POA hears golf promotion update
After one week on the job, Kim Carlson attended her first Marketing Committee meeting as the Property Owners Association’s new director of marketing. The agenda ranged from promoting a new golf tournament to the next group of Wayfaring signs.
Phillip Wright, director of Golf Operations, updated the group on several golf promotions including work on the Adams Tour. According to the website www.adamsprotour.com, the Adams Tour partners with local nonprofits to conduct professional golf tournaments. Several Adams Tour players have gone to the PGA. The tournament will be held at the Highlands May 24-27. Plans are well underway, Wright said, with board member Ruth Hatcher handling volunteers.
Cooper Communities Inc. will be the title sponsor of the tournament, with the Bella Vista Foundation, the city and other groups also sponsoring. More than 150 golfers have signed on.
He also told the group that the KFSM golf card promotion will begin again in March. The television station sells the cards which are good for six rounds of golf, one on each of the Bella Vista golf courses. This year, Wright said, purchasers will have to play all six rounds themselves. In the past, some card holders brought along guests and used several games at one time.
Wright has also scheduled newspaper ads, a direct mail piece and an electronic billboard.
General Manager Tom Judson said the first set of wayfaring signs have been installed and the next set is now being planned. Wayfaring signs are the blue metal signs directing drivers to attractions. Locations on the east side of the city and the far west side — near the new highway construction — will get the next set of signs.
Business Development Director Tommy Lee told the committee that work is on schedule at Lakepoint Event Center, the former Yacht Club building. He recently attended a wedding show and Lakepoint was the only full service venue there. The facility will be able to host both a wedding ceremony and a reception and can also handle rehearsal dinners. A grand opening event is scheduled for Saturday, April 29.
Lee is also supervising renovations at both the Highlands Clubhouse and the Country Club. Highlands is a smaller project and will take six to eight weeks. Drawings for the Country Club renovation were delayed while the architect studied the existing building. Lee expects to see the plans next week.
Although the POA leased their restaurant space in the past, both buildings will have food service provided by POA employees when they reopen.