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ICI•pg_42-52__BMT_pg3-58 1/22/13 3:27 AM Page 52 CALVIN TAYLOR is vice president of Government Relations for the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he works closely with state government, city officials and the local hospitality industry in Memphis in enhancing the development and growth of Memphis tourism. In addition he serves as the bureau's director of the Memphis tourism education foundation, which administers the city's official hospitality tourism training program. Taylor is co-founder of the Beale street development corporation, the organization 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 National Coalition 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 tourism industry for many 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. Last year he 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 Roundtable Award, an award given in recognition of an individual for their outstanding contributions of leadership, service, and professionalism to the Tennessee tourism industry and for their involvement with and service to the Tennessee tourism. ALBERT TUCKER serves as vice president of Multicultural Business Development for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB). It is Tucker's vision to expose ethnically diverse individuals and groups to Greater Fort Lauderdale so that GFL becomes the destination of choice for individuals of color. A key part of the outreach is to identify and support infrastructure and tourism projects that will facilitate multicultural visitor growth. For the past eleven years, Tucker has helped increase multicultural participation in the tourism and convention sales market by more than 40%. During summer 2010 more than 150 family reunions chose Greater Fort Lauderdale as their gathering place. With the combined numbers from other multicultural summer business Greater Fort Lauderdale realized an economic impact of more than $5 million to the community. Tucker has been the visionary in the development of The Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation, which will be located in Lauderhill, FL. This $50 million project will provide the gospel music industry with a home to preserve the rich history of this genre and will serve as a center for economic and educational empowerment for all. The Gospel Complex is scheduled for completion in mid 2012. In addition to his public service, Tucker currently serves on the Executive Board of the Urban League of Broward County the 100 Black Men of Greater Fort Lauderdale and is intimately involved with the expansion of Jazz in the Gardens musical festival, which brings in more than 50,000 visitors to South Florida. 52 CAROL WALLACE(, Carol Wallace is president and CEO of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation, where she has led the bayside facility for over 20 years. She is responsible for the overall strategic direction, management and operation of the facility, oversees a full-time and part-time staff of more than 525 and an annual budget that exceeds $33 million. Under her leadership, the San Diego Convention Center has become one of the most successful facilities in the nation. In her 30 year career, Wallace has earned a reputation as a top industry executive working for the Dallas Convention Center as well as the Colorado Convention Center. When she came to San Diego in 1991, she played a pivotal leadership role convincing key constituents to expand the San Diego Convention Center, resulting in an expansion opening in 2001. She is currently working with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and community stakeholders on the Phase 3 Expansion of the Convention Center, which is expected to open in late 2016. Wallace's hard work and dedication have earned her numerous industry accolades and appointments. Currently she is serving on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, a group responsible for advising the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce and Homeland Security on ways to strengthen the travel and tourism industry and expand economic opportunities for American businesses, including domestic job creation. Wallace also serves as the North American representative on the AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres) board of directors as well as the Professional Convention Management Association's (PCMA) Education Foundation board of trustees. She is the past president of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), the world's largest public assembly facility management association and past chair of the IAVM Foundation. In 2004 she received IAVM's highest honor, the Charles A. McElravy Award, for her exceptional leadership and extraordinary career-long accomplishments. AHMEENAH YOUNG, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, has been an influential voice in the tourism and hospitality industry for almost three decades. She leads the Center in developing its organizational policies to support providing the best customer-focused experience in the convention marketplace. She oversaw the $786 million expansion project that has increased the site's footprint to more than one-million square feet, achieving a women and minority-owned business participation rate of 32 percent. Young was general manager of Philadelphia's Independence Visitor Center Corp. and vice president of corporate diversity for SearchWide, LLC. She sits on the boards of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Welcome America!, Temple University's School of Tourism and Hospitality, Philadelphia Academies, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Philadelphia International Airport, Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Central City District, Reading Terminal Market and the Art Sanctuary advisory committee. B M & T ••• November/December 2012 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com