Visit Stillwater presents annual report; staff highlight event grants, visitor metrics and calendar

Corey Williams, executive director of Visit Stillwater, presented the organization's annual report to trustees and council members, describing marketing metrics, a grant program and event coordination efforts. Williams explained a key data point about visitor counts: "Whenever you start talking about what a visitor is, ... if your phone has been in Stillwater for more than 2 weeks, you're no longer considered a visitor," he said, stressing that student presence is excluded from the visitor metrics. Williams also said Visit Stillwater awarded about $120,000 in grants last year to help host local events and that those grants act as catalysts for economic development: "A lot of those grants are to help host events in the city of Stillwater. That was something that was new to me whenever I got on the board. And I think, the return on investment is remarkable." The presentation noted tools the organization uses for analytics and the value of the community calendar and microsites for event promotion. Trustees and councilors praised Visit Stillwater's role in marketing projects such as the airport terminal, Block 34 events, Orange Glow and other community initiatives. A trustee noted Orange Glow won a statewide Destination Marketing Organization award for best marketing campaign. Why it matters: Visit Stillwater coordinates marketing that city leaders said supplements municipal communications and helps attract visitors and event-driven spending; the organization's grants and calendar inform staffing and logistical planning for local businesses and city departments. Details and next steps: Williams said Visit Stillwater wants to partner on Block 34 promotion and handle additional marketing tasks as requested by the city. Trustees asked the organization to continue adding analytic detail to its reports; Visit Stillwater offered to add or clarify metrics on request.