (behind the crosswalks) until the balls are dropped and the signal is given to retrieve the ping pong balls. There just needs to be a better explanation.

• Three or four more volunteers will be needed next year to redeem the ping pong balls for L&C bucks.

• The variety was pretty good but Jim suggested that more activities rather than food would engage the kids and families more.

Jody reported that all of the summer bands were poorly attended and it was questioned if the Tourism Board should continue to participate because of the low participation numbers.

During a recap of Summer Palooza, Jody reported that the Board of Aldermen requests a carnival rather than the bounce houses. Elizabeth suggested that businesses help sponsor the individual bounce houses and are able to promote their business. Likewise, invite local food trucks to be the food vendors to help with the shortage of volunteers to man the food station.

Amy Thomas also reported the request of the Board of Aldermen for carnival rides. The Tourism Board will look into costs associated with this and see what other similar size towns are doing. The concern again is how to use this event to drive tourism to Rock Port and how to promote to other communities.

New Business

Elizabeth presented the idea of Lewis and Clark Days, a multi-day event in the spring of 2026. The event would be centered around a vendor fair, and vendors would focus on local craft makers, artisans and “old-time” skills. Other aspects of the fair would include outdoor performances such as Liberty Theatre reenactors, carnival style games and food vendors. The overall purpose of this event is to drive annual tourism to Rock Port for a family centered event that encourages tourists to stay the night, shop local vendors, eat local food, and most importantly, promote all that Rock Port has to offer so we can encourage tourists to come back throughout the year. She also reported that this would be a huge undertaking and would be looking for other coordinators for a variety of positions. Board members will all begin to reach out looking for key individuals.

Karen presented the idea of a yearlong “Come Get Lost in Rock Port” promotion. The overall goal is to maximize exposure of businesses in Rock Port through an increased social media presence. She reported that additional information will be mailed to all brick-and-mortar businesses in Rock Port to see the interest in participation, noting that it is free but would require the businesses to help in the promotion efforts by sharing and helping promote the Rock Port Tourism Board. The RPTB Facebook page would get an overhaul so that all events can be promoted.

Philip reported on progress he has made in regard to a summer tractor and truck pull. He has estimates from two tractor pulling associations and radio advertising estimates but stated he will work on more of the specific details and also looking for sponsors

Amy asked about the Griswald Christmas Light contest but there was no discussion.

Karen presented two bills for additional ping pong balls and L&C traveling trophy of $170.96. The bills were approved.

Jim requested $5,000 for fireworks for 2025. That would need to be paid by December 31 to get the current pricing. There was discussion on how to get more communities involved in this and to set it apart from just a Rock Port event. Philip made a motion to pay and Alyssa seconded. A vote was called but no votes recorded. It was tabled until the next meeting.

Jody reported that the storage unit for the Tourism Board needed to be cleaned out, organized and consolidated.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

The next meeting will be October 10 at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall.