Agenda

*Please note that more descriptions and information will be added to this agenda as it becomes available.*

Monday, February 10, 2025

9:00 am - 5:30 pm | Registration

2:00 - 3:00 pm | Welcome and SCPRT Update
Duane Parrish, Director of SCPRT
Location: Ballroom

3:00 - 3:30 pm | Afternoon Break

3:30 - 4:30 pm | DISCOVER Breakout Sessions

Discover the dynamic synergy between parks, recreation, and sports tourism with John David, President and CEO of the Sports Events & Tourism Association. Uncover how this dynamic fusion cultivates top-tier parks for communities, promotes health and wellness, and drives tourism events, yielding substantial economic impact.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Strategize: Devise strategies for integrating parks, recreation, and sports tourism to create impactful facilities and programming that benefit local communities and contribute to economic growth.
Implement: Apply best practices from real-world examples to implement inclusive event planning and facility upgrades that cater to diverse community needs.
Evaluate: Develop skills to assess the economic impact of sports tourism on local facilities and community well-being.
Inspire Collaboration: Foster collaboration between parks, recreation departments, and tourism agencies to maximize the potential of facilities and programming for community health, equity, and conservation.

Breakout Session 2 | Film & Your Community: What Does it Mean?
Matt Storm & Dan Rogers, SC Film Commission
Location: Croft

Journey behind the scenes of the film industry in South Carolina as we hear about what it takes to make a movie and the impact it has on our state and local communities. Presented by the SC Film Commission.

Breakout Session 3 | Optimizing “Your” Influence on the Federal Level
Daniel Blumenstock, Director of Hotels at Fennell Holdings
Location: Daniel Morgan

What are a few current “hot topics” with an impact to the hospitality industry
How to advocate for something effectively
How to approach your representative
How does the American Hotel & Lodging Association, South Carolina Restaurant Lodging Association, and the National Restaurant Association coincide with local efforts

Breakout Session 4 | Entrepreneurship & Building a Tourist-Oriented Site
Panel discussion from Steve Lorch (Table Rock Tea Co), Paige Bowser (Breezy Quarters), and Pontheolla Abernathy (Clevedale Inn)
Location: Ballroom

In an era of economic uncertainty and fast changing terrain, three entrepreneurs in the tourism industry share their success stories and how they built a tourism-oriented site. With diverse backgrounds and businesses, this panel will discuss how they have found it helpful to interact with local tourism boards, regional tourism DMOs, chambers and other local merchant groups in their communities. They will also share insights into how and why they started their business, what keeps them going, and how they have managed to offer a unique product in an increasingly competitive market.

6:00-9:00 pm | Host City Reception
Location: TBD
Sponsor: One Spartanburg

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

8:30 am - 5:00 pm | Registration Open

9:00 - 9:30 am | Networking Breakfast
Location: TBD
Begin your day with a light breakfast and networking with colleagues. This is also a good time to stop by the sponsors’ booths to see how their services can help you meet your marketing needs.

9:30-10:45 am | General Session | Attracting & Retaining the NEXT Greatest Generation
Kristin Scroggin, genWHY.com
Location: Ballroom
Amid the Great Resignation (or the epic Reshuffle, if you prefer a more dynamic term), the stakes for attracting and retaining talent have reached new heights. Join us for a riveting presentation where we spill the beans on our top-notch strategies for interviewing, onboarding, and empowering Millennials and GenZs, making them not just stay but genuinely WANT to be part of your organization.

Discover the art of assessing “THE TWO T’s” (Teachable and Tolerable) through insightful questions, ensuring your team comprises individuals with the right mindset. We’ll guide you along the Roadmap to Retaining Rockstars, ensuring you’re equipped to conquer the challenges of retention in today’s dynamic workforce. Trust us; you won’t want to miss this game-changing session!

Objectives:

- Attendees will be asked to reconsider whether their existing application process might hinder high-caliber applicants from completing it.
- Attendees will gain insights into utilizing social media and local non-profit outreach to establish a talent pipeline for their job openings.
- Attendees will discover the Top 10 “Abilities” to ask about during the Interview Process, ensuring you bring in the right talent from the start.
- Attendees will explore the significance of identifying future leaders in their early career stages and learn how to nurture and train them for long-term organization success.
- Explore essential communication skills that new employees might need training on, providing them with the tools to survive and thrive in your dynamic workplace.

10:45 – 11:15 am | Morning Break
Location: TBD

11:15 – 12:15 pm | DISCOVER Breakout Sessions

Breakout Session 1 | Parks, Recreation, and Sports Tourism: Synergy for Health, Equity, and Impactful Facilities
John David, President & CEO of Sorts Events & Tourism Association
Location: Wadsworth
Discover the dynamic synergy between parks, recreation, and sports tourism with John David, President and CEO of the Sports Events & Tourism Association. Uncover how this dynamic fusion cultivates top-tier parks for communities, promotes health and wellness, and drives tourism events, yielding substantial economic impact.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Strategize: Devise strategies for integrating parks, recreation, and sports tourism to create impactful facilities and programming that benefit local communities and contribute to economic growth.
Implement: Apply best practices from real-world examples to implement inclusive event planning and facility upgrades that cater to diverse community needs.
Evaluate: Develop skills to assess the economic impact of sports tourism on local facilities and community well-being.
Inspire Collaboration: Foster collaboration between parks, recreation departments, and tourism agencies to maximize the potential of facilities and programming for community health, equity, and conservation.

Breakout Session 2 | Film & Your Community: What Does it Mean?
Matt Storm & Dan Rogers, SC Film Commission
Location: Croft

Breakout Session 3 | Optimizing “Your” Influence on the Federal Level
Daniel Blumenstock, Director of Hotels at Fennell Holdings
Location: Daniel Morgan

What are a few current “hot topics” with an impact to the hospitality industry
How to advocate for something effectively
How to approach your representative
How does the American Hotel & Lodging Association, South Carolina Restaurant Lodging Association, and the National Restaurant Association coincide with local efforts

12:25-1:45 pm | Lunch & Learn
Location: TBD

2:00-5:00 pm | Tuesday Afternoon Explore and Discover
This year's Governor's Conference has several opportunities on Tuesday afternoon to explore the tourism appeal of the Spartanburg area and discover best practices in the field of Marketing. This year’s tours will feature two tours that will utilize a bus and two tours that will be walking tours which will leave from the hotel. Please keep physical needs in mind when booking your tours.

Experience #1 | Pronk Studios Tour (bus tour)
Limit 50 attendees
Tour the upstate's premiere production space–and your one-stop destination for content creation needs. This 10,000 square foot, fully equipped studio is perfect for any marketing team who needs the tools to tackle video production, podcasting, social content, and more.

Experience #2 | BMW Performance Driving Experience *this tour is an additional $100* (bus tour)
Sample the many of the vehicles the Performance Center has to offer. Take the wheel of a BMW X vehicle as you follow an instructor through our challenging off-road course. Then, head to the track and rotate between various BMW vehicles, driving each through tight corners and fast straightaways*. It’s a ride you won’t soon forget.
*All driving participants must possess a valid driver’s license and be 18 years of age. Feel free to bring cameras, Go Pros, sunscreen and sunglasses! The event is held rain or shine.
Dress Code: Casual attire is recommended. Just no open toe or open heel shoes.

Experience #3 | Fifth Third Park Tour Home of the Hub City’s Spartanburger’s Minor League Baseball Team (walking tour)
Limit 25 attendees
Enjoy this guided around Fifth Third Park, the home of the Hub City Spartanburgers, the newly-established Single-A affiliate of the MLB’s Texas Rangers. The tour will cover as many areas of the still-under-construction-ballpark as possible, showcasing the state-of-the-art multi-use facility.
Dress Code: All guests will be asked to wear pants and closed-toed shoes. Hard hats, safety glasses and vests will be supplied, if needed.

Experience #4 | Hub City Downtown Pub Crawl (walking tour)
Savor this sip-and-stroll experience tasting specialty beverage samples from locally-brewed ciders, craft beer, and wine. There may be some surprise treats on the route. End your stroll with a tour of Rockers Brewing Co., Spartanburg’s first craft brewery, and enjoy Rockers’ favorites Son of a Peach and Brown-Eyed Squirrel.
Dress Code: Please wear comfortable walking shoes and appropriate layers for the weather.

6:30 - 8:00 pm | Discover SC Awards Banquet
Location: TBD

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

8:30 am - 10:30 am | Registration Open

9:00 – 9:30 am | Networking Breakfast
Location: TBD

9:30 – 10:45 am | General Session & Giveaway | Bold Moves in Marketing; Pushing Boundaries, Building Partnerships, and Shaping Tomorrow
Stuart Butler, Kelly Barbrey, Andy Clinton, Makenna Tschetter
Location: Ballroom
What’s driving the next wave of success in destination marketing? Join an all-star panel of tourism leaders representing DMOs of all sizes as they share bold campaigns that pushed boundaries, innovative collaborations that delivered real community value, and their vision for staying ahead of the curve. Whether you’re from a small DMO or a large one, this session will inspire you to think bigger, collaborate smarter, and embrace the future with confidence.

11:00 am - Until | Golf
Location: River Falls Plantation
Anyone wishing to golf with our SC Governor’s Conference group must pre-register on our SC Governor's Conference registration page.