December 11, 2008

Trailblazer Award

Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau  Receives Prestigious 2008 Wisconsin Tourism Trailblazer Award

Wisconsin Dells – (Friday, Nov. 7, 2008) The Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (JACVB) has been awarded the prestigious 2008 Wisconsin Tourism Trailblazer award by the Wisconsin Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (WACVB).

The JACVB received the award for the creation of the innovative cooperative marketing position Susan Melton now holds. The JACVB, Rotary Botanical Gardens, the Janesville Performing Arts Center and the Rock County Historical Society/Lincoln Tallman House share the marketing position in an effort to leverage financial and creative resources. “The main objective for creating the partnership was to make high quality marketing services affordable to small tourism businesses” says Christine Rebout, Executive Director of the JACVB. The position is funded by the participating entities and a marketing grant from the JACVB.

It all started with the cooperative putting together a wish list of marketing needs and wants for their respective organizations; then working together to determine a realistic approach to satisfy those needs both financially and logistically. The cooperative worked to hammer out the financial needs, technology needs and a job description. Next, they began the search to fill the position. “It had to be the right person, someone with fresh marketing skills and the ability to organize and prioritize, " says Laurel Canan Executive Director of Janesville Performing Arts Center. "Susan has worked out beautifully.”  Madge Murphy, Executive Director of The Rock County Historical Society agrees:  “It has worked out great, she is right here whenever we need her services.”

The partnership hired Susan Melton as Marketing Director in April, 2008. It has led to improved quality and consistency of promotional efforts, improved communications and cost savings for the partners. “We have seen a great improvement in the quality of our brochures and ads, as well as unification of our marketing message," says Gary Smith, Interim Director at Rotary Botanical Gardens. "The cost savings also has been significant. Graphic design work can be quite costly.”  Interest in joining the partnership has been expressed from other area attractions and events since the program began.

Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Kelli Trumble joined WACVB in presenting the award to recipients during the WACVB’s 2008 Wisconsin Fall Tourism Convention in Wisconsin Dells. Other recipients of the 2008 Wisconsin Tourism Trailblazer award include: Visit Milwaukee for leading a community effort to create and fund a bronze sculpture of Fonzie, the iconic character from the popular TV show, Happy Days and in the individual category Kathy Manista, who is recently retired from Chicago Tribune, having worked on the Wisconsin tourism account for 23 years. WACVB presents the Wisconsin Tourism Trailblazers awards each year in an effort to increase the visibility of Wisconsin’s tourism industry and destination marketing organizations. WACVB represents Wisconsin's top destination marketing organizations and initiates cooperative ventures that enhance the state's tourism industry.

The JACVB is a private non-profit Destination Marketing Organization, whose mission is “to lead, support and promote tourism in the area by promoting Janesville as a prime destination for meetings and conventions, motorcoach and leisure travelers, thereby creating a positive economic impact on the community and enhancing the quality of life.” The JACVB is funded by local hotel room tax and receives 37.5% of the room tax collected by the City of Janesville with the remainder going into the city’s general fund.

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