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Media Archive
Ekins Joins Promotional Team at the Salem Convention & Visitors AssociationSalem, Oregon – December 12, 2007 – The Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) has hired Brooke Ekins as the Association’s Member and Convention Services Manager. Ekins’ BA in Speech Communications from Oregon State University will serve her well. This dual role requires her to assist businesses with marketing opportunities through SCVA’s newly launched membership program, while assisting meeting and event planners to ensure their Salem convention, meeting and/or event is a success. “I am very fortunate to be part of such an impressive organization and creative team. The longer I’m involved the more I realize the detail and intricacies involved with promoting an entire city and region. This Association is doing an excellent job for Salem!” Ekins joins the SCVA team as the Association approaches its 24th year marketing Salem and the two-county region. -end- ***The Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) is a non-profit organization that contracts with the City of Salem to promote the area for leisure tourism and convention and event business. The annual economic impact of Salem’s visitors industry is $226 million.
New Oregon Wine Adventure Offers Wine Tourism via Foot, Bike, and CanoeSalem, Oregon – December 10, 2007 – The Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA), Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County, Oregon (CVALCO), and the Willamette Valley Visitors Association have partnered with Zephyr Wine Adventures to create unique active tourism offerings in Oregon’s wine country. The first-ever Oregon Multi-Sport Wine Adventure will consist of five days of activities, education, and wine tasting from August 10-14, 2008. A maximum of 20 participants will hike, bike, and paddle canoes on, through, and near Oregon’s vineyards. “Most wine tourism to date involves sitting in a car, traveling from winery to winery to restaurant to hotel”, says Zephyr Wine Adventures president Allan Wright. “While this can be great fun, it limits vacationers to the front of a tasting room bar.” The goal of these active trips, in contrast, is to get travelers beyond the tasting room and into the vineyards. For example participants will walk through the Eola Hills appellation, canoe on the Willamette River with a lunch stop at a winery, and bike on paved side roads among vineyards and orchards. Activities are complemented by luxurious meals, private wine tastings, and excellent local lodging. This format provides a greater intimacy with the vineyards, which is a focus of the tour. “To know about Oregon wine, it helps to know about Oregon vineyards, grape growers, and wine makers”, says Wright. “Oregon is an incredible place for wine tourism and you get so much more out of it when you get out of the car and into the vineyards with the locals.” The tour is designed for all ability levels, so no special fitness or wine knowledge is required. For more information, visit www.OregonWineAdventure.com. -end- *** The Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) is a non-profit organization that contracts with the City of Salem to promote the area for leisure tourism and convention and event business. The annual economic impact of Salem’s visitors industry to the community is $226 million.***.
SALEM SOFTBALL IN FULL SWING WINNING AWARD OF EXCELLENCESalem, Oregon – November 29, 2007 – Salem was well represented at the 76th Annual Amateur Softball Association (ASA) National Council meeting held in Louisville, Kentucky November 4-9, 2007. Debbie McCune, Director of Sales for the Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) along with City of Salem representatives Bruce Bolton and Billie Powers were in attendance to bid on National ASA tournaments for 2009. The Salem contingent gave a presentation to 300 council members and competed against 12 cities to be awarded 2 national softball tournaments for 2009 – The Women’s Class D Slow Pitch West and the Girls 10-U Class Fast Pitch Western. Salem was also 1 of 8 recipients awarded the James Farrell Award of Excellence for hosting two of the highest rated national championships in 2007. This award is named in honor of a former ASA State commissioner James Farrel and was awarded to communities that conducted ASA national championships in 2007 and achieved a percentile of 90 or higher with at least 75 percent of the evaluation forms returned to the ASA National office. The award was presented to Salem representatives McCune, Bolton and Powers after they secured additional tournaments for Salem. “The competition was fierce, but our Salem presentation along with the personal relationship we’ve built with ASA State Commissioner Mike Wells and his support of Salem made the difference. The frosting on the cake was Salem’s extremely high scoring 2007 softball tournament season. The judges took those scores into consideration when awarding tournaments for 2009 and beyond. The entire community should be really proud. The tournament players and spectators were treated with the highest level of hospitality and enjoyed the area,” said McCune. -end- The Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) is a non-profit organization that contracts with the City of Salem to promote the area for leisure tourism and convention and event business. The annual economic impact of Salem’s visitors industry is $226 million.
SCVA LAUNCHES MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM AND RELEASES NEW ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TRAVEL DATASALEM, OR – November 14, 2007 – On the heals of a recently released report documenting the economic significance of the travel industry in Salem through 2006, the Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) has launched its new membership program. As the City of Salem contractor charged with tourism and convention promotion, SCVA is working to propel Salem, Marion County and Polk County forward in an effort to bolster tourism and increase awareness of the diverse beauty and attractions of Salem and the region. The Economic Impacts of Travel (Salem, Oregon) report conducted by Dean Runyan Associates revealed that visitors to Salem spent $221.7 million in 2006, a 12.8 percent increase over 2005. About one-half of this spending is attributable to visitors staying overnight in commercial accommodations. This is a reflection of the importance of business, group and leisure travel to Salem. Day travel and private home stays are also important due to Salem’s residents inviting friends and family to visit and Salem’s central location within the Willamette Valley. Positioning Salem and the two-county region as a visitor destination takes numerous partners, strategic alliances and cooperative marketing efforts. SCVA’s primary partner is the City of Salem, which contributes financially through the transient occupancy tax fund (lodging tax). SCVA regards City funding as an important and vital base to help leverage partnerships and create an enhanced range of programs and services for Salem and the region. SCVA’s cutting edge membership program is designed with specific “U-Pick” marketing options and pre-packaged options. This “U-Pick” approach is groundbreaking and allows businesses the flexibility to customize their marketing efforts and build their membership as needed online through a shopping cart system at www.TravelSalem.com. “Tourism is big business for Salem employing 2,440 people and contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy each year. SCVA’s partners and members are building marketing momentum with a unified mission to attract meeting, convention and tourism business to the community, and to enhance and contribute to the overall identity and economic well being of the city. We are already making a difference and all businesses are invited to contact us or visit TravelSalem.com to jump on board and be involved with marketing Salem and attracting visitors to their front door,” said Angie Morris, SCVA Chief Executive Officer. # # # **The Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA) is a non-profit organization that contracts with the City of Salem to promote Salem for leisure visitors and convention and event business. SCVA manages the Official Salem Visitors Center located at Mission Mill Museum. ***
SCVA Membership Now Available!Dear Visitor Industry Partners! Thank you for your emails and calls regarding SCVA’s Membership program! Your input and suggestions have been invaluable and have helped us develop the most cutting-edge membership program available in the industry. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read the recent SCVA’s Good News email and are ready for more good news. I am pleased to introduce SCVA’s brand new and ground-breaking Membership program! We are delighted to offer you the ability to customize your Membership with new marketing options and the ability to order your Membership online. **Please read this email carefully - as there are many new features to take advantage of.** Note: Each Membership option has an "Inside" or "Outside" price. The “inside” price is for those businesses located inside Salem city limits. The “outside” price is for businesses located outside Salem city limits. This pricing structure allows SCVA to serve in a regional capacity for both Marion and Polk counties. Refer to the FAQs section of the website for detailed information. NEW MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS: -- Pre-Packaged Options at a 10% Discount - we've taken the lead and developed discounted marketing packages that include the most popular options. Packages include Corporate Leadership, Convention Marketing and Tourism Marketing. You can also supplement your package with additional "U-Pick" Marketing Options or Sponsorship Options to take full advantage of all the services SCVA offers. 5% Early Bird Discount Available! - As a thank you for joining SCVA , if you purchase your Membership by November 4, you will receive an additional 5% savings! Just enter "EARLY BIRD" (two words, all caps) in the promotional code line when making your purchase online, or write "EARLY BIRD" on your mail order. To take advantage of this discount, all Membership orders must be received no later than November 4th! As always, SCVA staff will be on hand to answer any questions or assist you with any step of the process. Act Now and Join – you don’t want to miss rapidly approaching marketing deadlines! By becoming an SCVA Member, you're leveraging a full-service marketing organization and all its resources and connections to promote your business. We're here to work for you – SCVA will drive customers to your business! SCVA’s Board of Directors and Staff are incredibly thankful for your continued support.
SCVA's Good News!The Salem Convention & Visitors Association (SCVA) would like to thank you for your continued support over the years! Because of your partnership and commitment to Salem’s visitor industry, SCVA was positioned to secure the City of Salem’s Tourism Marketing and Visitor Services contract, a 5 year contract with the option of two 5 year extensions. There is good news to report: · SCVA’s staff is an enthusiastic group of professionals that are extremely creative and have done a commendable job of keeping Salem’s promotional efforts moving forward. SCVA’s staff includes: · Irene Bernards, Tourism Marketing & PR Director/Assistant Director · Debbie McCune, Director of Sales · Kathie Reeves, Marketing & Online Manager · Brooke Ekins, Convention & Member Services Manager · Judy Linder, Office Manager · Barb Cowan, Guest Services Coordinator · Bill Rothrock, Weekend Visitors Center Host · SCVA’s Booster volunteers and Visitors Center volunteers continue to be an active group of devoted individuals that generously contribute their time and energy toward the promotion of Salem. The Boosters have been invaluable to SCVA’s staff! · SCVA has completed a 3 year strategic plan and a 1 year business plan. Both of these plans will guide Salem’s innovative tourism marketing strategies and service into the future. · SCVA is committed to promoting Salem and the Marion and Polk counties region. The City of Salem is a steadfast partner and supports regional participation and cooperation with promotional programs. · According to the latest Economic Impacts of Travel report conducted by Dean Runyan Associates visitor spending in Salem was $221.7 million in 2006, which is a 12.8 percent increase over the previous year. Travel spending in Oregon was $7.9 billion in 2006, which is the third consecutive year of growth exceeding 6 percent.The news is great! We look forward to working with you to promote Salem tourism, convention and event business. SCVA’s Board and staff is effective and strong; the City of Salem is steadfast and engaged; the visitor industry is growing; SCVA’s supporters are poised and ready to reconnect with a proven and successful organization…and away we go! |
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