Frankenmuth

The Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau held its annual meeting virtually in January of 2021 for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which runs from October 1 through September 30. As one can imagine, it was an interesting reflection opportunity as we celebrated the successes of the year no one imagined. The Chamber & CVB typically go into a year with aggressive and strategic plans, which was the case in Fall of 2019 when our new year technically begins. We began the year financially strong. We are always conservative with our resources and had been saving for some big capital projects in the future. We have a strong Board filled with diverse business representation from across the community. A dedicated staff, with some still learning their roles having only been hired in 2019. We had a new website being launched with our first ever major winter marketing campaign. And then March of 2020 hit. As I look back, I'm incredibly proud of how quickly we pivoted to a work-from-home environment and started finding new ways to share inspirational messages about Frankenmuth when all people could do was dream about coming to visit from their homes. We were a town filled with Courage as it became the community rally cry for Frankenmuth's 175th year. A Community Task Force was formed. Collaboration was happening, even from our homes. Masks were made, donated and distributed. A portal was built to link needs in the community with volunteers able to assist. Businesses continued to give despite being nearly shuttered themselves. And that support helped us wrap up the year with an incredible new plan for Christmas in Frankenmuth that was just what we all needed at that time. Was it Frankenmuth's most successful year? I guess it A N N UA L R E P O RT Chamber & CVB In Winter 2020, Frankenmuth CVB sponsored the naming rights to the ice rink in Campus Martius Park in Detroit as the first large-scale marketing initiative. 10

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