Johnson County board backs marketing support, small purchases for community events and approves $1,000 sponsorship

The Johnson County Tourism Board on Monday discussed requests from local event organizers and approved a package of in‑kind and small-dollar assistance aimed at attracting visitors from outside the county.

David Mao, representing Hope Rock Presbyterian, asked the board for $1,000 to expand the church’s annual corn roast, which he said served about 2,000 people last year. “We are now to improve upon something new … we are asking for 1000 dollars,” Mao said while describing expanded equipment and outreach plans and noting the event is planned for July 31 and Aug. 1 at the county fairgrounds.

Board members questioned whether direct donations to a church fit the agency’s mission of driving tourism. Multiple members said preference should be given to measures that bring visitors into Johnson County, such as targeted advertising. One board member moved to authorize the agency to provide marketing assistance — including targeted digital advertising to Indianapolis and within roughly a one‑hour radius — and the motion passed by voice vote.

In a separate, related motion the board authorized up to $500 for a set of Festival Country‑branded game boards that the event organizer would own and use annually; that motion also passed with one member recorded as dissenting on the floor.

The board also approved a separate sponsorship: staff brought a $1,000 sponsorship opportunity for a community bike ride (presented as “Tour de Bargersville” by the event host), and the board voted to fund that sponsorship.

The board framed these approvals as focused on marketing and visitor attraction rather than pure charitable giving. Staff and board members recommended scaling in‑kind support and using targeted advertising to increase out‑of‑county attendance, and they discussed measuring return on investment through Placer analytics and social media tracking.

Next steps: staff will coordinate advertising placements and the procurement of the game boards. Claims and payables discussed during the meeting were scheduled to be paid following the session.