CJRW, who has handled some marketing for Hope Tourism in previous years, submitted the proposed plan for 2026, which includes advertising in Arkansas Travel Guide, social media marketing, and other media promotions for Hope’s big events. CJRW proposed a purchasing cooperation with Arkansas Great Southwest at $6,125 and Hope Tourism Commission at $8,625. Commissioner Trevor Coffee asked to see stats on how their marketing did last year, and he and the remaining commissioners said they would make a decision after seeing those numbers.
Hope Public Schools (HPS) Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Crossley and Hope School Board member Bill Hoglund were in attendance and addressed the commission about a sponsorship opportunity regarding a videoboard located at the Hope High School football field. They asked if Hope Tourism would be interested in being a Gold Tier sponsor, a 100K sponsorship that would give Tourism a logo on the board, a commercial played every quarter of football games plus during other events, production of a video, and other benefits to education and the community. Crossley said if the commission approved this sponsorship it would be a long-term investment that would last a decade. The commission agreed to review and discuss the request once they had a budget for 2026.
Chamber Director Christy Burns was present for two agenda items. She made the request to renew the contract that Tourism has with the Chamber. She said a few changes needed to be made because the Chamber’s contract began in 2017 and hasn’t been updated since. She gave the commission different options to choose from that gave different benefits of the partnership.
She also addressed the commission about the Watermelon Festival concert sponsorship. In the past, tourism sponsored $15,000 for the concert and $15,000 for marketing. She said this year the Chamber is attempting to organize a buffer concert, so she requested $25,000 for the concert and the same $15,000 for marketing. The commissioners said they would discuss both requests after they had an approved budget for 2026.
Parks Director/Tourism Secretary Summer Chambers updated the commission on the Southwest Arkansas Arts Council's headquarters' roof and provided the received bids. The commission voted to approve the lowest bid from Barton Roofing for $18,000.
In other business, the concession stand leases have expired. Hope Mayor Don Still requested that the commissioners table that decision for now until they could receive advice from the city attorney on contract points. His fellow commissioners agreed.
After a discussion about particular line items for the proposed 2026 budget, the commission voted to approve the 2026 budget.
To see the full meeting, visit the City of Hope Facebook page.