Greetings!
Midland Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is pleased to send our first eNewsletter to share what is going on in the CVB and what Midland has to offer. Please contact us if you have any questions or if you need help with a group of visitors coming to Midland. We are here for you and we are glad to have you as a contact. |
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Calendar of Events  What is going on in Midland, Texas? We have the answer to that. Our Calendar of Events has a variety of events and you can even sort by type to suit your taste. Do you like theatre? Sort the calendar to show you those events only. Do you prefer meetings or seminars? Then sort by that. We do our best to get info from various locations to become the most comprehensive calendar in Midland. If you think we are missing an event that the public needs to know about then please let us know. Anyone can visit our website and simply click on "Submit Event" and fill out the entry form. It's that simple!
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Photo of the Month
Midland CVB hosted a Photo Contest during National Tourism Week. The photo entries poured in. Afterwards all photos were on our website for display and voting. After all the votes had been tallied we selected winners in three different categories. The photo shown here was our overall winner receiving the most votes for "best overall". This photo is of a West Texas Sunrise from the West side of town facing East. Photographer was Tom Reed. Congratulations to Tom Reed for the Best Overall Photo Winner of the CVB's 2009 National Tourism Week Photo Contest!
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Featured Hotel -
Midtown Hotel & Conference Center
 Located just minutes of downtown Midland, The Midtown Hotel is well-situated for the business traveler as well as convenient to recreational venues. From the heated indoor pool to the redesigned Great Rooms, they promise an enjoyable stay. The Midtown was built in 1981 and is one of Midland's largest hotels with 210 quest rooms. The property features all indoor corridor access, a heated indoor pool with hot tub, saunas and lounge. The recent renovations have been exciting and there is still have more to come, with an executive lounge, expanded business center and breakfast bar. The rooms include 32" Phillips flat-screen televisions, Simmons super pillow-top mattresses, Keurig coffee brewers, in room safes, and granite bathrooms. Each room is designed for maximum comfort and sophistication. Hot tubs are a great new feature in select rooms providing a way to unwind or have a relaxing and romantic getaway.
The Midtown also features several meeting spaces that can be perfect for your next meeting or conference. The Midland Convention and Visitors Bureau is proud to highlight the Midtown Hotel as our July spotlight and encourage you to visit their website to see what all they can offer. Please visit http://www.midtownhotel-midland.com/ for more detailed information. The Midtown Hotel is located at 3100 West Wall Street in Midland and can be reached at 432-699-4144.
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 The Museum of the Southwest is starting summer with its Art Museum full of artwork from the Permanent Collection; the Children's Museum open and busy with children enjoying "The Space Spot" exhibit, all of its permanent displays, and the Dino Dig reopened; the Sculpture Park showing 14 sculptures; and the Planetarium nearing its renovation completion with a Fall opening expected in late September. Museum hours remain 10am till 5:00pm on Tuesday thru Saturdays, and 2:00pm till 5:00pm on Sundays.
Now in its 22nd season, the Summer Sunday Lawn Concerts will run from June 28th through August 23rd (see the attached schedule). Concerts are free to the public and run for one hour, from 7:45 till 8:45pm except for the last one which starts at 7:15pm. People bring lawn chairs and coolers, often with dinner and drinks.
In the Art Museum there is on display a James Surls sculpture suspended from the ceiling along with a large drawing on the nearby wall. Surls is an internationally known sculptor, and this exhibit of his work is part of the five museum consortium called the West Texas Triangle. Galleries One, Two and Three are filled with contemporary art for the Permanent Collection of the Museum. Also in the Contemporary Gallery is an exhibit of Ed Haddaway's whimsical and thought provoking sculptures beginning on July 17th and continuing through October 4th. In the Thomas-Turner Galleries is the Museum's collection of Audubon prints on display through August 23rd, and in the Sculpture Gallery upfront in the Museum are smaller sculptures also from the Permanent Collect. Outside on the grounds, the Museum's Sculpture Park features 14 large sized sculptures, and visitors are free to wander the grounds to enjoy these outstanding works.
The 40th Anniversary of SeptemberFest kicks off with a Preview Party for attendees to have a "first look" at the artworks and crafts being exhibited during the festival. The Preview Party will be Friday evening, September 11th, with food and drink. Then all day Saturday, September 12th, from 10am till 7pm, more than 75 artists will be showing a wide variety of arts and crafts including paintings, photography, sculpture, jewelry, printmaking, furniture making, and much more. The artists are juried into the show by a judging panel, and this is a great opportunity to acquire artworks for you or as special gifts. Christmas shopping can be done early! There will be food vendors, entertainment on the Community Stage, a Kinderfest area, and a Teen Scene space each day of SeptemberFest. Admission is charged.
For full information about all of the events and activities at the Museum of the Southwest, visit our website at www.museumsw.org or phone the Museum at (432) 683-2882.
Museum of the Southwest is also conducting a visitor survey and would like your input. Visit http://www.nmc-pb.org/motsw this survey will only be open from July 1st to July 10th. The Museum thanks you for your input.
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Old Rankin Highway Visitor Center 
Old Rankin Highway Visitors Center opened January 10, 2008. In May of this year, we had a total of 273 visitors. Of the total visitors 215 of them were out of the area and 58 were locals, which include the surrounding towns within a radius of 36 miles. Many of the locals come in for information so they can share it with family and friends coming to visit. The main goal of the Visitors Center is to share with travelers what Midland has to offer. We want them to spend some time here; stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and visit our museums and attractions. ORHVC has 14 wonderful active volunteers. We also have several volunteers taking a break who have been very faithful since we opened. We feel our volunteers are a great asset to the Visitors Center and to the City of Midland. They come from all walks of life. We have some that work full time jobs and still find time to volunteer once a week for a few hours. If anyone is interested in giving a few hours a week of their time  and share Midland with travelers, please call the Visitors Center at 687-8286 and ask for Daisy. You will meet interesting people from all over the world. We have had travelers from 35 countries and every state in the United States. Starting next month we will feature a ' Volunteer of the Month ' and we will be sharing with you something about that volunteer. |
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Spotlight on the CVB
NORTHWEST TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Midland is excited to have welcomed the Northwest Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Attendance was expected to reach over 600 attendees from all over the Northwest region. First United Methodist Church in Midland hosted this event. Their annual conference topic this year was "Rethink Church". The conference included workshops, worships, and speakers. Hotels that supported this event were Hilton Midland Plaza, La Quinta North, and Comfort Inn. This event was estimated to bring in over $280,000 in direct visitor spending to our community.
TEXOMA TOURS  The Midland CVB recently hosted a Red Carpet Welcome Reception for Texoma Tours, a tour group from the Dallas area. The group spent the night in Midland before making their way down to Big Bend National Park. The CVB rolled out the red carpet for the group as they stepped off the bus, helped them with their luggage, and set up drinks and snacks for them in the hotel lobby to ensure their tour had a great start and they experienced true West Texas hospitality here in Midland! TRAVEL & TOURISM QUARTERLY MEETING The CVB hosted a Travel & Tourism Meeting at the CAF Airpower Museum on June 18 for everyone involved in the tourism industry - or interested in being involved . The meeting began with a very informative presentation from Heather Francell on marketing your business using social media and ended with a tour of the CAF Airpower Museum. There will be guest speakers at all future T&T meetings. A special thanks to the CAF Airpower Museum, Heather Francell, and all that attended the meeting. The next T&T Meeting will be held August 20. |
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CVB Actions
CONVENTION & VISITOR BUREAU REPORTING:
April's Servicing Numbers
Groups Serviced: 20
Overnight Visitors: 2,551
Day Visitors: 1,538
Inquires Answered: 380
Collateral Distributed: 3,175
Numbers are reported one month behind sales numbers due to tracking and reporting. Our servicing manager as well as staff continually strives to provide all visitors with West Texas hospitality and information to make their stay enjoyable and one worth repeating. "Visitor numbers" are estimated by event right holders and provided by tracking reports. "Inquiries Answered" are phone, mail, email, and walk-ins. These numbers are compiled with the CVB downtown office and the Visitor Center on I20. "Collateral Distributed" is the number of informative pieces of information such as Midland Visitor Guide and Locator Maps. Again, these numbers are compiled with the CVB downtown office and the Visitor Center.
May's Sales Dashboard
Requests for Proposals: 12
Bids Submitted: 13
Definite Bookings: 18
Room Nights Booked: 1,869
Direct Visitor Spending: $1,156,835.00
We report one month behind so that we can give a full months representation. "Requests for Proposals" are leads that are captured by the CVB and distributed to local hotels, meeting facilities, and sporting venues. "Bids Submitted" are proposals sent to event right holders to try to bring an event to Midland. "Definite Bookings" are leads that have turned into definite business for Midland. "Room Nights Booked" is the number of sleeping room nights that are associated with the definite business booked. "Direct Visitor Spending" is the estimated dollar amount that an event will bring in; calculating the number of dollars visitors will spend in Midland's economy.
CVB Actions for June 2009
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Brenda Kissko, Travel & Tourism Manager, traveled to Granbury, Texas to meet with other West Texas Tourism partners to work on a collaborative effort to increase the number of West Texas Itineraries. This group effort will help to increase our areas awareness in the minds of others when we attend tradeshows, marketplaces, and advertise in magazines or online.
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All staff attended our annual retreat where we can meet out of the office to go over an approved agenda discussing procedures, projects, and new ideas.
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Midland CVB was pleased to find out that we were invited to be a guest on West Texas View Ch.9. Johnnie Lou Avery, the show's host, interviewed our staff and allowed us to promote what the CVB has to offer. This was a great opportunity and the air times will be July 19th, July 26th, and August 2nd at 6 AM on KWES Channel 9. For more information go to http://www.newswest9.com/westtexasview |
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Thank you for taking the time to view and read our eNewsletter. If we can assist you with any group event bringing in visitors to Midland then please let us know. Share this email with co-workers, friends, family, whomever so that everyone can know what Midland CVB has going on.
Sincerely,
The Staff
Midland Convention & Visitors Bureau
109 N. Main
Midland, TX 79701
Phone: 432-683-3381
Toll free: 800-624-6435
Fax: 432-686-3556
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| What can the Midland CVB do for you? |
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We want your event to be hosted in Midland and our sales staff is here to make that happen!
We are your liaison to everything Midland. Submit an RFP with us and we will assist with group rates at local hotel properties and any other facilities.
You can't go wrong with the West Texas hospitality provided by our staff that your event will experience.
We'll see ya'll soon!
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