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2014/01/16 City news, features and updates January 16, 2014 Th i s W e e k i n H u n t s v i l l e Kimm Thomas, who serves as the City’s Director of Tourism and Cultural Services, also holds several influential positions among state-level agencies. Between the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (TACVB), the Texas Forest Trail -Texas Heritage Trails Program and the I-45 Corridor Association, Thomas holds several leadership positions which assist in building publicity and recognition for Huntsville, not to mention networking and continuing education opportunities. Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus Thomas serves as a board member with the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, and also as the Chairperson for the TACVB’s Texas Destination Marketing Certificate program. According to the TACVB Web site, http:// www.tacvb.org/, the organization’s purpose is to support and help develop the convention and tourism industry in Texas through education and sharing of ideas. The agency provides seminars and conferences to train and develop CVB professionals, creative destination marketing strategies to stimulate and motivate your sales team, and industry trend analyses to inform your decision making. The TACVB, which Thomas said is the largest United States organization devoted to CVBs, provides the full range of tourism knowledge during their semi-annual conferences, from an introduction to the business to ongoing advertisement approaches. “The TACVB provides the educational components necessary for successful Convention and Visitors Bureaus and tourism efforts alike,” Thomas said. “The majority of our 23 board members come from Convention and Visitors Bureaus with larger budgets, so I feel honored to serve on the board with them. “I work with individuals from Bryan/ College Station, Plano, and other well- traveled cities, many with a tourism staff of 10 or more.” One of the designations available through the TACVB, the Texas Destination Marketing Certificate (TDM), provides employees of convention and visitor bureau and destination marketing organizations with an educational framework for marketing Texas as a destination for both tourism and group business. As the Chairperson for the TDM program, Thomas oversees the designations of course elements via Midwinter Educational Conference and Annual Conference based on eight areas of knowledge including Texas Heritage/Cultural Tourism, Administration/Finance, Communications/ Technology, Group Sales, Group Servicing, Marketing, Tourism Sales and Visitor Services. “To complete the entire program and receive TDM Designation, the participant must satisfy six of the eight disciplines,” Thomas said. “The majority of those who work in the tourism industry strive to achieve that certification, and I am honored to be part of the group that helps facilitate those designations.” Texas Forest Trail The Texas Heritage Trails Program, an initiative of the multi-faceted Texas Historical Commission, is a tourism and economic development initiative which encourages communities, heritage regions and the state to work together and promote Texas’ historic and cultural resources. According to the Texas Heritage Trails Web site, http://www.thc.state.tx.us/preserve/projects-and- programs/texas-heritage-trails, there are a total of 10 trails throughout Texas, including the Texas Forest Trail, chaired by Thomas. As the Chairperson, Thomas provides support to the executive director Marty Prince as she services the 35 counties included in the Texas Forest Trail from the Oklahoma- Arkansas border to the Gulf of Mexico. “We offer education, networking opportunities and much more through the Texas Forest Trail,” she said. “One of the biggest events we City Director holds leadership roles in three state-level tourism agencies KIMM THOMAS, Director of Tourism and Cultural Services See Director, continued on page 6 “Plus, there are seasonable pleasures to think about – walkers might see more migratory birds come through, and they might even catch a glimpse of the deer or foxes that always live in the woods.” Zellar said the City offers three different types of trails – cemented sidewalk trails, woodchip surface trails and single- track trails, which put walkers right in the middle of woodland surroundings. “A lot of people like to make the cement sidewalk loop by the Aquatic Center, but others like to walk among the trees,” he said. “It all depends on what your group of walkers is comfortable with.” On the City’s Web site, www.huntsvilletx.gov, the Parks and Leisure Department maintains a map of the entire Eastham- Thomason trail system, outlining where each trail begins and ends, the locations of trail junctions and approximate lengths and elevations. The park is located at 1500 7th Street and Avenue N. The map may be accessed directly at http:// www.huntsvilletx.gov/egov/ documents/1255464100_295257.pdf. Take a walk on the City trails! The winter months are an opportune time to take advantage of the many trails and walkways maintained by the City of Huntsville. According to Natalie Reid with the Parks and Leisure Department, the City maintains five major trails in and around Eastham- Thomason Park, including Town Creek East, Town Creek West, Prairie, Top of Hill and Smith Hill Trail. “The City of Huntsville walking trails offer a great opportunity for local families to experience the beauty of nature at no cost,” Reid said. “Because there are five trails of varying lengths and challenge levels, there is an ideal trail for everyone from walkers with small children, independent hikers or mountain bike riders.” In particular, the winter months present an excellent opportunity to utilize the various available trails. According to David Zellar, City Horticulturalist, the combination of lower humidity, fewer bugs and snakes and a lower understory makes cooler periods a great time to utilize the trail system. “There are a lot of advantages to walking on trails during cooler months,” Zellar said. “In general, wooded areas are more user- friendly when it’s cold outside – the Poison Ivy, brush and leaves at ground level are lower and more open, making visibility much better. Eastham-Thomason Park City Secretary updates historical election information The City of Huntsville has just updated its Elections web page with scans of the City’s historic Election Register. “Since the 1980s, the Texas Election Code has required that each canvassing authority maintain an election register as part of its permanent records,” City Secretary Lee Woodward said. “These minutes include tabulated information on election results and may have additional historical information that is not necessarily in the regular meeting minutes, making them both more interesting and useful in additional ways.” While the City permanent minute books extend back to the 1800s, the Election Register has been maintained separately, containing information from January 1988 to the present. Links by decade have been added to the City Secretary Elections page on the City web site. To view the Election Register, visit http://huntsvilletx.gov/ department/division.php?structureid=33. Viewers may also navigate from the home page at www.huntsvilletx.gov, scroll over the “City Government” tab, then scroll over “City Secretary,” select Elections and open the desired register on the resulting page. “We seek to increase the amount of material saved electronically, both in case of a disaster and also to increase the availability and accessibility of information on our City’s Web site,” Woodward added. For more information, contact the City Secretary’s office at 936- 291-5403 or citysecretary@huntsvilletx.gov. Bring your dog to Eastham-Thomason Pet Park! Photos by Kristin Edwards Eastham-Thomason Park isn’t just for humans—man’s best friend is free to enjoy it, as well! While all dogs must be kept on a leash while enjoying the five major trails, there is a separate facility, the Eastham-Thomason Pet Park, where dogs can run free, play fetch, and interact with new friends. There are a few rules to keep in mind when utilizing the facility: The park is open from sunrise to sunset, and pet owners are responsible for the actions and behavior for their dogs at all times. A limit of three dogs per owner is allowed in the park at one time. Dogs must be leashed when entering or leaving the park. Owners must remain within the fenced area with their dog while the dog is off of his or her leash. Dogs must remain within view and voice control of the owner. Owners are responsible for picking up and disposing of any dog waste. No dogs under four months old, dogs in heat, or dogs who have not received their complete round of vaccinations are allowed. Dogs must also wear current license tags. Dogs showing signs of aggression must be leashed and/or immediately removed from the park. Finally, no food is allowed in the park, and children must be over 10 years of age and supervised by an adult. The Huntsville Public Library would like to announce to all young artists that the 3rd annual Library Art Contest deadline has been extended to Friday, January 24 at 6:00 p.m. The theme for this year’s contest is “Inspired by Books.” Students are encouraged to submit creative interpretations of favorite children’s books to be enlarged, framed, and displayed in the Children’s Room of the Huntsville Public Library. This contest is open to all children and teens 5- 18 years of age. All entries must be delivered on 8 ½ X 11 white paper, along with an entry form, to the Huntsville Public Library. Entries will be judged by a panel of community members and 12 winners will be announced at the official Artwork Unveiling Ceremony on Saturday February 22, 2014. Winning artwork will be exhibited in the Children’s Room Art Gallery of the Huntsville Public Library for one year. This contest is supported by the Huntsville Public Library Friends. For more information, please visit the library at 1219 13th Street or contact us at 936-291- 5472 or www.myhuntsvillelibrary.com. Children ages five to 18 encouraged to enter! Huntsville Public Library’s 3rd Annual Art Contest Deadline Extended Featured artists include: (1) Ty, Age 8, inspired by “Diary of a Wimpy Kid;” (2) Toben, Age 6, inspired by “Elmer;” (3) Hutton, Age 9, inspired by “Diary of a Wimpy Kid;” (4) Abygail, Age 10, inspired by “Tinkerbell;” (5) Elijah, Age 8, inspired by “How to Train Your Dragon;” (6) Lamya, Age 11, inspired by “Junie B. Jones;” and (7) Ginny, Age 10, inspired by “The Cat in the Hat.” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thoughts from City Manager Matt Benoit In the coming months, the Huntsville City Council will be meeting over the course of several days to establish a Strategic Plan. Aside from passing a budget, this will probably be the single most important policy action the Council will take in any given year. Here’s why: The Huntsville City Charter and the laws of the State of Texas establish and conform to the Council/Manager form of government. This form of government calls for an elected Council to serve the citizens and a City Manager to run the day-to-day affairs of the City. That division of duties seems pretty cut-and-dry. However, it can get fuzzy and distorted. The best way I’ve heard the relationship between the Council and City Manager (and staff) is the Council points the direction of the boat, and the City Manager (and staff) row the boat. This Strategic Plan will point the boat for the next year(s). There’s another important component to this process. It sort of forms a contract or agreement between the City Council and City staff. The Council is agreeing to work as a group and decide what will make Huntsville better. The result will be a clear, written plan. City staff is agreeing to pursue the Council’s direction and expects to be held accountable for the results of that direction. Together, we’re agreeing to collectively do our part to make Huntsville better, and by extension, agree to keep our focus on these items first. There’s one other really important component, that’s you and your input. By all means, if you have a burning issue that you’d like the Council to discuss and consider at their upcoming Strategic Planning events, call them, e-mail them, whatever you may chose. Trust me - they listen, they care and they will carefully consider your input. The City Council began work on a four-step Strategic Planning process in January which will result in a comprehensive, goal- oriented plan for the City’s future within the coming months. Working with Marcel Brunel of the Brunel Group, the Strategic Planning process will include individual assessments, review of a conceptual framework, and two planning sessions, all of which will culminate in late February or early March. According to City Manager Matt Benoit, the ultimate goal of the process will be to develop a Strategic Work Plan that is agreeable for the entire Council and will be of most benefit the citizens of Huntsville. Strategic Planning Steps After a Council committee including Mayor Mac Woodward, Council member Don Johnson and Council member Joe Rodriquez selected Brunel to facilitate the Strategic Planning process, Benoit and Brunel met to develop a four-step process to complete the plan. The first step of the Strategic Planning process was a Lumina Spark Assessment, which each Council member was asked to complete on an individual basis. After completing the assessment during the first two weeks of January, the Council members also had individual conversations with Brunel, establishing initial impressions, goals and ideas for the Strategic Planning process. The second step integrated input from the City Manager, City Director and City staff, resulting in a preliminary framework for the Strategic Plan which will be presented to Council on January 21. Council members will review the draft plan and to develop suggestions, additions or modifications. Steps three and four, scheduled for late January and late February, were designed to bring the Council together to learn about the Strategic Planning process and specifically address the plan itself. “During the first half-day session, Marcel will familiarize the Council with the Strategic Planning process, and facilitate Council discussions designed to bring the draft, preliminary plan into a more formal Council-driven plan,” Benoit said. “This is a critical phase of the process as it clarifies how the Council will work together to tailor the Strategic Plan to meet the needs of Huntsville residents.” The second planning session, which will reflect the work completed during the January meeting, is aimed at completing a final Strategic Plan. “At any time before the end of February, we hope our citizens will contact their Council representatives if they have an issue they feel should be advanced,” Benoit said. Contact information for all Council members is available on the City’s Web site, www.huntsvilletx.gov, and citizens are also welcome to call the City Secretary’s office at (936) 291-5403 to set up an appointment to speak with a Council member. City Council begins 2014 Strategic Planning program Citizen input encouraged throughout two-month process Strategic Planning Defined Strategic planning is an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. host each year is our photo contest, but we also assist in promoting the events and activities for each county. “Social media is a huge part of our efforts – we really try to use Facebook and other mediums to get the word out about the happenings within the Forest Trail.” I-45 Corridor Association Finally, Thomas serves as the President of the Interstate 45 Corridor Association, which highlights tourism opportunities “From Ennis to Conroe.” “I was actually the organizer of the I-45 Corridor Association, and it came about when I and a few other directors of CVBs between Houston and Dallas got together and thought about what we could do to maximize tourism traffic between the two major cities. “Our hope was to form an organization to help promote both economic development as well as tourism along the corridor, and we now meet monthly and are building our membership.” Currently, the association includes about 20 members, including representatives from Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Directors and CVB/Tourism professionals. “We’re really excited about this organization getting up and running,” she said. “We hope it will really encourage people to stop along the way as they travel from Dallas to Houston.” Thomas said her position with the City of Huntsville benefits greatly from her roles in state tourism agencies. “What all three of these organizations do for me is help me network with other CVBs to find new and innovative ways of telling our story,” she said. “You just can’t put a price on networking with other industry leaders and cross-marketing our communities.” For more information, contact Thomas at (936) 291-5932. Director, continued from page 1 The Huntsville Public Library and the Walker County Genealogy Society will host the annual Winter “Genealogy Lock-In” on Sunday, February 9, from 12:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. According to City Librarian Linda Dodson, the event will be a fun, stimulating chance for genealogists of all experience levels to learn and conduct their own research. “The Lock-in is a special program for everyone interested in tracing their family history,” Dodson said. “Beginners to experienced genealogists are welcome as our total focus is on genealogy. Genealogy Society members will be available to give guidance on how to get started, and they’ll share their experiences and help you crawl over any brick walls you’ve encountered in your research.” Denise Tilson, Adult Programming Coordinator, said all library computers will be made available to genealogy participants. “We hope everyone will come and join us for our annual Winter Genealogy Event – even if this is your first time attempting this type of research,” Tilson said. “The members of the Society are so knowledgeable and such fun to work with - they’re even providing a light lunch and snacks.” Attendees should bring all their genealogical research paperwork and their questions. “If you’re not sure whether or not to bring the certain information, bring it anyway,” Tilson said. “First-time researchers might be surprised to see just how many sources of genealogical information can be utilized, not to mention the vast collection of resources already available at the library.” Registration is preferred, but not required, for this free event. To register or for more information, call Tilson at (936) 291- 5471. Huntsville Public Library boasts ample Genealogy Resources Library patrons have an enormous amount of material available for genealogical research. The Johnnie Jo Sowell Dickenson Genealogy Room at Huntsville Public Library houses over six thousand books, newspapers, microfilm, digital databases and other resources for family history research, as well as computers reserved specifically for genealogy researchers. The Genealogy collection covers a wide historical and geographical area, with an emphasis on Walker County and Southern migration. Through the TexShare databases program, the Library has access to HeritageQuest Online, a premier online genealogy database that includes images and indexes of federal census records, local history books, and the Freedman's Bank Records, a primary source for African American family history research. The Library also has access to Ancestry Library Edition and American Ancestors, the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. These two subscription-based websites can be accessed in the Library only. As well, volunteers from the Walker County Genealogical Society regularly assist patrons with their family history questions in the Genealogy room. Visit the Library page at www.huntsvilletx.gov or myhuntsvillelibrary.com to learn more. Huntsville Public Library, Walker County Genealogy Society to host Winter “Genealogy Lock-In”