CVB: BUREAU WILL OPERATE WITH CITY DIRECTION

The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau will start operating under a new contract next month.

The CVB, which promotes tourism and conventions in the Cape Girardeau area, will receive its new directions from the Cape Girardeau City Council during the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The change was officially announced during a meeting of the CVB Advisory Board at City Hall Wednesday.

"The CVB will operate as it has always operated,," said City Manager J. Ronald Fischer, "The emphasis will still be on conventions and tourism. The group will have some additional duties once the sports complex is complete."

Fischer said the same people would staff the CVB Director Lyn Muzzy and staff members Cathy Crites and Mary Stucker.

The new CVB budget for fiscal 1993-94 will be $310,000, said Fischer.

"Lyn and I will iron out final details for his position during a Friday meeting," said Fischer. "He will continue to promote Cape Girardeau."

Meanwhile, a search will be initiated for a new position for the CVB.

"The city will start accepting resumes for a new division head position," said Fischer. "The new person will be responsible for overall division operations and management and promoting Cape Girardeau."

Since 1985 the CVB has been operating under the Chamber of Commerce, which contracted with the city for the CVB operation.

"We requested that the CVB be placed under the city for a number of reasons," said Bob Hoppmann, chairman of the advisory board. "We wanted to take the middle man out of the operation."

Hoppman said the advisory group wanted to be closer to the funding source; the city approves the CVB budget.

"We wanted our own building, our own staff and our own director," said Hoppmann. "So we asked that a separate division be established by the city for the CVB."

The CVB will continue operations from the chamber building for at least another month.

"We're looking at two other sites," said Fischer. "We'll be discussing them during a special, closed meeting."

During staff reports, Muzzy announced that the CVB had serviced 135 motor coaches during 1993.

June has been a busy month for information requests, said Muzzy, with more than 6,400 reader-response cards from various advertisements in Better Homes & Gardens, Midwest Motorist, Midwest Living and other Missouri publications.