Title
Request for support of the creation of the Christmasville Board of Governors and appoint charter members to the Board.
(Strategic Goal: Strengthen and enhance the neighborhoods and business centers of Old Town.)
Body
REVISED 07-08-09
Issue Paper: Transition of ChristmasVille Advisory Committee to a Working Board of Governors
Strategic Goals Addressed:
Strategy: Strengthen and enhance the neighborhoods and business centers of Old Town.
Goal: Implement the Downtown Master Plan in order to strengthen downtown as the mixed-use hub for Old Town
Tactic: Support downtown festivals and events and enhance downtown venues to strengthen downtown’s role as the community’s primary gathering place
Background: The first annual ChristmasVille took place November 30-December 2, 2006 in Old Town Rock Hill, SC as a partnership between the City of Rock Hill and the Culture and Heritage Museums of York County. The overall mission was to establish an annual holiday festival in Old Town that would become a regional tourism destination celebrating the art of Vernon Grant.
Two years later, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, businesses, community groups, and participants, Old Town Rock Hill was transformed into the whimsical world of Vernon Grant, complete with a new Vernon Grant holiday gnome mascot named “Grant” in Mr. Grant’s honor.
The first four day festival offered 72 festivities and won two Excellence Awards from Showfest, including runner up for Event of the Year for events in South Carolina with budgets of over $50,000.
In 2007 and 2008 ChristmasVille won SC Event of the Year from the SC Festival and Events Association. This year ChristmasVille was selected as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events. The estimated number of people that attended ChristmasVille 2008 was 38,000 with an economic impact to the local community of $708,000.
Organizational Structure:
• In 2006 ChristmasVille was established with a 5 member Advisory Board that focused on developing marketing and decorations strategies.
• In 2007 the Advisory Board helped to expand the size of the organization by increasing the number of team leaders and committees
• In 2008 the Advisory Board grew from 5 members to 8. The Board began to address policy issues such as advertising policies. operational guidelines and Honorary Chair responsibilities
• In 2009 the Advisory Board recognized that the rapid success of ChristmasVille had outgrown its current organizational structure. The Advisory Board proposes to restructure the board from an Advisory Board to a working Board of Governors. This new board will be a working board of influential business leaders who will focus primarily on fundraising. The goal is to become a 15 member Board of Governors that will operate ChristmasVille under the umbrella of The Old Town Association’s 501 (c)(3) with the possibility of establishing its own 501 (c)(3) IRS designation as a tax-exempt organization sometime in the future.
The proposed members of the Board are:
1. John Rinehart - Rinehart Realty, Old Town Association, Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation
2. Allan Miller - Managing Partner WRHI - Chairman of the Vernon Grant Committee, former Come-See-Me President and Chair
3. Charlie Miller - CEO of Piedmont Medical center and presenting sponsor of ChristmasVille
4. Jim Heckle - President of York County Natural Gas, long-time Vernon Grant collector and ChristmasVille sponsor
5. Serena Williams - Rock Hill School District Three
6. Andy Shene - Market Executive for First Citizens Bank, Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors and strong interest in civic activities and downtown businesses
7. David Williams - Williams & Fudge, Come-See-Me Board and Old Town Association board member
8. Andrea Cooper - Comporium, past Chair and upcoming President for Come-See-Me
9. Mary Lynn Norton - Culture & Heritage Museums, Vernon Grant Committee, ChristmasVille Decorations Team Leader
10. Debra Heintz - Executive Director of the Arts Council of York County
11. Margaret Wallace - York County Convention & Visitors Bureau; Old Town Association, former Come-See-Me Chair
12. Terry Windell - City of Rock Hill Neighborhood Empowerment; downtown resident, ChristmasVille webmaster
13. Jane Hayes - former Come-See-Me Chair, ChristmasVille Entertainment Team Leader, Vernon Grant Committee
14. Candy Clapp Randall - Downtown Marketing and Events Manager for the City of Rock Hill, ChristmasVille founder and festival director
Action items for Council:
• Endorse the recommendation of the ChristmasVille Advisory Board and the Old Town Association to establish an independent ChristmasVille Board of Governors to plan, implement and raise funds for ChristmasVille
• Appoint the charter members of the ChristmasVille Board of Governors and assign to this Board the responsibility for developing bylaws, policies and practices to ensure the continuation of the Board and the continued success of ChristmasVille
• Request that the City Manager designate Candy Clapp of the Economic and Urban Development Department to act as the City’s staff liaison to the ChristmasVille Board of Governors and authorize Candy to serve the Board of Governors on an interim basis as Executive Director
• Request that the ChristmasVille Board of Governors provide a progress report to the City Council and propose a more formal working relationship between the City and the ChristmasVille Board of Governors by June 30, 2010