1

2011 ANNUAL REPORT

JULY 1, 2010 - JUNE 30, 2011

2

Senator Dennis L. Algiere

Senator Nicholas Kettle

Senator Francis T. Maher, Jr.

Senator Dawson Tucker Hodgson

Senator James C. Sheehan

Senator V. Susan Sosnowski

Representative Samuel A. Azzinaro

Representative Michael Chippendale

Representative Doreen M. Costa

Representative Laurence W. Ehrhardt

Representative Jared Nunes

Representative Brian Patrick Kennedy

Representative Donald J. Lally, Jr.

Representative Lisa Tomasso

Representative Donna M. Walsh

Representative Scott J. Guthrie

Representative Teresa A. Tanzi

Representative Spencer E. Dickinson

Representative Larry Valencia

Representative Robert A. Watson

SOUTH COUNTY CAUCUS Special thanks to the South County Legislative Caucus for their

support over the past twenty-five years.

OFFICERS

Chairman of the Board: Bill Bokon, Richmond

Vice Chair: Pati DeWardener, Exeter

Treasurer: Frank Prosnitz, East Greenwich

Corporate Secretary: Denise Marcey Pellegrino, Westerly

DIRECTORS

Charlestown: Todd Conklin (2010), Pam Lyons (2011)

Coventry: Larry Harvey (2010) Greg Mierka (2011)

East Greenwich: Frank Prosnitz (2011), Sen. Michael Lenihan (2012)

Exeter: Pati DeWardener (2011), Loren Spears (2010)

Hopkinton: Dave Punska (2011), Rep. Brian Kennedy (2012)

Narragansett: Andrew Nota (2011), Rep. David Caprio (2010)

North Kingstown: David Zapatka (2011), Dale Grogan (2010)

Richmond: Bill Bokon (2010), Jami Ouellette (2011)

South Kingstown: Deedra Durocher (2011), Eric Postemsky (2010)

West Greenwich: Kevin Breene (2010), Dr. Clyde Fish (2010)

Westerly: Dan Hostettler (2010), Denise Marcey Pellegrino (2010)

ADVISORS

Mark Brodeur, Director of Tourism, RIEDC

Caswell Cooke, Jr., Misquamicut Business Association

Eleanor Dove, Narragansett Indian Tribe

Karla Driscoll, North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce

Joe Iacoi, South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce

Debbie Kelso, Narragansett Chamber of Commerce

Lisa Konicki, Greater Westerly/Pawcatuck Chamber of Commerce

Steve Lombardi, East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce

Heather Paliotta, Charlestown Chamber of Commerce

Jaime Wilson, Meridian Printing

Charles “Ted” Wright, South County Trolley Company

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chairman/President’s Message…….……………...3

Financial Statement………………………………..4

NATJA…………………………………………….5

25th Anniversary Celebration……………………..6

RI Tourism Award………………………………...7

Celebrate South County Day………………………8

South County Photo Contest………………………9

South County Blood Drive……………………….10

Publicity…………………………………………..11

Media Buys……………………………………….12

MISSION STATEMENT

The primary mission of the South County Tourism Council is to

plan, promote and market tourism beyond our 11-town region.

Working with the applicable state policies and procedures, board

membership has the opportunity to identify our target tourism mar-

ket, and to develop marketing campaigns that attract visitors to our

area.

3

Message from the Chairman and the President

On behalf of the South County Tourism Council and volunteer leadership, we are proud to provide you with this annual

report of our activities and accomplishments for FY 2011.

The past year has been one of challenge and opportunity for the visitor industry. The SCTC team continues to implement

new programs and initiatives designed to ensure that South County is positioned as a vibrant, accessible and beautiful

destination for leisure travelers.

Your Board of Directors represents the leaders in our industry, who as volunteers, unselfishly provide their time and tal-

ent to support the needs and initiatives of the staff. We value our partnership with you and welcome your input. Feel

free to contact us to lend your voice to our efforts.

We look forward to continued collaboration and economic growth in the coming year.

Bill Bokon

Chairman Myrna George

President

4

REVENUES, EXPENSES AND UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCES

2006¹ 2007¹ 2008¹ 2009¹ 2010¹ 2011*

Revenues

Room Tax $504,734.00 $508,809.00 $509,674.00 $520,591.00 $519,880.00 $692,399.00

Other $110,816.00 $85,111.00 $87,640.00 $99,348.00 $80,735.00 $90,917.00

Interest $2,106.00 $12,839.00 $11,865.00 $9,577.00 $12,263.00 $4,572.00

Total $617,656.00 $606,759.00 $609,179.00 $629,516.00 $612,878.00 $787,888.00

% Change 2.9 (1.8) 0.4 3.3 (2.6) 28.6

Expenses $527,983.00 $502,128.00 $518,003.00 $582,156.00 $527,233.00 $563,937.00

Revenues Over $89,673.00 $104,631.00 $91,176.00 $47,360.00 $85,645.00 $223,951.00

(Under) Expenses

Beginning Net Assets $311,501.00 $401,174.00 $505,805.00 $596,981.00 $644,342.00 $729,987.00

Ending Net Assets $401,174.00 $505,805.00 $596,981.00 $644,342.00 $729,987.00 $953,938.00

(1) Audited by Mullen,Scorpio & Cerilli, CPA

(*) Unaudited

5

SOUTH COUNTY STYLE TAKES THE GOLD

BRIDAL SHOW AT THE TOWERS

South County’s scenic beauty makes it a natural destination wedding

setting. On Jan. 16, 2011 South County wedding vendors took center

stage at the 4th Annual South County Bridal Show at the historic

Towers in Narragansett, as we host the only event dedicated exclu-

sively to South County wedding vendors and venues.

This event provides the best combined resources and information to

aid brides and their families in making the most important decisions

for their memorable moment – a South County wedding.

The simple elegance of a South County wedding is enhanced by the

many fairy tale settings and the romance of the ocean as brides and

grooms envision an enchanting wedding destination in South County.

The South County Bridal Show has grown every year, yet remains a

human scale showcase, featuring an affordable, yet naturally elegant

wedding destination that is truly South County style.

Brides won prizes ranging from free appetizers to a wedding dress.

Each bride was given a gift bag including the SCTC 12-page work-

book to organize the myriad details that accompany planning a wed-

ding.

The 2012 Bridal Show is set for Jan. 8 at the Towers.

South County Style Vacation Planner took the Gold in the North American

Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) 2010 annual awards competition, for

the Visitor’s Guide—Marketing Budget Less Than $400,000 category.

This awards competition, now in its 19th year, honors the “best of the best” in

travel writing, photography and promotion that cover all aspects of the travel

industry worldwide. NATJA received more than 500 submissions for the 2010

competition.

This is the second time SCTC has been recognized by NATJA. In 2008, South

County Style Vacation Planner was recognized for its Editorial Excellence in

Best Travel Magazine category, along with National Geographic.

The South County Style Vacation Planner is the centerpiece of our collateral of

print and online promotions. Full-color photography of each of the 11 South

County towns provides an enticing introduction to visitors, encouraging them to

explore the many activities and sites throughout the area.

6

A beautifully sunny afternoon greeted guests and SCTC board members, as the Council celebrated their 25th year of building the destination South

County, at a gala on May 6, 2011, at the Ocean House in Watch Hill. Governor Lincoln Chaffee, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse,

Congressman Jim Langevin, and state Representative Brian Patrick Kennedy sent citations praising SCTC.

SCTC President Myrna George commended the three founders of the council, Joan Abrams, Jack Gaines and Gil Wallander. The trio recognized the

potential of ‘South County’ as a tourism destination for people and families from outside Rhode Island’s borders.

Singling out Wallander, who passed away this spring, George praised his foresight. “His vision of a vibrant tourism economy throughout South

County is manifest today. The results have been stunning.”

Tourism is now the second largest economic engine in Rhode Island. “Over $1,349 per year in local property taxes are not paid by property owners

each year because of tourism,” George said. “That’s how much we can contribute to Rhode Island.”

As South County has grown, so has SCTC. Building on a modest brochure, SCTC now produces a 100-page annual award winning magazine and

runs a national marketing campaign, including advertisements in traditional publications such as Reader’s Digest, Yankee Magazine and Oprah, and

online media such as Boston.com, as well as an international campaign in Canada, Germany and the U.K. to name a few.

Tourism leaders of today share a competitive nature, a passion for their product and a clear understanding that today’s business environment calls

for innovation and positive action, George detailed. “These leaders are ushering in a new age for the tourism industry, where the ledger books are

wide open and the red carpet is unfurling for visitors.”

A video featuring South County highlighted the natural beauty of the area, from the beaches to the parks and farms that comprise this scenic destina-

tion. This video was made in cooperation with DEM.

SCTC recognized Larry Mouradjian, Associate Director of Natural Resources at DEM, for his 38 years of managing the thousands of acres of state

land in South County, which attracts tourists to the scenic area.

Collaborations with state agencies and local communities are vital to the success of SCTC and tourism in our area, noted George. “Working to-

gether truly makes great things happen!”

25th ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATED

AT OCEAN HOUSE RECEPTION

7

Each year, the South County Tourism Council nominates an individual, business or organization to be recognized with the Governor’s Tourism

Achievement Award at the Annual Rhode Island Tourism Unity Luncheon.

This year's South County honoree was Perry Raso, of the Matunuck Oyster Bar and Matunuck Oyster Farm. The luncheon was held on Wednesday,

May 11, at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick

The 26th Annual Rhode Island Tourism Unity Luncheon welcomed more than 400 tourism and hospitality industry professionals statewide. The

luncheon was the highlight of the state’s celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week (May 7-15), recognized nationwide with myriad local-

ized events in cities, states and travel businesses nationwide to champion the power of travel, according to the Visitor's Bureau.

SCTC President Myrna George presented the “Tourism Works for Rhode Island” Award for 2011 to Raso. The theme of the 2011 luncheon was

“Partnerships & Collaborations” celebrating individuals and entities which spearhead cooperative efforts to promote local tourism and the hospital-

ity industry.

Raso, a University of Rhode Island graduate, started the Matunuck Oyster Farm nine years ago, tending the seven-acre oyster farm year round. He

forged partnerships with URI, guiding a Coastal Fellows student each year. Two years ago, Raso bought a commercial piece of land with a restau-

rant adjacent to his oyster farm.

The oyster farmer became a restaurateur. “The way the economy was that year, I got a lot of advice not to open it,” Raso said.

Today, the Matunuck Oyster Bar is one of the busiest seafood restaurants in South County. Due to his success, Raso has expanded the dining room

and patio to accommodate more patrons.

While most diners appreciate fresh seafood, Raso offers his customers a chance to see the oysters before they reach the plate. Sixty pairs of waders

are available year-round to visitors. They can don the fishing garb and wade into Potter Pond from the oyster bar’s patio for a guided tour of the

farm. During the tour, they can harvest the oysters for their meal at Matunuck Oyster Bar.

CELEBRATING PARTNERSHIPS —

PERRY RASO RECEIVES

RI TOURISM AWARD

8

Celebrate South County Day

At RI State House

The aroma of the quintessential summer beach food, clam cakes,

took over the halls of the Rhode Island State House on Thursday,

May 5, for the 19th annual “Celebrate South County Day . . . and

the Rest of the State,” the kick-off of the 2011 National Tourism

Week.

South County exhibitors offered a “Taste of South County” with

food samples including: Delicious chowder from Yawgoo Bakes,

Indian pudding from Aunt Carrie’s, oysters from Matunuck Oyster

Bar of East Matunuck, and other samplings from George’s of Gali-

lee and Tomaquag Museum of Exeter.

Offering a delicious version of the South County Tourism region’s

scallop shell logo was Sweenor’s Chocolates with their scallop shell

shaped chocolates, to the delight of legislators and general officers.

Del’s Lemonade provided their signature frozen lemonade.

Representatives from Rhode Island’s other tourism bureaus were

also in attendance: Blackstone Valley Tourism, Providence/

Warwick CVB, Warwick Tourism and Rhode Island Tourism, pro-

moting their respective corners of the state.

Visitors come to South County to get away from it all, but when the discus-

sion at the beach turns to overnight accommodations or dinner reservations,

a smart phone is extremely useful.

The South County Tourism Council went live with a mobile website this

spring that provides users with information about accommodations, restau-

rants and events.

By the end of June, the mobile website had more than 8,000 visitors and

17,000 page views.

Visitors who have a smart phone or other PDA device can simply visit the

SCTC website, www.southcountyri.com to find a restaurant or an accommo-

dation for an unexpected guest.

To simplify the process even more, SCTC has a “quick response tag,” a

square which is similar to a bar code and branded with the South County

scallop shell logo, which is used to access the mobile application. The QRT

reader can be downloaded for free. The QR tag was in print advertising

campaigns in Yankee Magazine, CT Parent, NY Times and LIFE Publica-

tions, to name a few, by the SCTC to drive potential visitors to the mobile

website to learn more about our tourism destination, South County.

SOUTH COUNTY MOBILE WEBSITE

4,700 fans...and

counting!

9

1st place—Ingrid Mathews 2nd place—Daniel Dunn 3rd place– Gina Roberti

SCTC 10

th Annual Photo Contest

South County Tourism Council celebrated its 10th Annual Photo Contest with 73 entrants submitting more than 600 photographs which

captured the beauty of South County’s 449 square mile tourism region!

Ingrid Mathews of Wyoming, R.I., won first place with a silhouette photo of several youths returning from an afternoon of boogie boarding

at the beach. Second place was awarded to Daniel Dunn, third place to Gina Roberti. Runners-up were Amy Martira, Ingrid Mathews,

John Pitocco, and Steve Wood, with two winning entries.

David Zapatka, South County Tourism Council Board Member and lifelong Rhode Island resident, judged the competition. A graduate of

Rhode Island College with a mass communication degree, he has distinguished himself as a cameraman with two New England Emmy

awards, as well as a National Sport Emmy for Championships for CBS Sports.

Myrna George, president of South County Tourism Council, observed during the presentation of awards; “The creation of enticing im-

agery which compels visitors to South County, are what each entry has captured. Every photograph inspires all to reach new heights in

image building for South County! The love of our ‘unique sense of place’ has been beautifully illustrated in all of the entries.”

The winning photographs, along with several honorable mentions, were displayed for a month at the Courthouse Center for the Arts in

West Kingston.

10

Blood Drive brings in

record number of donors

The residents of South County showed their support for

Lt. Mike Gama and his family by donating 106 pints of

blood at the Blood and Marrow drives held at the

McGrath Judicial Complex and Village Inn in early

March. Both drives were sponsored by the South County

Tourism Council.

Lt. Gama, a retired Narragansett Police officer was diag-

nosed with leukemia last winter. He is currently receiving

chemotherapy and blood transfusions and waiting a mar-

row match.

This was the sixth annual blood drive sponsored by

SCTC. “We were more than delighted to join with the

communities of South County to support the Rhode Is-

land Blood Center’s designated recipient of this year’s

blood drive,” said Myrna George, president and CEO of

SCTC, noting that the number of donors at this drive ex-

ceeded those at all previous drives. “It is wonderful how

South County pulled together to support one of their

own.”

A total of 38 blood donors were able to give at the

McGrath drive and 68 at the Village Inn. The RI Blood

Center also registered 28 potential marrow donors at

McGrath and 90 at the Village Inn.

Providing a guided tour

before visitors ever touch

a grain of sand on our beaches

The South County Tourism Council reaches potential visitors through a wide variety of me-

diums from print to websites and social media.

South County Style Vacation Planner provides a guided tour of South County to more than

400,000 visitors, providing vacation-planning advice before they ever leave home.

Style is available on-line, in addition to being distributed at T.F. Green Airport, Kingston Train

Station, North East AAA Information Centers, RI Chambers of Commerce, RI Welcome Centers,

Boston’s Copley Place, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, The Berkshires/Greater Albany Corporate State

Government Office, Getaways on Display in VA, MD, PA, NJ, and Canada’s New England Tour-

ism Center.

Our print advertising campaign reaches over 15 million people who read a wide variety of maga-

zines: AARP, AAA Car & Travel, Journeys, Endless Vacations, Going Places, America’s Best

Vacation, Coastal Living, Newport Travel Guide, Ocean House Magazine, Oprah, RI Travel

Guide, Reader’s Digest, Yankee Magazine, LIFE Publications, Boston Globe, Boston.com, Essen-

tial America, America Journal, Providence Journal Summer Guide, and the RI State Map.

Style is a fixture in our local hotels, providing easy to read maps of the individual towns, as well as

events listings, attractions and restaurants.

SCTC’s virtual outreach is increasing rapidly. SouthCountyRI.com receives over 100,000 unique

visitors a year. Our wedding website, SouthCountyWeddings.com and our mobile website were

launched in April 2011 and were an immediate success with over 8,000 visits to the Mobile site in

four months.

The SCTC Facebook page has over 5,700 national and international fans and friends, 1,000 visits a

week and over 200 monthly active users.

SCTC retains the personal touch with the only 800 number in the state that is answered by our

office staff.

11

Yankee Magazine, May/June 2011 listed eight South County events among the Top 20 Events in Rhode Island for May through

August. Also, in their “Best Of” list, they listed Matunuck Oyster Bar, South Kingstown, as the Best Pond to Plate in the Food &

Dining category; Kagels Cottages, Narragansett, as the Best Cottage Rental in the Lodging category; The Ocean House, Westerly,

as the Best Victorian Makeover; Nonchalant Mom, Wakefield, as the Best Beta Mom Store under Attractions; Narragansett

Beach, Narragansett, for Best Surfing under Adventures; Arcadia Management Area, Hope Valley, for the Best Mountain Biking;

Napatree Point, Westerly, for Best Stroll; RE, North Kingstown, for Best Home Consignments under Local Secrets; and Avondale

Farm, Westerly, for Best Coastal Preserve.

RI Monthly, November/December 2010 featured the Pt. Judith Lighthouse.

WPRI Channel 12, June 2011, featured a story on “RI Beaches Named Best in New England,” and mention of our Yankee

Magazine coverage.

GoLocalProv published a list of the best Rhode Island communities, listing South Kingstown as #2 and East Greenwich as #5.

They also listed “The Best Clam Shacks in RI,” and counted Aunt Carrie’s as the best, with George’s of Galilee close behind.

A RI Monthly.com staffer reviewed Buster Krab’s in Galilee, and raved about the burritos. She described Buster Krab’s as

“perfect,” from the tin buckets filled with condiments to the flip flops covering the ceiling of the bathroom. “It was a great place

for a date, where two can watch the sun set over the harbor as the last of the boats drive in from their day at sea.”

Patch.com, South Kingstown covered our 25th Anniversary Party at The Ocean House in Westerly.

Live! With Regis & Kelly—In late June 2011, Regis recounted a trip to Rhode Island and his stay at The Ocean House. When de-

scribing The Ocean House, Regis said “he felt the spirit of it all.” He also stated that The Ocean House had a Gatsby feel to it and

that it was a wonderful place.

Providence Business News mentioned South County in several articles on RI tourism, beaches and our new mobile website.

RI Monthly Home Design’s premiere issue featured an article on Julie and Palmer Beebe of Yes! Gallery in Wickford.

American Profile Magazine listed the Courthouse Center for the Arts production of “Happy Days: A New Musical” in its New

England Happenings column.

Additional coverage by Providence Journal, projo.com, Southern RI Newspapers, South County Independent, North East Inde-

pendent, and The Westerly Sun.

The efforts of this Council have resulted in various free publicity which include:

12

Media Buys include:

Reader's Digest YANKEE NEW ENGLAND’S MAGAZINE