Port Richey committee advances Centennial event logistics, sponsorships and bowling tournament plans

Port Richey Centennial planning committee members spent most of their meeting refining sponsor recognition, merchandise and event logistics for a series of Centennial activities, including a planned bowling tournament and business expo.

The committee discussed how sponsors will appear on promotional materials and agreed to use the city website and social media to list contributors. Committee members said Ocean Honda is the primary sponsor whose logo will appear across many of the events; other sponsors will be acknowledged on the website and in consolidated listings rather than printed repeatedly on apparel. The committee reviewed a draft sponsor thank‑you letter signed by Jack Miller, mayor of Port Richey City.

Why it matters: The sponsorships and merchandise plan will shape how the Centennial events are funded and promoted and affect visibility for local businesses that contribute. Organizers plan to use both in‑kind and paid support to reduce costs for event programming.

Most immediate budget items centered on T‑shirts. A vendor called Gulfside offered an in‑kind contribution that would reduce per‑shirt cost to about $3.75 on an initial 100‑shirt order; other vendors quoted $8–$9 per shirt. Committee members proposed placing a 100‑shirt order through Gulfside to start, then reassessing if demand justifies additional runs. Members discussed whether all sponsors should be printed on shirts and favored a smaller, commemorative design (pocket or corner logo) while reserving fuller sponsor listings for banners or separate signage.

The meeting also covered vendor signups and payment processing. Committee members discussed using the city’s online form system (referred to in the discussion as the "job form") to accept applications and payments so revenue posts directly to city accounts and can be reconciled in subaccounting. Staff said they would coordinate with city finance to ensure sponsorship and revenue tracking is captured by event line items.

Bowling tournament organizers reported planning details: the alley has initially reserved 10 lanes (venue has about 24 lanes in total), tournament teams are 4 players, and the suggested entry fee is $25 per person ($100 per team). The committee discussed tournament logistics (handicaps, warmups, prize payout to top teams, singles and scratch events) and registration options, including an online sign‑up through an external service the alley uses. Members discussed reserving family lanes and possibly subsidizing some family participation; a modest city set‑aside was proposed for pizza or refreshments if organizers decide to include family lanes. Committee members also noted a possible deposit requirement to hold lanes and agreed to confirm deposit and cancellation policies with the alley.

Additional Centennial events and logistics reviewed included a business expo, Taste of Port Richey, field day (including a chili cook‑off or barbecue tasting), golf scramble, regatta, car show, mayor’s ball and a Johnny Cash concert with fireworks and a time capsule installation. Committee members assigned leads for each event, discussed volunteer waiver forms and in‑kind signage donations, and planned a follow‑up to produce a consolidated sponsor/finance summary for the next meeting.

Next steps: Committee members asked Ashley (committee staff) to collect finalized event times and submit them for posting, to circulate a final flyer for the bowling tournament and other events, and to bring a consolidated sponsorship and revenue spreadsheet to the next meeting. Field day was placed on the next agenda for more detailed planning.

Ending: The committee did not take a formal vote on budgets or contracts during this meeting; several items — final shirt art, lane deposit, exact prize structure and whether family lanes will be subsidized — were left for follow‑up and confirmation with vendors and city finance.