Black Meetings and Tourism

Nov/Dec 2012

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ICI•pg_42-52__BMT_pg3-58 1/22/13 3:26 AM Page 42 BY GLORIA M. HERBERT MOST INFLUENTIAL AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN MEETINGS/TOURISM INDUSTRY that time of year again for BM&T's annual review of the progress and success of those AfricanAmericans who continue to make significant strides in our industry. This is our opportunity to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and contributions of our brothers and sisters who have managed to perform at the highest professional levels despite the challenging economic times we have all faced in recent years. A few familiar faces are gone from this year's list. Jessie Allen, after more than 33 years within the Orange County Government, during which he served a variety of posts, including as general manager of the Orange County Convention Center, has retired. So glad we presented him with BM&T's Apex Award in 2011 while has was still at the Center. Also gone is Tanya Hall, longtime executive director of the Philadelphia Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC), who exited the hospitality industry for a position in the corporate world. She is a good friend and will be missed. New on the list this year is Julie Coker, senior vice president for the Philadelphia CVB and a former Hyatt general manager who has appeared on the pages of Black Meetings & Tourism numerous times in the past. Also new is Nicole Johnson-Reece, who replaces Hall as executive director at the Philadelphia MAC, and Tony Gladney, vice president of National Diversity Relations for Caesars Entertainment Corporation. Bennish Brown is back, but this time as the president/CEO of the Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau, after leaving his post as executive director of the Rock Hill/York County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Rock Hill, SC. Also coming back in a different role is John Rolfe, former CEO and president of Go Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau, who now serves as chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Putting together this list every year makes us, and I hope you, so very proud of those who we are recognizing. But as a result of the process involved it also becomes obvious that so much more needs to be done in the area of diversity and inclusion. As always, those listed here are to be commended for their achievements, their tenacity, and their determination to succeed in an industry that has been slow to embrace the concept of inclusiveness. Overcoming the challenges they've had to face in order to reach the top of their profession, they've earned the right to your respect, admiration and recognition. And most importantly, they deserve your consideration when it comes to booking business with them, for them or from them. It's LARRY ALEXANDER, president and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB) and a 31-year veteran of the hospitality and tourism industry, has shaped the Bureau into the leading organization responsible for facilitating tourism economic growth in Metro Detroit. Alexander leads an innovative, multi-award winning convention sales, marketing and convention services effort that has often exceeded CVB 42 BM&T ••• November/December 2012 ••• industry standards for its performance. He oversees an annual budget of $12 million and 51 employees. Following passage in 2009 of Michigan Public Act 554, which regionalized the management of Cobo Center under a public Authority, Governor Jennifer Granholm named Alexander as the State's appointee to the five-member Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority Board. Alexander was elected chairman at the Authority's first meeting and is currently leading a team that is transforming Detroit's Cobo Center into a competitive 21st-century meeting and convention facility. On behalf of the DMCVB, Alexander navigated the efforts to land some of the world's most coveted sporting events, including Super Bowl XL in 2006 and the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four. He also created and leads the Detroit Metro Sports Commission, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bureau responsible for landing the 2003 and 2008 AAU Junior Olympic Games, the 2008 Women's International Bowling Congress, and contributing to the successful bid for the 2005 MLB All Star Game. In the realm of professional association meetings, Alexander led the team that won for Detroit the 2015 convention of the American Society of Association Executives, considered the "Super Bowl" of conventions. Before stepping into his current DMCVB role, Alexander was an executive in the for-profit arena. He was the managing director of The Westin Hotel – Detroit Renaissance Center (now under Marriott ownership), responsible for the marketing and operations of one of the nation's largest hotels. He also served as general manager of The Westin Miyako in San Francisco; The Westin-O'Hare in Chicago and The Westin Hotel Cincinnati. In addition to his chairmanship of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, Alexander is a board member of the Michigan Society of Association Executives, The Parade Company (Detroit), The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, The Detroit Zoological Society, New Detroit and Forgotten Harvest. LARRY ATCHISON, serves as Associate Director of Sales, Services & Sports at the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB). In his position, Atchison has the primary responsibility of working with organizations based in the Northeast and working with convention and sports sales initiatives within the bureau. Atchison, a 30-year veteran of the hospitality and meeting industry, has been with ACVB for 20 years. After serving as ACVB's National Sales Manager for four years in Washington, D.C., he returned to Albuquerque in 2006. He also served as Interim Vice President of Convention Sales & Services for the Bureau in 2010. CLEO BATTLE, is vice president of Sales and Services for the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. Battle has worked in the hospitality industry for 27 years. He began his position as vice president at the Bureau in 2000. Previously he served as the Bureau's director of Sales and Sales Manager. Before joining the Richmond Metro CVB, he spent 10 www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com

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