P E O P L E
After 11 years’ service, Ray Hoyt is out as President of Tulsa Regional Tourism, reports TulsaWorld.com.
Housed at the Tulsa Regional Chamber, the organization includes Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau; Tulsa Sports Commission; Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture.
A national firm with destination marketing and sports expertise will conduct a search for Hoyt’s replacement. Ashleigh Bachert, Vice President of Business Administration, will serve as Interim Senior Vice President of Regional Tourism. She had been Executive Director at Durham Sports Commission in North Carolina prior to coming to Tulsa in 2020.
Janette Marson is named as President & CEO of ShelbyKY Tourism. She replaces Chenelle McGee, who recently joined Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism (TTV, 12/21/21). Marson had been Executive Director of the Lake Cumberland Tourist Commission in Russell County.
Andy Clinton has been appointed Interim President / CEO at Visit York County in South Carolina. He’s been with the DMO since 2012, most recently as Vice President of Sales. The leadership position had been held by Billy Dunlap who recently announced his departure for Visit Greenville. (TTV, 2/12/22)
Katie Biggers has been selected as Executive Director of Tahoe City Downtown Association in California. Since 2019, she had been Chamber Manager and Senior Event Specialist for North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.
Tracy Kimberlin is retiring as President & CEO of Springfield (Missouri) Convention & Visitors Bureau following 35 years of service. He plans to stay until the end of 2022 while the board of directors conducts a nationwide search for his replacement.
Isabel Hill has retired from her post as director of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), an office she served for over 18 years.
Julie Heizer, Deputy Director, who also joined NTTO in 2003, has been named Acting Director. She has also held executive posts with Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, Virginia Peninsula Tourism & Conference Bureau, and Washington DC Convention and Tourism Corporation.
Kylie McCracken has departed her role as Marketing Manager at Visit Pittsburgh, which she joined five years ago as Sports Development Coordinator. She will be sharing her career news in due course.
Three new hires have been announced at Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau (l. to r.) Jenna Mazzoccoli has joined as Communications Manager, previously with the editorial staff at Buzz Magazines in Houston. April Smith, a 16-year veteran of hotel sales and operations, joined the team as a Convention Sales Manager. Katie Brickman, formerly with Paycom and Myriad Botanical Gardens, was appointed as Convention Services Manager.
Following 2.5 years as the Media/Public Relations Manager at Visit Lake Charles in Louisiana, Kathryn Shea Duncan has been promoted to Director of Social Media.
Kenley Moy has been promoted to Vice President, Global Sales & Strategic Partnerships at San Francisco Travel Association. He was most recently Vice President National Sales Offices and joined the DMO in 2000.
Jeff Miraglia, Chief Creative Officer for Visit Greater Palm Springs for the past seven years, has joined JNS Next, Creative and Media Hub, as Creative Director.
Danny Guerrero has launched The Culturist Group, a minority-owned multicultural brand marketing and communications practice and platform developed to create a more inclusive travel industry by empowering brands and destinations. Guerrero was a VP-North America Strategy at MMGY Global, Managing Director at Development Counsellors International, and also held communications roles at Visit Newport Beach and West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board.
Civitas has announced the promotion of Tiffany Gallagher from Director of East Coast Operations to Vice President of Operations. She joined the company in 2017.
Lorrie Allen, Account Executive, and Becky Mason, Account Executive, have joined the team at Advance Travel & Tourism.
In addition to hotel sales positions, Allen’s background includes sales roles with Visit Amelia Island, Visit Tallahassee, and Visit Jacksonville. Mason brings a 25-year career in advertising and marketing sales.
Victoria Cimino, CEO, Visit Williamsburg and Monty White, CHDM, Senior Director of Marketing Communications, Visit Irving, are the two DMO executives being recognized this year among “HSMAI Americas Top 25 Extraordinary Minds.”
And the 2021 Albert E. Koehl Award for Hospitality Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award from HSMAI goes to Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global.
P O D C A S T
Kim Sidoriak, President & CEO of Visit Carlsbad in sunny Southern California is our guest on the most recent episode of The Travel Vertical Podcast. Following 14 years at Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Kim talks about the transition from CMO to CEO and generously provides a several solid pointers (including the importance of peer-to-peer and industry-wide networking!) for others considering a similar career move.
There’s also a funding conversation and a look at Visit Carlsbad’s spring marketing campaign with creative agency partner 62Above, earned media partner Wagstaff, and check-in experiences with Bandwango. This podcast episode goes live on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 at 7 a.m. ET. Click here to listen.
R F Ps and J O B S
See last week’s issue of The Travel Vertical for eight RFPs and 160 job listings, supplemented by the ones below. Send your new listings, remove expired ones, and provide people news on positions filled to: laurie@thetravelvertical.com.
Associate Director Public Relations & Communications — Visit Denver, CO
Director of Marketing — Discover Denton, TX (new)
Tourism Director — City of Pacific, MO (new)
Tourism Development Manager — San Diego Tourism Authority, CA (new)
CRM & Research Analyst (new) AND Public Relations Communications Manager (new) AND Sales Coordinator — Visit Dallas, TX
Content Manager AND Membership Supervisor AND Membership Coordinator — Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, GA
Travel Research Analyst — NYC & Company (new)
Director Citywide Convention Sales – East Region + International — San Francisco Travel Association
Destination Meetings Manager/San Francisco Bay Area — Destination Greater Victoria, B.C.
Vice President Sales — Tulsa Regional Chamber, OK
Director of Events — Tourism Industry Association of Canada
Director Partner Engagement AND Director Consumer Research AND Senior Manager Digital Analytics AND Senior Manager Media Planning AND Senior Manager Partner Marketing AND Senior Manager Integrated Marketing AND Manager Partner Engagement (x2) AND Manager Marketing Projects AND Senior Coordinator Integrated Marketing & Social Media — Brand USA, Washington, DC.
Sports/Group Sales Manager AND Senior Sales Manager AND Sales & Service Manager (new) — Visit Williamsburg, VA (new)
Guest Experience Specialist — Visit Napa Valley, CA
Tourism Specialist — Visit The Woodlands, TX
Communications Coordinator — Experience Scottsdale, AZ
Marketing Coordinator — Thomasville Tourism Commission, NC
Account Coordinator AND Account Executive (LA) AND Account Coordinator (Austin) AND Account Coordinator AND Account Executive AND Senior Account Executive AND Account Supervisor (NYC) — MMGY NJF
Account Coordinator-German National Tourist Office — MMGY Myriad, Los Angeles, CA
Vice President of Marketing (remote/hybrid) AND Customer Success Manager AND Growth Product Manager AND Account Executive…and more — CrowdRiff, Toronto
Senior Marketing Manager — Sparkloft Media, Portland, OR
Tourism Marketing Coordinator — Korea Tourism Organization, Los Angeles, CA
Strategic Advisor — Zartico
Director Internal Marketing — Streetsense, Bethesda, MD
Public Relations & Content Strategist — Madden Media, remote
Inside Sales Rep — Epsilon, remote
Director Tourism Development — Port of Seattle, WA
Tourism Account Executive — Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
Let’s get the industry back to work. Send, send, send us people news, jobs, RFPs and share, share, share … this service is free. Thanks! laurie@thetravelvertical.com
