The Johnston County Visitors Bureau is required by legislation to submit an annual report to the Johnston County Commissioners on the financial matters of the organization. Along with a detail summary of the 2010-11 Fiscal Year Financials, the bureau has prepared a web-based Annual Report that is available for all citizens to review.
The Sales & Communications Department Highlights, Awards, and Visitor Inquiries Stats are the key components of this year's annual report with some helpful information on key feeder states and research provided by the NC Department of Commerce. Visitor Spending in Johnston County in 2010 equaled $175.2 million which was an increase of 6% over 2009. Trends in occupancy tax collections continue to show positive growth for 2011, as the Visitors Bureau continues to executive the Tourism Strategic Plan to influence traveler's buying decisions to visit the county.
Click here to learn more about tourism in Johnston County and the efforts of the Visitors Bureau to attract and serve visitors to the county!
The Johnston County Tourism Authority elected new officers for two year terms at the November 2nd board meeting. Ted Godwin, Sr. Vice President of KS Bank and representing the Kenly Chamber of Commerce on the board was elected chairman. Godwin had been serving as Vice Chair for two years and fulfilled the vacant Chair position for the past eight months.
Godwin is a native of Johnston County, having grown up in the Glendale Community. He is an alumnus of North Johnston High School and NC State University. He has forty years experience as a banker in Wilson, Southern Pines, New Bern and Johnston County. He and his wife have three sons and three grandchildren.
“Tourism in Johnston County generated over $175 million in local spending in 2010 and remains an important sector of the county’s economy,” explained Godwin. “The work of the Johnston County Visitors Bureau directly impacts the local tourism industry with publicity campaigns, Hospitality Heroes educational classes with Johnston Community College, and cooperative advertising programs. The Tourism Authority takes our responsibility to market the county very seriously and in the same vain we remain conservative stewards of public funds in this current economy. The Board has great representation from each area of the county and I’m proud to serve with each one.”
Following the election of Godwin, nominations for Vice-Chair and Secretary/Treasurer were held and Bob Dixon, a retired Smithfield resident was elected Vice-Chair, and Mary Boyette-Daniels, Sales Director for the Sleep Inn and Suites of Smithfield was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Both Dixon and Daniels have served on the Tourism Authority Board for three years and have been active as officers and committee chairs in the past.
Following the election of officers, Godwin’s first assignment was selecting chairs for both the Marketing and Special Projects Committees. Paul Boucher, owner of Small World Travel in Benson has stepped up to run the marketing committee while Trish Stewart, who represents the Four Oaks Chamber of Commerce, will chair the Special Projects Committee.
With officers and committee chairs set for 2012, the committee will continue to execute the Program of Work for the current fiscal year.
The Johnston County Visitors Bureau has leased office space in downtown Smithfield at 235-A East Market Street in the John Lampe Building. Ted Godwin, Chairman of the Tourism Authority Board, stated the move will be a positive step for the Visitors Bureau.
“We think this location will be more convenient for the staff and other county departments, as well as, being more efficient from a cost standpoint. This is a great location, and I think more conductive to accomplishing our mission.”
“Around four years ago, the Visitors Bureau moved from the Lee House to offices on Booker Dairy Road, which at the time was meant to be temporary,” explained Donna Bailey-Taylor, Executive Director, “Our first move was based on having adequate office space for staff needs. We still have visions of owning a building one day, hopefully, when the economy turns around we can pursue that option.”
Reasons for the current move include expanding office space, eliminating off-site storage, having a more visual presence, and to operate a visitor center. “We didn’t think we would be getting visitors to our administrative offices, but we do and our location on Booker Dairy was not ideal for that purpose,” continued Bailey-Taylor.
The Visitors Bureau plans on moving this December and to be completely settled in by the holidays. For more information on the operations of the Johnston County Visitors Bureau, visit the website, www.johnstoncountync.org
The Johnston County Tourism Authority is forming a Sports Council to bring together Parks & Recreation Departments and other sports organizations. Officials say sports tournaments could bring in thousands of visitors who would stay in local hotels and spend money in local stores and restaurants.
"It's a great way to bring tourism dollars to Johnston County," said Jim Godfrey, executive director of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce and a county tourism board member. "They shop, they eat, they drink."
"A single town or community in Johnston likely doesn't have the facilities to support an event like a national youth basketball or baseball tournament," Godfrey said. "But communities could come together to host such a tournament."
The Cleveland community has baseball fields, as do the towns of Smithfield, Clayton, Benson and Kenly, Godfrey said. Clayton now has a community center with basketball courts. Farther east, the Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center also has basketball courts.
"And local schools' athletic facilities could also be a possibility," Godfrey said.
The county's tourism office is always trying to spread the word about Johnston, said Donna Bailey-Taylor, executive director of the Visitors Bureau. Tourism officials collaborate with some local venues and hand out Johnston County gift bags to visitors at weddings and social events. Little trinkets, and even Band-Aid packages, carry the Johnston County logo.
"Sporting events are just another way to promote the county", Bailey-Taylor said.
Several small tournaments already take place here. Clayton even hosts a statewide bocce tournament. But the new committee wants to think bigger. Possibilities could include an AAU basketball tournament or national baseball tournaments for youth. Cycling and hiking events are also an option, Bailey-Taylor said, adding that triathlons are popular. Clemmons State Forest near Clayton and Howell Woods near Four Oaks have plenty of space, she said.
"There's one thing we have in Johnston County - it's land," Bailey-Taylor said. The committee, which will include a county commissioner and other local officials, will coordinate with towns' parks and recreation departments and with community groups such as the Greater Cleveland Athletic Association.
"This council hopefully brings everybody together," Godfrey said.
The Destination Marketing Association of North Carolina (DMANC) is the trade association for over 40 Convention & Visitors Bureau from across the state. The Annual Meeting was held recently in Concord with over 120 travel professionals learning from speakers, networking, and exchanging ideas on how best to promote our destinations in North Carolina. One of the annual highlights is the Destination Marketing Awards banquet and the Johnston County Visitors Bureau has received over 35 awards in the past ten years. This year the Johnston County Visitors Bureau received three awards; two platinum and one gold.
Receiving recognition this year were our efforts to build the tourism infrastructure with the new Benson Museum of Local History project which won a Platinum Award for Destination Initiatives. The Visitors Bureau took a real “hands-on” approach and was instrumental in designing and installing the museum exhibits. Also receiving a Platinum Award was our Sports Marketing Brochure, which goes out to sports tournament planners and is used in tradeshows to promote Johnston County sports facilities. Receiving a Gold Award was the marketing campaign the bureau ran for the Smithfield Ham & Yam Festival, which included a website, print and digital marketing.
Donna Bailey-Taylor, Executive Director of the bureau attended the conference in Concord and accepted the awards on behalf of the bureau. For more information on the Johnston County Visitors Bureau, our programs and general visitor content for the county, visit our web site, www.johnstoncountync.org
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