New SCVA CEO outlines data-driven branding and grant plan as small businesses, arts groups warn of frozen tourism funding

Michael Marlon, the newly installed president and CEO of the Sullivan County Visitors Association (SCVA), used his first legislative report to outline a data-driven branding strategy, a retooled grant program and changes to membership and marketing practices aimed at promoting the county as a single destination.

"We are a servant to the brand," Marlon said, describing plans to center the county under one geographic brand and to expand data capabilities. He told the legislature the SCVA has signed contracts for analytics tools including KeyData, Datify, and Symphony to aggregate lodging, booking and spending data and to create forward-looking marketing indicators.

Marlon said he has frozen the SCVA grant program temporarily to create a "grant program handbook" that defines categories, grading and distribution. He read proposed allocation buckets to the legislature: "60% room focus room night focus grants, 15% arts and culture enhancement, 10% hamlet and micro brain grants, 15% events and festival support." He said the SCVA plans to publicize awards and scoring to make the process more transparent.

Chamber and Chamber Foundation updates accompanied the SCVA presentation. Chamber representatives said they hired a social media marketing manager, that a new "grants ambassador" on their board has identified more than $250,000 in industry-specific grant opportunities for local businesses, and that the Chamber will underwrite 90% of local advertising costs to reduce the burden on small businesses. The Chamber Foundation described leadership and community programs, including a leadership class that will hold ribbon-cutting tours on June 20 and projects to place small food pantries in higher-need areas.

Local small business owners and arts organizations used public comment to warn the legislature that a recent pause or slowing of tourism and discretionary funding decisions is harming events and organizations that drive economic activity:

- Ashley Levitt, owner of All Things Accuracy (an archery, fishing and outdoor retailer in Liberty), said her business is down sharply this year and that her group did not receive timely marketing support for a festival. "My business is down $300,000 in sales year over year," Levitt told the legislature, and she appealed for faster, more consistent support for local events and tourism marketing to help small businesses survive and attract visitors. - Lourdesa Hunt, representing the Hurleyville Performing Arts Center (HPAC), said arts organizations deliver free and low-cost programming and act as community anchors. She said recent news of frozen county-level tourism and discretionary funding "only deepens our concerns" and asked legislators to visit HPAC and recognize its economic and social role.

Marlon also described several operational changes: eliminating paid SCVA membership (all tourism industry operators to receive basic listings), producing seasonally targeted visitor guides (separate winter/spring and summer/fall publications) and instituting a more data-driven approach to media placement (zip-code-level booking data, RevPAR tracking). He said he is creating a grants handbook and offered to share it with the legislature.

No formal county vote on tourism funding or grants took place during the meeting. Several speakers asked county leaders to prioritize timely disbursement of existing funds and to treat small businesses and arts organizations as partners in destination marketing.