At the Maryville Tourism Commission meeting July 15, Director DeAnn Davison announced that the board will submit an application for two conferences in 2025 and 2026, both hosted by the city of Maryville.
The first is the University of Missouri Extension Connecting the Entrepreneurial Community Conference, scheduled for September 2025, with an expected attendance of 185. The conference selection team will conduct a site visit on Monday, July 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., to evaluate facilities and resources.
The other is the Missouri Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus for its conferences in 2025 and 2026. The association is looking to hold its annual conference in the Northwest region both years, which would require 30 to 50 rooms over two days. Davison is working with Mozingo Lake Recreation Park staff to finalize the proposal by Thursday, Aug. 15.
The transient occupancy tax from October to May 2023 will be reduced by approximately $8,000 from the projected budgeted amount based on revenue figures for fiscal year 2023. The tourist fee is currently slightly increased by $259 from the budgeted amount for 2023-24.
Mayor Greg McDonnell reported that wayfinding signs are included in the second phase of the South Main project, and at the next tourism meeting (Wednesday, Sept. 11), options will be presented for the commission to choose from.
McDonnell also spoke about tourism grants the commission has awarded. Since 2018, 13 grants have been awarded. Eight of those grants were for $5,000. When the commission first created the grant program, the maximum amount was $1,000, and any amount above that would receive special consideration. McDonnell said he’s concerned that the current expectation is $5,000 per application. Davison said the grants are meant to be used for marketing, not to run events.
There was a question about whether the winning event achieved its goal of drawing people from outside Nodaway County. The commission did not request any additional information.
Committee member Jeff Stubblefield said the director could go through the process and come back to the committee with suggested changes.
A $5,000 tourism grant was awarded to Black Pony Brewing Company in Maryville for Oktoberfest, which will be held on Saturday, September 21. They are expecting 800 visitors and 25 hotel nights. The plan is to “create an event that will offer a variety of activities and experiences for participants of all ages while embracing German culture.” The goal is to make Oktoberfest an annual event, growing each year. With an emphasis on local vendors and artisans, they hope to celebrate and support talent within the community and bring people together in the spirit of Oktoberfest.
The website redesign is complete and a $10,000 grant has been awarded to review the project with the Missouri Tourism Office. Davison is working on finalizing the paperwork with the Missouri Tourism Office. The website is expected to launch on Thursday, August 1st.
The Tourism Commission received its second Marketing Platform Development grant for fiscal year 2025. An RFP will be issued to find suitable photography and videography vendors for the project.
A meeting to consider the proposed tourism budget for fiscal year 2025 is scheduled to be held in August.
The tourism director’s upcoming travel schedule includes the Pony Express Regional Tourism Luncheon on July 25, the Missouri Main Street Connection Conference in Kansas City from July 30 to Aug. 1, the Missouri Events Summit in Columbia on Aug. 8, the Missouri State Fair Leisure Travel and Trade Show in Sedalia on Aug. 15, the Missouri Main Street Connection Workshop in Sedalia on Sept. 26 and the Governor’s Tourism Conference in Kansas City from Oct. 15 to 17.
At the Maryville Tourist Board meeting on May 1, Jordyn Greenhaw was elected chair and Jeff Stubblefield was elected vice chair.
