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Home My WebLink About2025-05-14-LEX250-min.pdf250 1775-2025 LEXINGTON i.�o55oCN�5En5 Semiquincentennial Commission (Lexington 250) — Agenda Wednesday, May 14, 2025 4:30-6:00 pm Community Room, Lexington Police Station, 1575 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington and on Zoom o Welcome 4:30 pm o Meeting Norms o Debrief of April 17-22, 2025 Lex250 Events 4:35 pm o Conventures o JGPR o Town Staff o V0250 Update 5:50 pm o Housekeeping 5:55 pm o Approve Meeting Minutes o Future Meeting: 6/11/25 You are invited to a Zoom webinar! When: May 14, 2025 04:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Lex250 Commission https:Hlexingtonma.zoom.us/j /842955 52277?pwd=7EeVAS 83yDbNbySx8MHbj MpwUu EDRI. l Passcode:379526 Webinar ID: 842 9555 2277 Present In Person Suzie Barry, Chair Steve Conners, Reenactment Community Representative Barry Cunha, Business Representative Bridger McGaw, Community Representative Cerise Jalelian, Town Celebrations Committee Representative Bebe Fallick, Tourism Committee Representative Melanie Lin, Community Representative Cleve Coats, Community Representative Noah Michelson, Community Representative Jillian Tung, Music & Arts Representative Doug Lucente, Community Representative Julie O'Leary, Civic Representative Ashley Rooney, Community Representative Sandhya Iyer, Lexington Economic Development Director Dusty Rhodes, Conventures Team Turner Schooling, Conventures Team Captain John Mazerall, Lexington Police Chief Derek Sencabaugh, Lexington Fire Sergeant David Bresnihan, Lexington Police Present Remotely Jane Hundley, Lexington Public Schools Representative Mona Roy, Community Representative, Vice Chair John Guilfoil, JGPR Kristen Potter, JGPR Ben Paulin, JGPR David Grilk, Conventures Team TK Skenderian, Conventures Team David Pinsonneault, Director of Lexington Public Works Department Asst. Chief Don Chisholm, Lexington Fire Alicia McCartin, Lexington Department of Public Health Kelly Axtell, Lexington Deputy Town Manager Captain Chris Barry, Lexington Police Steve Cole, Lexington Minutemen Jay Abdella, Lexington Senior Economic Development Coordinator Absent Paul O'Shaughnessy, Historical Organization Representative o Welcome -Ms. Suzie Barry o Meeting Norms Debrief of April 17-22, 2025 Lex250 Events o Conventures-Ms. Dusty Rhodes, TK Skenderian, and Turner Schooling • Presented an overview of the events using a slide deck • DPW, LPD, LFP all worked together to create an extremely successful event. Ms. Rhodes noted that Lexington is an amazing community • Interagency planning was phenomenal • Reviewed: Credential Allocation and Distribution, Parking Placard and Distribution, Commemorative Program, Battle Green Site Plan (Ms. Rhodes praised the support of the Lexington Minutemen in its development), Production Timeline, Reenactment, Guest Management, Production Support, Volunteers, and Parade • Thank you to all for the collaboration • Mr. Lucente reminded the commission of the support that Conventures provided • Ms. Rhodes -Shared the story of feeding the 200 Army personnel despite the failure of the food storage truck. Local restaurants provided food. Due to the efforts of numerous volunteers and staff members as well as food from local restaurants, the needs were met in short order. Ms. Jalelian noted that this did impacted the start of the parade, however the public perception was that it went off without a hitch o JGPR-John Guilfoil • Presented an overview of the events using a slide deck • Tasked with communications, promotions, and staffing of the events • Shared their strategy including the website and reviewed how they promoted Lex250 through original content • Supported Lex250 as well as associated events from other community groups • Issued over 115 media credentials which has promoted more national media attention since April 19 • European media attention has also grown • Reviewed events beginning April 17 -April 21. Of note -the Zip Trip was unexpectedly popular and it was a boost for local restaurants as the network had conducted prior outreach • Four of the five major TV stations broadcast from the countdown calendar • The Lexington Minutemen promos for Channel 4 were very popular • Ms. Roy did a marathon of interviews with numerous media outlets • The NBC MOU with the town was the right move for media coverage They will provide JGPR with the footage for future promotions • Channel 10's coverage of the parade could have been better • On April 20, JGPR had 20 staff members on the ground • Results -A homerun! • Noted that Lexington's hometown media coverage is great • 5,500 media mentions, 15.5 billion readers, viewers, listeners for our audiences, 153$ million in publicity value • Shared results from the Lex250.org as well as Facebook and Instagram data (200% increase between March 30 to the end of April) o Town Staff Economic Development- Ms. Sandhya Iyer and Mr. Jay Abdella • Presented an overview of the events using a slide deck • All good numbers in merchandise sales -commemorative coin was the most popular items • Business response- double or triple sales for local businesses • Questions from commission members centered around the Saturday date or would businesses prefer the traditional Monday date? Also question about how we might be able to project to 7/4/25 and 7/4/26 • Discussion around how to continue to market the Lex250 story • Ms. Iyer noted that an economic development study will be conducted. Ms. Iyer shared data about points of origin for the visitors, mostly from Massachusetts and other New England states Lexington Police Department -Captain John Mazerall • It was a very successful event. The significant law enforcement presence, bolstered by the Saturday date, was extremely helpful. Lexington PD recommends holding future Patriots Day events on Saturday and keeping the same parade route in the future. Captain Mazerall recognized that there are other opinions about the Saturday date which will warrant further discussion Lexington Fire Department -Chief Derek Sencabaugh • The town volunteers were very useful especially given the hot afternoon. Has a similar outlook as LPD in terms of date and parade route. Noted that the DPW was a fantastic partner. "They hit it out of the park" • Mr. McGaw -Recalled the GIS mapping information and the importance of keeping this data for future use • Ms. Roy noted that folks who needed ADA support, felt that their needs were met Department of Public Works- Mr. David Pinsonneault • The barricades were helpful on the parade route and suggested that these would be useful in the future • Plenty of portable toilets and trash cans • Appreciated the early and often planning with all town departments. Noted that the video and sound were great. Conventures was an excellent partner • Mr. Lucente-Were there enough screens? Mr. John Guillfoil gave suggestions about the locations of future screens Lexington Department of Public Health -Assistant Health Director Ms. Alicia McCartin • Noted the availability of water stations and food trucks • The medical reserve corps personnel were very helpful VO250 Update -Ms. Mona Roy and Mr. Doug Lucente • Working with JGPR to distribute information • The arch has been installed. The ribbon cutting is in a few days Housekeeping and Extras • Questions about ownership of photos and video. LexMedia owns the video from the Jumbotron footage • Presentations of a Battlegreen flags along with certificates of authenticity to JGPR and Conventures teams -Ms. Suzie Barry and Mr. Doug Lucente Approve Meeting Minutes -All approved 6:00 A motion to adjourn was made and approved by a roll call vote Next meeting: June 11, 2025 4:30-6:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Jane Hundley