| Minutes of the SFTGG General Meeting |
| Monday, June 19, 2006 |
| Meeting was held at the Aquarium of the Bay, Pier 39. |
| Board members present: Mary McCloy (President), Susan Guerguy (Treasurer), Liz Burton (Secretary), Claire Manhart (Programs), Joan Wollenberger (Programs), Edie Marwedel (Certification), Andrew Hartman (Membership), Cecilia Olkowski (Mentoring) |
| Not present: Robin Perry (Public Relations). |
| The meeting was called to order at 6 PM by President McCloy. She thanked the staff of Pier 39 for the various items they donated for the membership, including a Fun Pack which is available for all groups, upon request. |
| 1. |
Mary made the following announcements: |
| |
» |
She welcomed all members |
| |
» |
Membership Rosters are available to all members at the meeting and will be mailed to members not attending |
| |
» |
She introduced all Board members |
| |
» |
She reported on the reception held by the Guild for Ann Meagher of Mana Allison, a founder of the Guild, on the occasion of her departure from San Francisco and read Ann’s thank-you note |
| |
» |
She asked for volunteers to serve as Archivist for the Guild and recited a brief history of the formation of the Guild |
| 2. |
TREASURER’S REPORT: |
| |
» |
(Susan Guerguy) Bank account balances are as follows: |
| |
|
Checking account 12,939
Savings 15,542
CD 5,141
TOTAL $33,622 |
| |
» |
The Program Committee has brought in approximately $700 on the first five tours of the year. |
| |
» |
The web site is a major expense. |
| |
» |
Question was raised about dues being raised next year, and President McCloy said there has been no such discussion and dues will not be raised. |
| 3. |
PROGRAMS: |
| |
» |
(Joan Wollenberger) She outlined the programs that have taken place this year and said that the Guild offers 1-2 programs per month. She mentioned some upcoming tours and stressed the value of tours to the entire membership. |
| |
» |
(Claire Manhart) She asked for in-put on tours that members can plan and offer to the membership. |
| 4. |
MEMBERSHIP: |
| |
» |
(Andrew Hartman) He read the names of new Guild members and asked them to stand and be recognized. |
| |
» |
Membership categories are as follows: |
| |
|
Certified 72
Associate 130
Individual Friends 11
Business 36
Organizations 8
TOTAL 247 |
| |
» |
The Roster is now available on-line in a PDF format. |
| |
» |
He discussed the problem he and many members have been having with AOL in regard to not receiving Guild mail and messages. He thanked member Linda Lipson who has been working on this problem and said that efforts will continue. |
| 5. |
CERTIFICATION: |
| |
» |
(Edie Marwedel) We have three newly Certified members, including Susan Guerguy, Andy Hartman, and Patricia Hunting, and one who will be taking the exam on July 22nd. She thanked the members who help administer the recent exam, including Marie Antoinette Luna-Cumming, David Orr, and Joan Wollenberger. She introduced Nancy McCormick who helps members put together their credentials to qualify for Certification. Certification requirements are listed on Page 2 of the Roster. |
| |
» |
A revised Study Guide is available for $20 plus $5 for mailing. |
| |
» |
President McCloy announced that there is also a revised Certification Exam, and she thanked the members who worked on it. She said that certification is an important thing to achieve for members’ careers as well as for being eligible to get jobs through the Guild. |
| 6. |
MENTORING: |
| |
» |
(Cicelia Olkowski) We will be establishing guidelines for mentors and for mentees. |
| 7. |
GUEST SPEAKERS: |
| |
» |
DON GOLDES, Vice President of Membership and Community Relations, San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. |
| |
|
He made the following announcements: |
| |
|
2005 was a very good year for tourism; there were 15.7 visitors; they spent $7.3 billion, which equaled $20 million per day; and hotel occupancy is at 76.4%. |
| |
|
Some new things in San Francisco: |
| |
|
The long-time CEO of the Convention Bureau, John Marks, is retiring, and the new CEO is Joe Delasandro; the Bureau web site gets 6,000-8,000 hits per day. The web site promotes upcoming events and helps with reservations of all kinds; there are several new hotels, including two under construction, the Orchard Garden, a “green” hotel at 466 Bush Street, and the Intercontinental at 5th and Howard; many hotels have changed names and ownership; there are currently about 33,000 hotel rooms in the city; hotel taxes have brought in $175 million this year; the Westfield project will open soon; the Titanic Exhibit is open at the Metreon. |
| |
|
New or re-opening museums include the Çhinese Cultural Center; a Beat Museum in North Beach at 1345 Grant Avenue; the DeYoung; the Old Mint which will open in about 2008 or 2009, for which President Bush has authorized a commemorative coin; the Museum of the African Diaspora; the Jewish Museum which will open in 2008; and the Museum of Craft and Folk Art which has moved to the Yerba Buena Center. The Maritime Museum will close for two-three years for retrofitting. |
| |
|
Quantas Airlines has returned to San Francisco after 12 years absence, and Air New Zealand is coming in. |
| |
|
The countries sending the greatest number of visitors to San Francisco are the United Kingdom, Japan, and China. In 2005 San Francisco was the third most popular US city for foreign visitors, after New York and Los Angeles. Convention business is very important. Some groups book from two to twenty years in advance. Dine About Town will continue, and VISA has a new dining program. |
| |
|
Question: What about the ongoing hotel strike?
Answer: The problem has expanded across the country and will have to be resolved on a national basis. Some conventions were cancelled because of this. Not much is happening right now, but it will probably be resolved in New York. |
| |
|
Question: What about the Olympics being held in San Francisco?
Answer: someone with much experience is heading this up. Many things would have to happen before SF would be ready. The Bureau will be part of the planning if it is going to happen. |
| |
» |
President McCloy thanked Mr. Goldes for his very informative presentation. |
| |
» |
DANNILE COAN of the Westfield/Bloomingdales Complex. |
| |
|
The Center will open on September 28th this year. It is a $440 million project. The entire project, including the Nordstrom San Francisco Center, will cover 1.5 million square feet. The SF Bloomingdales will be second in size only to Manhattan. The new Center will include 110 new stores and seven restaurants; there will be a food emporium on the lower level, including 15 casual food vendors; a Family Lounge; a Valet Parking Lounge; an office component with 245,00 square feet of space, of which half will be leased to San Francisco State University; a concierge Center providing many services; San Francisco’s largest day spa; and a Touch Screen Directory in five languages. Thirty-Nine percent of the retailers will be new to San Francisco. Hotels will have VIP Savings Passes available for their guests. |
| |
|
The facade and the dome of the original Emporium have been preserved. |
| |
|
Prior to the Grand Opening on September 28th there will be several parties, including those for VIPs and those who worked at the shopped the old Emporium. |
| |
|
Question: What about using SFTGG members at the Concierge Center, and will Guild members be able to get a preview?
Answer: All tours will be stopped July 1 because of construction. After the opening, this would be possible. |
| |
|
Question: Will there be theatres in the new Center?
Answer: There will be nine state-of-the-art screens. |
| |
|
Question: Will some of the theatres in the Metreon close?
Answer: No. |
| 8. |
ANNOUNCEMENTS: |
| |
» |
Pam Dahlen thanked the Certified guides for their step-on work. Of the 72 certified guides, 10 are not interested in these jobs; 12 have done 3 or more; 6 have done 4; 23 have done 5; 14 have done 6; and 7 have done 7. 295 step-on jobs have been referred to Certified guides, in addition to those offered to all members. Many guides also get repeat jobs from tour companies they have worked for in the past. Two thousand e-mails have been answered. She requested that e-mail questions be directed to the Board members who can best answer them. |
| |
» |
Jean Feilmoser announced that she has available 33 tickets for the SF Symphony “All SF Concert” on September 7th at 8 PM, at $10 each. 17 have already been paid for. On June 30th there will be a special magazine section in the SF Examiner about San Francisco. On July 22nd the DeYoung Museum will open a new exhibit called “Chicano Visions”. The program she will be leading for the Guild on Southeastern San Francisco will be on June 27th, 9 AM, a full day starting at the SF Marriott, at $25, including lunch. |
| |
» |
Eric Edenfield of the SF Concierge Association thanked Guild members. The Guild and the Association could work on many things together. Association members know what is happening very day in the City. We should ask help of each other. Their web site is www.nccaconcierge.org. |
| |
» |
Susan Driscoll She requested that members send letters to the SF Board of Supervisors asking that they not have private parties at City Hall at the same time as parties paid for by other individuals or organizations are going on. This seems necessary because many of the Supervisors’ guests have been finding their way into the private parties and the food thereat. |
| |
» |
President McCloy explained the reason there is no wine served at tonight’s meeting. Pier 39 Aquarium is under new management and now requires a one-day liquor license for the organization, and this would take many permits and cost a great deal of money, so it was decided not to continue this practice. |
| |
Meeting adjourned. |
| |
Respectfully submitted, |
| |
Liz Burton, Secretary |
