April 9, 2009
The Bureau's Annual Golf Tournament
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
At Saratoga National Golf Club
Shotgun Tee-Off at 1:00pm
Click here to PRINT Registration Form!!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our 24th Annual Meeting at Longfellows Restaurant on March 24th! The theme of the night was "Cookin' Up Business In Your Own Backyard" which translates to identifying our Saratoga “Backyard” as a tremendous resource for “cooking up business”.
Click Here to see Pictures!
Think about how you’re connected to Saratoga. Who do you know -- right here, or within two degrees of separation -- who could influence a decision to bring an association, corporate, religious, military or affinity group to Saratoga. Think about the Bureau’s Hometown Heroes program, which has generated more than 109 locally-connected meetings since its inception in 1997, totaling at least 48,965 meeting and event attendees and representing at least $35 million dollars in direct economic impact to our city and county. These are groups that were brought here because many of you in this room thought about your relationship to a group that traveled and decided – why not Saratoga?
People like Skip Carlson who helped us bring the US Harness Writers to Saratoga in 1997. Phil Klein, whose connection to the New York State Association of Counties enabled us to land that piece of business in 2003. Scott Perkins, whose tireless work has produced the fall classic Allegiance Bowl sprint football game each year since 2005. Paul Rosenberg, whose influence has allowed Saratoga to be the site of the Dance Flurry since 1994, bringing nearly 4000 people to our city and county each year – during a relatively quiet first quarter. And of course, Dave Carr, Randy Martin and all of our local Lions who have worked with the Bureau to bring the statewide Lions annual meeting to Saratoga several times, always making it memorable.
We have connections to the arts community, equestrian, health care, education, high tech (especially with recent announcements regarding the Global Foundry and AMD), car clubs, service clubs and it goes on and on.
During these challenging economic times, work to connect our Bureau and our community to things you do, places you go, interests of your and connections you have. It’s time to reassess, reconnect, get creative, be positive and believe!
Your bureau sales team has been staying very busy in the weeks since our last newsletter update! The past few weeks have found Marie Moynihan, Heather McElhiney, and Kathy Denkenberger working hard to indentify and book business in our backyard, continue to build upon the strong reputation Saratoga has as a meeting destination throughout the Northeast, and to work with booked groups to raise attendance at their upcoming Saratoga meetings.
The sales, and sometimes services, team are making weekly trips all over the Capital Region to call on local meeting planners, both professional and volunteer. Some are new contacts, some are existing clients and some have booked future business with us. We are working hard to keep Saratoga top of mind for our area planners and their attendees. Weekly Albany area call days have become a regular part of our rotation and we expect to continue this pattern for the foreseeable future.
The last month has also brought us to several out of area destinations. Along with hotel and attraction partners, the bureau made day trips to New York City, Syracuse and Westchester and met with many association and corporate planners, selling Saratoga as an ideal meeting destination for a variety of meeting types. Marie and partners then traveled to Boston for the New England Meetings Industry Conference and Exposition – or NEMICE for you lovers of 
acronyms - taking place April 6th and 7th. This is the third time in recent years the bureau has attended this show and the second year we have exhibited. Many NEMICE attendees represent the coveted Northeast Regional meetings market and we were once again pleased that we had attended and are looking forward to continued contact and future bookings with all we met on the show floor.
Jamie Lanning, Lauren Holmes, Marie Moynihan and Mame Noonan at NEMICE 2009
While at the NEMICE show, the Saratoga gang added their signature to the above poster, which will be sent to President Obama. This sign is meant to emphasize the importance of meetings to the national economy.
SaratogaArtsFest 2009 is a four-day celebration of the arts from June 11-14, featuring music, dance, visual art, film, theatre, and literary art. Now in its third year, SaratogaArtsFest performances are staged throughout the Skidmore campus and city-wide, showcasing such noted artists and performers as Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy, and saxophonist Eric Alexander. Take part in this one-of-a-kind weekend by becoming an ambassador volunteer. Ambassadors act as good will diplomats who work at venues to welcome audience members and assist ArtsFest patrons of all ages and walks of life.
For more information regarding volunteer opportunities and benefits, please visit www.saratogaartsfest.org/volunteer.html
For a complete schedule, visit www.saratogaartsfest.org/schedule.html
1. Which SCTB staff member is a member
of a rock cover band?
2. Which SCTB staff member went
to 14 different schools?
3. Which SCTB staff member has served
as a Volunteer Fire Fighter?”
Email your answers here!
**Whoever answers all three questions correctly will have their name, company, and website link posted in our next newsletter!**
Bureau Staff: David, Angela, Connie, Marie, Heather, Kathy D., Kathy P., Eric
