Shawnee Oklahoma Convention & Visitor's Bureau

The Facts…

• The Shawnee Convention & Visitors Bureau is funding by a 5% lodging tax voted on by the people of Shawnee in 2004. It is dedicated to tourism marketing. It cannot be “re-directed” into the general fund without a vote of the people.
  
  
• The current marketing plan of the CVB is a direct result of the Randall Travel Marketing Research Plan presented to the CVB in 2006 and approved by the Shawnee City Commission.
  
  
• The CVB annual report is available to the public online in pdf or via mail by request. The annual audit, marketing plan, budget and annual report are submitted to the Tourism Advisory Committee, Chamber Board and City Commission for input and approval.
  
  
• The planned “Shawnee Tourist Information Center” will be funded by private donations NOT tax dollars. The property was purchased with VISITORS tax dollars, not sales tax. The estimated cost (if designed according to current plans) is $1.5 million. If the MWC facility was constructed today, they estimate that cost at $1.2 million…a lot of money for a much smaller and simpler facility.
  
  
• The property purchased IS visible from I-40 and is the proposed site. The property may be leverage if a more desirable location becomes available.
  
  
• The Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center has seven full-time employees and by contract can have no more than ten. All additional personnel are secured at the Expo’s expense through a local temp staffing agency.
  
  
• In 2009 the Expo hosted more than 160 events with more than 300 event days.
  
  
• Economic Impact for IFYR was calculated by OSU Extension Researchers in 2006 to be $5.1 million. Actual sales tax collected by the city from IFYR is calculated to be more than $33,000.
  
  
• According to research from OSU Extension, nine of the 160 events provided more than $400,000 in sales tax to the city in 2009.
  
  
• IFYR 2010 hosted 891 contestants from 31 states with more than $100,000 in ticket sales. There were also six daycares, the YMCA and the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club who took advantage of the free children’s group admission program offered during morning performances.
  
  

It would seem that politics demand an attack on someone or something to further their cause. This year it just so happens that the Shawnee Convention & Visitors Bureau is the lucky recipient of a portion of that negative attention. I don't fault them for their efforts. Shawnee has had its share of issues and the City obviously needs increased income. It seems natural to look to those that are successful to help pull those that are struggling up. My stand is quite simple...please make sure you have the facts before lashing out at our efforts. Please take the time to be informed. I don't think it is too much to ask...

That said...here are the facts.

• The Shawnee Convention & Visitors Bureau is funded SOLELY through a lodging tax levied by the properties to those that stay in our hotels. This tax was voted on by the residents of Shawnee and cannot legally be re-directed to the City general fund. It is to be used specifically for tourism marketing. This is standard practice across the United States. Our tax is 5% and is NOT paid by our residents...unless a resident finds themselves using one of our properties. Our tax is average for communities in Oklahoma. They run as low as 1% And as high as 10%. Nationally the highest lodging tax we know of is around 18%.
• Of every dollar collected, 99 cents comes to the SCVB for MARKETING SHAWNEE. One penney of every dollar is retained for admin costs by the City of Shawnee since they collect the checks and pass on the revenue to us. We have a business plan, a marketing plan and an annual budget we work from. These are reviewed by an advisory committee and a board of directors and also submitted to the City Commission each year. The SCVB also pays for an independent audit each year of our books.
• Our annual report is available on our web site home page for EVERYONE. We also provide each annual to our City Commissioners. We are happy to mail out copies upon request. We are an open book. Our meetings are open to the public and filed at City Hall. We encourage input from our area residents and especially from our local business owners who are directly impacted by what we do. Have questions? Want to visit one on one? Call me...405-275-9780.
• We spend more than 65% of our annual budget on marketing, advertising and event/meeting recruitment. If you leave your home this week you will notice thousands of rodeo contestants in our community...taking up space in our restaurants and buying up our gas. This is tax dollars coming in...this is tourism. We provide sponsorship and support for IFYR but it is only one of more than hundreds of events we help in some form every year! We have a dedicated team member that travels to tradeshows and gives presentations to interested prospects. We have worked VERY closely with the Expo center to help recruit new RV Rallies as well as meetings and regional conferences. We place ads and solicit free publicity in magazines across the country...encouraging new business in the forms of meetings, conventions and events.
• We love the leisure traveler but are intelligient enough to know that Shawnee will never be a destination like Disney World or even Oklahoma City. However, being a stop over on the way to somewhere bigger is still beneficial. The City of Shawnee receives sales tax on every gallon of gas and loaf of bread purchased in Shawnee...even if they are a non-resident! Wow. Imagine...encouraging non-residents to spend their money with us in order to help improve our quality of life. Its a novel idea.
• The Visitors Center...where do we begin. The land is being paid for through VISITORS tax dollars. The building...a million dollar project...will be paid for through private donations. We could slap up a metal building and put an information sign in front of it...which would be typical small town. But we believe Shawnee has more to offer than that. We believe that Shawnee has a rich heritage steeped in tradition...we are home to numerous Native American tribes that have amazing stories to tell. We have a world-class, internationally recognized museum sitting at our doorstep! Did you know that more than 10,000 people visited the Shawnee Maze in less than 7-weeks??? Home of Sonic...it all started here! Home to OBU and St. Gregory's...that brings in hundreds more to spend, spend, spend... the list goes on. We want this to be a DESTINATION VISITORS CENTER. That term has evidently been misunderstood...by that we mean that we want a building that shares the Shawnee and Pottawatomie County story...not a metal building where you stop and get nothing more than a map. The Vistors Center will be a place where people will want to get their picture taken because of the historic "photo" opportunities built in. Through the water feature designed by Pond Pro they will learn more about why Shawnee is the Water-Garden Capital of Oklahoma. Eat lunch at the SONIC picnic area and learn the history behind this great franchise. That is what we mean...we want to sell Shawnee...and our stores, museums, restaurants and history.

I guess I find it disheartening that people that have lived in this community for years fail to see the value in what we have to offer. I find it discouraging that we somehow haven't been able to reach them with the Shawnee story. I hope that if you are reading this and you are one of those that you will take time to learn about the great things in our community and act as a sales person for Shawnee. I have always been of the mind that you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Be informed...get educated...and be proud of the place you call home.

Gordona Rowell
Executive Director
Shawnee Convention & Visitors Bureau