GATLINBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 811 East Parkway Gatlinburg, TN

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1 CAMPAIGNS AND PROGRAMS EVENT submitted by: GATLINBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 811 East Parkway Gatlinburg, TN

2 ENTRY CATEGORY EVENT TITLE CONTACT Campaigns & Program ELF Mini Golf Connie Burns, Member Services Director GATLINBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TELEPHONE ADDRESS 811 East Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN WEBSITE gatlinburg.com SUMMARY: Sevier County, Tennessee is predominantly tourism based industries with a history of Appalachian rivalry between Gatlinburg and Sevierville. The Executive Directors from the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce and the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce realized that even though the two chambers would never agree on all topics their Chambers face, they could and should agree on many topics which effect the county and the region and saw the power there could be in providing a unified voice in regards to such issues. The Board of Directors from the Gatlinburg and Sevierville Chamber of Commerce met jointly and decided that Education in Sevier County was one topic mutually agreed upon. A fundraising event was to be created and held for implementation of the Tennessee Scholars Program into the Sevier County, Tennessee School System. NEEDS IDENTIFICATION Once it was decided that the fund-raising event was to be a Mini-Golf Tournament finding an open date that accommodated the schedules of two chambers was difficult. The only date available in 2008 was December 9th. The December date led to thinking of the approaching Holiday Season which conjured up whimsical images and what more fun holiday image was there than an elf. Elves are miniature in stature and fit well with a Mini-Golf Tournament. With the title of the event decided: ELF Mini-Golf Tournament, it was important to apply meaning to the title. Education & Leadership for the Future was applicable and fitting to the spirit of the event. We knew the challenge that lay ahead was seeking participation in a new event, especially one held in December. The event had to be ecstatically fun, seek involvement from business members of both chambers, and involve teachers and students from all high schools in Sevier County. Living next to the Great Smoky Mountains the possibility of inclement weather was prevalent and we played off of that in the theme. Knowing that the business community would prefer to participate during the business day and school participants would

3 prefer after the school day two start times were chosen. A 10:00am start for Chamber Members and a 4:00pm start for teachers and students. The two start times were priced differently to encourage more participation from students, and two different communication pieces were created for the appropriate audience. All staff members from the respected chambers, including the Executive Directors would dress as elves on event day. When choosing a venue for the event it was important to choose a location that was a member of both chambers. Ripley s Old MacDonald Mini-Golf Course was selected. OBJECTIVES 1. First united effort between the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce and the Sevierville Chamber of 2. Raise as much money as possible 3. Create Awareness of program to be implemented and the unified venture 4. Kick off an annual event that would raise funds to help sublimate the needs in our county school system 5. Produce an event that embodies team work between the two chambers echoing a unified message of support to education in Sevier County, Tennessee COMMUNICATION PIECE A tri-fold invitation/brochure was created with joint efforts of the two Chambers. The E.L.F. logo was created by staff from the Sevierville Chamber and the final layout of the piece was done by staff from the Gatlinburg Chamber. The piece would communicate the message that the event was happening, why it was happening and also serve as a registration form for participants. A simplified version of the invitation with applicable pricing was created for the schools. METHODOLOGY PRODUCTION SCHEDULE: Solicitation of Sponsorship began September 2008 Completion of Invitation piece - October 24, 2008 Mailed to Members - October 31, 2008 Posted On website November 3, ed reminder to Members on November 20, 2008 Registration Deadline December 1, 2009 SPONSORSHIP: It was the responsibilities of staff from both Chambers to seek sponsorship for the event. Sponsorships were monetary and in kind. COSTUMING: The Membership Coordinator, Jim McGill with the Sevierville Chamber was responsible for obtaining elf costumes. Costumes were donated by Dixie Stampede who is a member of both chambers. DONATIONS: The majority of the responsibility for seeking of donated prizes, food and drink fell to Amanda Marr, Marketing Director for the Sevierville Chamber and Jim McGill. Seventy items were donated for door prizes. Donated Food included Starbucks Coffee and pastries, Little Caesar's Pizza, Hot Chocolate and Holiday Confections.

4 FACILITATION OF EVENT: The responsibilities of facilitation of the event fell primarily to the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce who has expertise in fundraising events. Gatlinburg's Member Services Director Connie Burns and Member Services Assistant, Sherry Holtzclaw handled pre-registration of both memberships, registration day of event, and organization of volunteers. All funds collected and expenses paid went through the financial department of the Gatlinburg Chamber of BUDGET: Sponsorships $6, Player Fees $1, Income $8, Sponsorship Letter $ Sponsorship Forms $ Sponsorship Return Labels $18.50 Envelopes $59.97 Labels $67.98 Invitation Brochures $ Invite Return Labels $18.50 Envelopes $59.00 Labels $67.98 Paper 11x17 $49.98 Invitations for Schools $40.00 Invitations for School $6.00 Additional Copies for Schools $ x17 Laminating Pouches $47.57 Crystalix Team Ornaments = 34 $ ELF Banner $ Sponsors Banner $ Expenses $1, Profit $6, degree start to the day. During tournament play the elves bounced hole to hole interacting with participants cheering them on and occasionally assisting the ball to go in the hole. The afternoon session (which had teachers and student participation) found elves popping up with a "naughty and nice list" which the students freely placed their name on the appropriate side. From a staff perspective it was a valuable experience to work jointly with the Chamber on the other side of the county. The creative joining of minds was energizing and fostered a continued learning experience. A challenging aspect of the event was getting Sevierville Chamber members comfortable with Gatlinburg Chamber facilitation of the funds using our pay-online system. Accounting post-event took constant communication between Financial Directors from both Chambers. However, a feeling of shared pride in an event with a common goal carried far past December 9, From a monetary standpoint we did not raise the amount of money that we had hoped to. However, for the first time out for this unique event we have to claim it a successful start to an ongoing partnered event. The local press from this event exceeded our expectations. From the small article (article 1) that appeared first in our local newspaper appears insignificant. Subsequent articles that followed were front page with colored photos with the later two (article 3 & 4) being above the fold. EVALUATION: The day of the event was enjoyable for staff members of both chambers. When you are dressed as an elf it is easy to assume a light-hearted demeanor. With oversized elf costumes it was feasible to hide the longjohns that kept us warm during the 35

5 TESTIMONIALS: Working on the ELF Mini Golf Tournament was a great opportunity to network our two business communities for the benefit of our school system. I am glad to have been a part of such an ambitious new project that was successful and will be continued in the future. - Amanda Marr, Marketing Coordinator, Sevierville Chamber of The common concern of education touches everyone in our community. The ELF Mini Golf Tournament has provided a vehicle for businesses to come together and make a difference for our students. - Jim McGill, Membership Coordinator, Sevierville Chamber of When discussions between the Gatlinburg Chamber and the Sevierville Chamber began it was hoped that we would be able to just sit our Boards down in the same room for discussion. What has flourished from those discussions facilitated by Kip Lilly in June of 2008 has been a wonderful joint effort to raise awareness to the Educational needs of our County and provided not only the funds to begin the work but open the door to dialog between the two business communities. ELF Mini-Golf was no easy task but thanks to the efforts of the two Chamber Boards and their staff it ended up being a tremendous stepping stone to more collaborative efforts. Vicki Simms, IOM Executive Director, Gatlinburg Chamber of The combining of the efforts of multiple business organizations can create many opportunities. Often times a small non-profit cannot achieve the same level of outreach on its own. The ELF mini golf tournament blends the talents of two chambers of commerce (both employees and members) to provide funding for education in Sevier County Tennessee. Congratulations on the success of this years event, I am looking forward to our next. - Tim King, Board of Director, Gatlinburg Chamber of At the beginning of the year, our Board of Directors set several goals. Among those were: to work more with fellow chambers in surrounding cities and to do more to serve our school system. The ELF Mini Golf Tournament was a great first step in that direction and allowed us to establish a means to raise funds for schools while working together to strengthen our community. - Brenda McCroskey, Chief Executive Officer, Sevierville Chamber of The ELF Mini Golf Tournament turned out to be our most fun function of the year. Everybody worked really hard to make it a success and on the day of the tournament magic was in the air! The best part for me was the shared goal between the two chambers and seeing just how much fun all the participants had. - Sherry Holtzclaw, Member Services Assistant, Gatlinburg Chamber of Working with the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors to foster a working relation for the future of our county has been extremely exciting. It is with proud representation of our Directors that I applaud the staffs of both chambers for the outstanding job on the ELF Mini-Golf Event. - Jerry Morton, President Board of Directors Gatlinburg Chamber of What FUN!! and they paid me to do it. - Connie Burns, Member Services Director, Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce