OACVB 2025 Educational Conference and Board Meeting

2025 OACVB Educational Conference

All events will be occurring at the Courtyard by Marriot in Grove City. Events will start Thursday morning and conclude on Friday in the late morning.

In response to OACVB member feedback, the OACVB 2025 Education Conference Planning Committee is pleased to present a lineup of nationally renowned presenters sharing best practices focusing on fiscal oversight, economics and industry trends, workplace culture, and funding.

Thursday, March 13

10 – 11:15 a.m. Headline News for All the Wrong Reasons: Protecting Your DMO from Crisis
Presenter: Julie Hart, CFO by Design

We’ve all seen the headlines about DMOs in crisis and asked, “What went wrong?” In this session, we’ll dive into real-word case studies of DMOs making news for all the wrong reasons. We’ll discuss key takeaways and provide practical advice on how to maintain accountability and implement best practices to safeguard your organization. Bring your questions and get ready for an insightful discussion.

11:15 a.m. Break

11:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. Lunch & Learn with Placer.ai

Placer.ai is the most advanced location analytics platform describing physical locations, the people and businesses that interact with them, and the markets they inhabit.

For any place in the US, not only can we tell you how many people have visited, but also where they come from and go after, where they work and live, other favorite places of theirs, and demographic information.

In this presentation, we’ll provide a high-level overview of how DMOs use Placer to drive visit growth by getting a better understanding of…

• Visitor Counts & Trends
• Visitor Origins & Journey
• Visitor Demographics and Interests
• Tourism Impact on Local Businesses
• Tourism Capture & Leakage

12:30 p.m. Break

12:45 p.m. Fired Up! Culture Leadership Academy: Effective Performance Management for DMOs

Every organization does performance management slightly different. Leaders who demonstrate a willingness to make their people a priority, set clear expectations, provide steady support and hold themselves and others accountable, enjoy a culture of excellence that supports high performing teams.

Fired Up! Culture’s Leadership Coach, Anna Tanski, will provide resources and facilitate discussions on important skills and best practices for:

• Behavior change and performance improvement
• Goal setting and progress checks
• Professional development support
• Accountability best practices
• Impactful 1:1 Meetings

Feedback is the lifeblood of any organization. This Fired Up! Culture Leadership Academy program will provide DMOs with the tools to set themselves apart through effective performance management best practices.

2: 15 p.m. Break

2:30 p.m. Drivers and Roadblocks for the Visitor Economy

Presenter: Adam Sacks, Tourism Economics

Economic fundamentals indicate a positive environment for continued travel growth. However, high interest rates, flagging consumer confidence, and stubborn inflation present real risks to the outlook. More significantly, US policy positions threaten to spur inflation, undermine global economic growth, and reverse the ongoing international inbound travel recovery. Adam Sacks will share Tourism Economics’ latest views on the opportunities and risks facing the visitor economy, and implications for destination marketing in 2025 and beyond.

3:30 p.m. Empowering Your Partners – Grant Programs that Work

Presenters: Panel of Ohio DMO representatives with successful grant programs.

6 p.m. Dinner and Activities in Grove City Town Center

Friday, March 14

8:30 a.m. OACVB Board Meeting

10 a.m. Finance for Executives: Gaining Confidence in Your DMO’s Financials
Presenter: Julie Hart, CFO by Design

This session is designed to give you a clear understanding of your financial statements and the key questions to ask your finance/accounting team. We’ll highlight the areas of the financials that demand the most attention and break down the annual audit process—what it covers, and more importantly, what it doesn’t. The goal is to help you build confidence and a deeper understanding of your DMO’s financial operations. This will be an interactive session, so come ready with your questions!