Franklin County Tourist Development Council Board Meeting Eastpoint Visitor Center Amended Agenda Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 3:00 P.M.

AGENDA 1. Welcome/Call to Order Chair 2. Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance 3. Quorum Announcement Solomon 4. Approval of the Minutes of February 12th 2020 Action Item Davis 5. Public Comments 6. Administrative Reports • FCTDC Collections Report Solomon • Expenditures to Budget Davis

Promotions Reports • Media Report Clark

• Web Master Report Kendrick

• Video Report Rolstad

• Visitor Center Report Lane Visitor Numbers

• Administrative Items Solomon Writers Visit from Explore Northwest Destinations Florida Summit Request 7. Continuing Business 8. A. New Business – Request for approval of letter of support for Apalachicola Artificial Reef Association B. Carrabelle Chamber of Commerce is requesting the TDC fund the reprinting of the Carrabelle Snapshot Tour Brochure. Total Cost of the brochure is $1,300 for 5,000 copies and $1,800 for 10,000 copies. The Brochure has been recently updated and will include the TDC logo. 9. Reports by Local Government Representatives City of Apalachicola Mayor Begos City of Carrabelle Mayor LaPaz 1. Report on the City Commission’s decision to apply for the Competitive FL Grant opportunity where the City will be requesting a letter of support from the TDC. 2. Report on the Explore Northwest FL sponsored travel writers visit to Carrabelle Franklin County Comm Jones 10. Reports from Member Organizations 11. Board Comments 12. Meeting Announcements: Wednesday, 5-13-2020 2:00pm TDC Board Meeting at Eastpoint Visitor Center

FCTDC Collections Report for 2019-20 Year-to-Date Report (Through December 2019)

Month 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 October $ 35,408.91 $ 32,809.57 $ 39,697.19 $ 38,597.69 $ 39,568.32 $ 36,996.34 $ 48,383.10 $ 53,543.22 $ 57,651.88 $ 58,875.87 $ 75,084.59 $ 95,107.96 November $ 24,824.38 $ 24,717.35 $ 27,182.76 $ 25,888.92 $ 25,863.47 $ 26,438.49 $ 34,441.98 $ 40,334.08 $ 34,740.65 $ 40,065.78 $ 44,449.24 $ 46,043.65 December $ 20,421.74 $ 16,055.89 $ 22,986.95 $ 23,167.33 $ 16,530.96 $ 19,936.19 $ 21,597.00 $ 21,510.93 $ 29,747.90 $ 30,978.80 $ 24,692.82 $ 41,580.49 January $ 19,681.48 $ 26,489.68 $ 22,911.37 $ 22,960.20 $ 26,170.57 $ 23,359.12 $ 30,392.62 $ 33,657.09 $ 34,707.03 $ 38,805.36 $ 47,001.63 $ 41,668.57 February $ 29,294.47 $ 44,900.59 $ 40,835.29 $ 39,452.32 $ 33,678.97 $ 34,980.88 $ 52,045.79 $ 49,365.87 $ 52,883.10 $ 42,754.53 $ 64,493.95 $ 60,422.61 March $ 51,243.40 $ 45,643.22 $ 61,090.70 $ 49,778.57 $ 53,116.79 $ 61,989.52 $ 66,597.90 $ 80,880.36 $ 78,180.12 $ 83,626.43 $ 80,017.67 $ 84,583.19 April $ 69,608.73 $ 70,430.06 $ 66,135.24 $ 73,880.65 $ 53,934.68 $ 70,610.82 $ 81,641.55 $ 90,242.68 $ 81,115.14 $ 101,310.37 $ 103,120.37 $ 89,949.68 May $ 100,486.16 $ 114,100.71 $ 123,221.80 $ 104,769.28 $ 120,470.95 $ 90,634.75 $ 140,203.97 $ 115,589.54 $ 135,897.45 $ 143,700.44 $ 131,348.44 $ 110,484.59 June $ 107,484.39 $ 166,403.90 $ 138,839.79 $ 143,507.76 $ 151,640.61 $ 172,029.99 $ 143,805.29 $ 195,838.11 $ 210,505.76 $ 195,093.30 $ 213,948.96 $ 226,795.48 July $ 149,857.23 $ 95,128.02 $ 128,027.35 $ 131,276.62 $ 114,121.18 $ 147,874.24 $ 140,000.40 $ 153,197.77 $ 164,199.99 $ 182,235.52 $ 253,603.30 $ 242,036.51 August $ 51,353.14 $ 69,863.99 $ 57,497.82 $ 56,312.21 $ 71,377.70 $ 60,698.01 $ 93,912.12 $ 86,742.96 $ 107,783.56 $ 129,879.50 $ 82,664.07 $ 121,808.90 September $ 38,597.72 $ 46,282.27 $ 45,739.57 $ 41,298.87 $ 47,760.09 $ 57,592.93 $ 63,037.18 $ 57,170.58 $ 64,199.48 $ 75,778.00 $ 81,869.35 $ 90,214.19 Totals $ 698,261.75 $ 752,825.25 $ 774,165.83 $ 750,890.42 $ 754,234.29 $ 803,141.28 $ 916,058.90 $ 978,073.19 $ 1,051,612.06 $ 1,123,103.90 $ 1,202,294.39 $ 1,250,695.82

YOY % $ 54,563.50 $ 21,340.58 $ (23,275.41) $ 3,343.87 $ 48,906.99 $ 112,917.62 $ 62,014.29 $ 73,538.87 $ 71,491.84 $ 79,190.49 $ 48,401.43 7.8% 2.8% -3.0% 0.4% 6.5% 14.1% 6.8% 7.5% 6.8% 7.1% 4.0%

Month 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Increase/Decrease % of Change $1,500,000.00 October $ 85,823.35 $ 38,416.89 $ 89,660.28 $ 51,243.39 133% November $ 49,440.74 $ 87,784.31 $ 57,067.01 $ (30,717.30) -35% $1,250,000.00 December $ 37,182.43 $ 46,715.00 $ 52,526.91 $ 5,811.91 12% January $ 51,388.51 $ 52,063.46 0% February $ 58,337.94 $ 66,632.44 0% $1,000,000.00 March $ 111,947.32 $ 127,975.20 0% April $ 103,422.44 $ 82,258.08 0% May $ 140,130.14 $ 166,129.65 0% $750,000.00 June $ 269,049.32 $ 300,092.38 0% July $ 215,933.34 $ 209,374.07 0% $500,000.00 August $ 111,322.92 $ 134,238.67 0% September $ 70,419.47 $ 90,051.57 0% Totals $ 1,304,397.92 $ 1,401,731.72 $ 199,254.20 $ 26,338.00 111% $250,000.00

YOY % $ 53,702.10 $ 97,333.80 4.3% 7.5% $-

* October and November 2018 due to statistically are outliers. October and November 2019 compared with 2017-18 amounts are more representative, thus, these months show increases of 10% and 9% respectively, or YTD increase of 31%.

File:TDC Collections YTD.xl Updated 03/03/2020 FCTDC 2019-20 Expense to Budget Report as of February 29, 2020 Budget Expensed YTD Balance % Spent ADMINISTRATION $112,000 $34,934 $77,067 31.19%

INFRASTRUCTURE $942,695 $185,277 $757,418 19.65% AID TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS $382,695 $79,377 $303,318 20.74% Armory Website $14,000 $0 $14,000 0.00% Beach Cleanup $75,000 $37,500 $37,500 50.00% Bridge Cleanup $24,000 $6,000 $18,000 25.00% Land Acquisition $202,195 $31,667 $170,528 15.66% SGI Bathrooms Project $67,500 $4,210 $63,290 6.24% Other $0 $0 $0 0.00% Reserve $0 $0 $0 0.00% AID TO PRIVATE (NP) AGENCIES $270,000 $105,000 $165,000 38.89% Visitor Centers $180,000 $90,000 $90,000 50.00% Museum Grants $90,000 $15,000 $75,000 16.67% TDC MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR $20,000 $900 $19,100 4.50%

PROMOTIONS $1,677,783 $222,161 $1,455,622 13.24%

NEW PROMO OPS $15,000 $0 $15,000 0.00%

GRANTS FOR NON-PROFIT EVENTS $123,000 $4,439 $118,561 3.61% Grants for Non-Profit Events - Other $123,000 $4,439 $118,561 3.61% INTERNET $257,009 $102,483 $154,526 39.88% 2K Web Group Retainer $30,000 $11,340 $18,660 37.80% Social Media Campaigns $26,520 $0 $26,520 0.00% Non-Contractual Website $6,000 $0 $6,000 0.00% Domain Hosting and Name, My Emma, Reservation $15 -$15 Data Base Conversion Study $0 $0 Search Engine Optimization $28,500 $11,050 $17,450 38.77% Market Research $6,000 $6,000 $0 100.00% Internet Marketing (Google, etc) $109,655 $43,095 $66,560 39.30% 14% Production $20,334 $5,863 $14,471 28.83% Core Internet Marketing $10,000 -$10,000 Email Marketing $5,620 -$5,620 Banner Adds (Bay Media) $25,800 $9,500 $16,300 36.82% 14% Production (Bay Media) $4,200 $0 $4,200 0.00% WEBSITE REVISIONS $12,200 $0 $12,200 0.00% Photo Library $7,500 $0 $7,500 0.00%

1 R. 02/01/2020 FCTDC 2019-20 Expense to Budget Report as of February 29, 2020 Budget Expensed YTD Balance % Spent

Photo Set Up (Materials, actors, etc) $4,700 $0 $4,700 0.00% PARTNERSHIPS - COOPS $13,500 $0 $13,500 0.00% Visit Florida State Welcome Center Placement*** $3,000 $0 $3,000 0.00% 98 Corridor Mkting $5,000 $0 $5,000 0.00% COCA Banner $5,500 $0 $5,500 0.00% PRINT $211,096 $63,512 $147,585 30.09% Bay Media Retainr - Production $30,000 $7,500 25.00% Banner Ads - See Internet Content Production $12,000 $2,470 $9,530 20.58% Trip Advisor $3,500 $0 0.00% Forgotten Coastlines $26,400 $0 0.00% Print Advertising $85,000 $45,789 53.87% 14% Production $15,196 $7,752 51.02% Trip Advisor $25,000 $25,000 $0 0.00% Printing Promotional Materials (brochures) $14,000 $0 0.00% SPECIAL EVENTS AND OUTREACH $61,500 $11,241 $50,259 18% Webcam Installation/Maintenance $1,500 $0 0.00% Get-a-Way Contests $16,000 $1,528 9.55% Hospitality Training $2,000 $0 0.00% Journalists Visits $10,000 $1,108 11.08% Mentoring /Scholarships $2,000 $0 0.00% Promotional Items $8,000 $0 0.00% Promotional Mailings (Welcome Centers) $6,000 $0 0.00% Survey Program $4,000 $0 0.00% Software advancements $12,000 $8,605 71.71% Trademark (not due until ?) TV, RADIO AND WEBCAMS $105,200 $22,400 $82,800 21% FCTV Retainer $25,200 $6,000 23.81% Radio (FSU, Cumulus, etc) $10,000 $0 0.00% Oyster Radio $10,000 $4,000 40.00% Television Advertising $35,000 $0 0.00% WCTV $0 FSU TV $0 FOX 49 $0 30A TV $0 Comcast/ Spectrum $0

2 R. 02/01/2020 FCTDC 2019-20 Expense to Budget Report as of February 29, 2020 Budget Expensed YTD Balance % Spent

Video Production $25,000 $12,400 49.60% Video Library $0 Video Production- PSAs $0 Video Production - Other $0 WELCOMING TOURIST $28,800 $7,488 $21,312 26.00% Additional Signage Roadside $15,000 0.00% Airport Sign/Display - Clear Channel $13,800 $6,852 49.65% Postage - Visitor Guides $636 DUES/ MEMBERSHIPS/ MEETINGS/ CONFERENCES $20,000 $10,598 $9,402 53% Gov Conf. / Conf. and Meetings (registration/accom.) $5,000 $0 0.00% Travel - Conferences/ Meetings (perdeim/mileage) $3,000 $425 14.17% FADMO $3,380 $3,380 100.00% Trail of Floria Indian Heritage $250 $250 100.00% Outdoor Writers Association $375 $375 100.00% Visit Florida $993 $993 100.00% Florida Outdoor Writer's Association $175 $175 100.00% Explore NW Florida (Riverway South) Membership $5,000 $5,000 100.00% TOTAL BUDGET 2019-20 $1,762,000 $442,371 $1,319,629 25.11%

3 R. 02/01/2020

Franklin County TDC Monthly Marketing Report

Feb 1, 2020 - Feb 29, 2020 ▼

Report Prepared by 2K Web Group February Internet Marketing Update Provided by 2K Web Group – March 4, 2020

• Website visitors 32,373. This is up over 2% compared to the previous year. • Completed goals are up over 75%. • Visitor Guide Requests: 324 • Visitor Guide Online Reads: 331 with average read time of over 7 minutes. • Accommodation “Lead” Requests: 87 • Newsletter Signups: 343 • Getaway Signups: 620

• Paid internet ad campaigns generated a total of 7,544 visits to the website in February. We experienced a hiccup with the display campaign ads however that is resolved now. The campaigns are on-going.

• Social media generated a total of 400,411 impressions and 20,308 engagements

• Winter fishing report was completed with the assistance of Captain Tim Peterson. This provides valuable content for the website.

• Updated various business listings

• Provided FCTV our “Wish List” for photography

• Four blog posts were published on the website • St. George Island Ranks as a Favorite Spring Break Destination for Families • 4 Reasons to Spend Spring Break on Florida’s Forgotten Coast • Feeling Adventurous? Enter to Win the Forgotten Coast’s Adventure Getaway! • March Down to Florida’s Forgotten Coast for Exciting Events All Month Long

Website Trac Summary

Organic Search Paid Search

7.6% 38% Social Direct Email Referral Paid Social 17.5% Display Print / Banner others

22.5%

Sessions Pageviews Bounce Rate Goals Completed 32,373 66,536 61.89% 1,599 2.45% -0.77% -4.22% 75.14% Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year

Channel Sessions ▼ Pageviews Bounce Rate Goals Completed

Organic Search 12,302 28,234 56.02% 190

Paid Search 7,277 16,962 60.11% 196

Social 5,667 8,008 74.22% 645

Direct 2,459 4,475 69.58% 73

Email 1,438 2,345 63.91% 90

Referral 1,422 3,737 54.85% 45

Paid Social 1,369 2,048 59.75% 348

Display 267 301 89.51% 0

Print / Banner 156 334 58.33% 12

(Other) 13 62 38.46% 0

Limited to top 10 Organic Search

4.7%

google bing yahoo duckduckgo ask ecosia.org baidu

91.2%

Sessions Pageviews Goals Completed 12,302 28,234 190 44.25% 36.55% 28.38% Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year

Keyword Clicks ▼ Impressions st george island 471 20,782 st george island orida 285 6,442 apalachicola 283 15,756 apalachicola orida 186 5,244 st. george island 160 5,169 alligator point orida 159 1,827 forgotten coast 158 853 st george island chili cook off 2020 121 307 alligator point 102 1,500 eastpoint orida 94 1,106

Limited to top 10 keywords in Google Search Paid Search Campaigns

Ad Budget Spent Sessions Pageviews Goals Completed $5,029.71 7,277 16,962 196 -47.97% -10.24% -13.64% 14.62% Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year

Keyword Clicks ▼ Bounce rate st george island 2,112 64.45% apalachicola 1,230 57.67% apalachicola 384 52.67% carrabelle 355 57.26%

+st. +george +island +orida 315 65.48%

Limited to top 5 keywords

Paid Display Campaign

Ad Budget Spent Sessions Pageviews Goals Completed $5.47 267 301 No data -99.89% -96.87% -97.73% No data Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year Compared to previous year

Campaign Clicks ▼ Bounce rate

Empty Nesters 8 86.67%

Apalchicola Content Only 0 0%

Apalchicola Old 0 0%

Area Events 0 0%

Best Florida Beaches Content Only 0 0%

Limited to top 5 campaigns Paid Print Campaigns

Sessions Pageviews Goals Completed 156 334 12

Campaign Sessions ▼ Pageviews Bounce Rate coca / banner 68 135 64.71% outdoor-photographer / print 51 83 64.71% villages-annual-guide / print 10 27 10% nashville-lifestyle / banner 7 21 42.86% food-travel / print 4 11 50% shermans-travel / banner 3 3 100% coastal-lifestyle / print 3 21 33.33%

Coastal Angler / print 2 2 100% garden-gun / print 2 6 50% visitorsguide / print 2 8 0%

Limited to top 10 campaigns Email Newsletters

Sessions Pageviews Goals Completed 1,438 2,345 90

Campaign Sessions ▼ Pageviews Bounce Rate march newsletter 2020 1,243 1,900 65.41% february newsletter 2020 130 340 49.23%

Feb 2020 27 52 59.26%

January newsletter 2020 16 20 75%

03552b604f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_07_49 12 16 66.67%

October-2019 3 3 100%

February 2019 2 2 50%

September-2019 2 5 50%

May 2019 1 1 100%

June 2019 1 1 0%

Limited to top 10 campaigns Social Media

Followers Impressions Engagements Link Clicks 100,550 400,411 20,308 5,425 Goals Completed: Accommodation Requests

Total Completions 87 -26.89% Compared to previous year

Total Completions 6

4

2

0 Feb 1 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 27 Feb 29

9.2% Paid Search 41.4% Organic Search Social Referral Direct Email

37.9%

Channel Total Completions ▼

Paid Search 36

Organic Search 33

Social 8

Referral 4

Direct 4

Limited to top 5 Goals Completed: Visitor Guide Requests

Total Completions 324 57.28% Compared to previous year

Total Completions 40

30

20

10

0 Feb 1 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 27 Feb 29

6.8%

26.9% Paid Social Paid Search 18.2% Social Organic Search Direct Referral Email 22.5% 20.4%

Channel Total Completions ▼

Paid Social 87

Paid Search 73

Social 66

Organic Search 59

Direct 22

Limited to top 5 Goals Completed: Newsletter Signups

Total Completions 343 214.68% Compared to previous year

Total Completions 80

60

40

20

0 Feb 1 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 27 Feb 29

6.4% Paid Social Social 9.3% Organic Search Paid Search Direct 14.6% 61.8% Email Referral Print / Banner

Channel Total Completions ▼

Paid Social 212

Social 50

Organic Search 32

Paid Search 22

Direct 14

Limited to top 5 Goals Completed: Getaway Signups

Total Completions 620 32.48% Compared to previous year

Total Completions 150

100

50

0 Feb 1 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 27 Feb 29

Social 11% Email Referral Direct Print / Banner Organic Search Paid Search Paid Social 79.7%

Channel Total Completions ▼

Social 494

Email 68

Referral 18

Direct 12

Print / Banner 10

Limited to top 5 Goals Completed: Contact Form

Total Completions 11 0.00% Compared to previous year

Total Completions 1

0.75

0.5

0.25

0 Feb 1 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 27 Feb 29

9.1%

18.2% Organic Search 45.5% Direct Referral Paid Search

27.3%

Channel Total Completions ▼

Organic Search 5

Direct 3

Referral 2

Paid Search 1

Limited to top 5 Most Popular Pages

Page Sessions ▼ Pageviews Bounce Rate

/st-george-island/ 5,123 6,796 62.81%

/apalachicola/ 2,918 3,926 58.4%

/getaways/adventure-getaway/ 2,249 2,660 63.36%

/ 2,126 3,133 59.64%

/2020/02/st-george-island-ranks-as-a-favorite-spring-break-… 1,978 2,235 86.8%

/carrabelle/ 1,095 1,628 62.56%

/events/ 903 2,807 57.14%

/alligator-point/ 860 1,284 68.37%

/e-newsletter/ 815 1,278 51.53%

/places-to-stay/ 766 1,991 39.16%

/things-to-see-do/ 729 1,588 54.46%

/places-to-stay/special-offers-packages/ 711 1,153 70.89%

/event/chili-cook-off/ 693 865 61.47%

/visitors-guide/ 683 1,576 67.79%

/event/mardi-gras-barkus-parade-2/ 487 695 58.52%

/places-to-stay/vacation-rentals/ 384 1,508 27.86%

/eastpoint/ 329 539 62.61%

/places-to-stay/campgrounds/ 254 636 29.92%

/things-to-see-do/beaches/ 252 612 72.62%

/event/forgotten-coast-en-plein-air-americas-great-paint-out/ 229 275 61.57%

/things-to-see-do/shing/shing-resources/seasonal-shin… 221 294 71.49%

/things-to-see-do/webcams/ 212 381 63.68%

/event/hcola-history-festival/ 179 273 54.19%

/things-to-see-do/shing/ways-to-sh/shore-shing/ 173 259 65.9%

/event/st-george-island-tour-of-homes/ 171 219 65.5%

Limited to top 25 Top Cities

City Sessions ▼ Pageviews Bounce Rate

Orlando 2,498 4,345 64.37%

Atlanta 1,526 2,702 66.19%

Tallahassee 1,324 2,676 58.31%

(not set) 1,193 2,591 63.03%

Eastpoint 1,012 2,180 57.61%

Miami 963 1,593 65.52%

Blountstown 669 1,791 51.72%

Birmingham 523 937 61.38%

Chicago 458 801 67.9%

Port St. Joe 411 797 55.72%

Nashville 380 768 65.26%

Tampa 331 605 64.35%

Jacksonville 317 596 62.78%

New Orleans 279 564 59.5%

Irvine 275 275 100%

Louisville 260 575 59.23%

Panama City Beach 245 557 54.29%

Dallas 240 455 66.67%

Apalachicola 214 385 57.94%

Columbus 193 444 57.51%

New York 184 302 65.76%

Carrabelle 163 393 51.53%

Gainesville 158 277 58.86%

Crawfordville 151 266 67.55%

Memphis 144 331 61.11%

Limited to top 25

March 2020 Update

During the month of February FCTV completed three video projects. We complete videos on the St. George Island Tour of Homes, the Mardi Gras Pet Parade, and the African American History Festival.

We are in the process of trying to wrap up our “Museum Series” with the St. George Island Lighthouse and the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum.

In the month of March we will be covering the SGI Chili Cookoff, the Eastpoint Rib Cookoff, and Forgotten Coast in Plein Air.

2020 VISITOR TRACKING

Month Apalachicola EPVC SGI Carrabelle Total January 1,304 282 873 309 2,768 February 1,829 449 1,258 233 3,769 March April May June July August September October November December TOTAL 6,537 Franklin County Tourist Development Council 731 Highway 98 Eastpoint, Florida 32328 850-670-3474 March 4, 2020

Re: Apalachicola Artificial reef Association (AARA) Buddy Ward Reef

To Whom it May Concern:

This letter is in reference to AARA’s request for Grant funds from the FWC for the new Buddy Ward Artificial Reef located in State waters off St. George Island.

This letter is an acknowledgment of our support of the AARA in their efforts for constructing this new reef in our area. This site will be heavily used by both residents and visitors and is vital to supporting recreational fishing in the Apalachicola/St. George Island area where there are currently very few State water reef sites Adding an artificial reef in state waters near the Bob Sikes Cut will materially benefit the residents and visitors to Apalachicola, Eastpoint and St. George Island. Such additional habitat is vital to the long-term growth and protection of marine life and is essential to fishery management and subsequently the local economy.

Please accept this letter on behalf of the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.

John Solomon TDC Director