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Travel Writers, a delegate to the Nation's First White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. In August 1997 she received the Nation's first "Trailblazer Pioneer Award for Multicultural Tourism," from the Multicultural Tourism Conference, and the award is henceforth named, "The Frances Smiley Trailblazer Award." Smiley was recognized by magazine as one of the "Most Influential African Americans in Tourism" in the United States in '97-'09. In July of 1999 She was inducted in the Alabama Tourism Hall of Fame, in May 2003 into the West Alabama Tourism Hall of Fame, and in May of 2008 received the APEX Award for outstanding service to the industry from BM&T. MONICA SMITH,CMP,CASE,CDME is president & CEO of the Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Bureau. This year the MBCCVB has launched a new website, implement- ed a visitor research project and market- ing initiatives to increase convention and group tour sales efforts. A Cornell University graduate, Smith is a member of ASAE, MPI, NCBMP, and Georgia Association of CVBs. She also serves on the DMAI Social Responsibility Committee and Destination Travel Foundation Board of Trustees. ROBERT L. STEELE, III, CHA, is president andCOOof theAmerican Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI). Steele oversees the day-to-day operations of the E d u c a t i o n a l Institute, as well as directs the overall vision and strate- gies in conjunction with the board of trustees. Steele's responsibi l i t ies also include representing EI as its spokesperson and leader, formulating profitable and productive strategic busi- ness alliances to enhance EI, increasing penetration of the international markets, 54 and enhancing marketing efforts within the industry. With more than 30 years of hospi- tality experience, Steele has spent his entire career with Hyatt Hotels Corporation, serving as general man- ager of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay; the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Baltimore, Md.; Hyatt Regency Washington, Washington, D.C.; and Hyatt Fairlakes, Fairfax, Va., prior to his current position. Steele is the past chairman of American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), having held the position of 2007 chairman of the board. An active and long-time supporter of AH&LA, Steele has served on various commit- tees and boards, including the Strategic Planning Committee; Multicultural & Diversity Advisory Council; Membership/Sales & Market- ing Committee; Credit Card Advisory Council; Financial Management Com- mittee; Lodging Industry Rating Advisory Committee; ADA Task Force; Audit, Certification & Credentials Committee; Engineering & Environ- ment Committee; Human Res-ources Council; and Loss Preven-tion Com- mittee. ZITA STEGLICH-ROSS has served as the director of Convention Sales at the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau since February of 2008. In this post she is tasked with managing the daily operations of the convention sales department and assisting in the development of sales and marketing strategies for Orlando'smeetings and convention indus- try. She also serves as the Bureau's senior national sales executive, a position she has held since September of 1998, responsi- ble for citywide accounts in the Northeast territory and citywide African-American accounts nationwide. These accounts consist of a minimum of 60,000 gross sq. ft., and amaximum2,000,000 sq. ft. exhib- it space. Prior to joining the CVB, Steglich-Ross was a senior sales manager at InterCon- tinental Hotels Group, and before that, a sales manager at both the Hyatt Regency Miami and the Sheraton Kensington Hotel. Steglich-Ross, who has been a supplier for the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners for over 18 years, holds a degree in accounting from Tulsa Community College. CALVIN TAYLOR is vice president of Government Relations for the Memphis Convention andVisitors Bureau, where he works closely with state gov- ernment, city offi- cials and the local hospitality industry in Memphis in enhancing the development and growth of Memp- his tourism. In addition he serves as the bureau's director of the Memphis tourism educa- tion foundation, which administers the city's official hospitality tourism training program. Taylor is co-founder of the Beale street development corporation, the organiza- tion that reintroduced the historic district as a tourist destination. He also worked as publicity director at Southland Racing Corporation, the southeast's largest pari- mutuel waging center. Additionally he is a member of the NationalCoalition of Black Meeting Planners and is a past chairman of the Tennessee Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. Besides being a major player in the state's tourismindustry formany years, he has also served the Tennessee Tourism Roundtable (TTR) faithfully as a board member, TTR Government Relations Committee member and chair, and chair of the annual TTR salute to the legislature. This year he has served as chair of TTR after serving as vice-chair during 2010. Taylor was named as the recipient of the 2010 Tennessee Tourism Roundtable Knight of the RoundtableAward, an award given in recognition of an individual for their outstanding contributions of leader- ship, service, and professionalism to the Tennessee tourism industry and for their involvement with and service to the Tennessee tourism. Black Meetings & Tourism November/December 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com B M e e t ig n s a n d T o u r i s m lc a k