Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1421252
B M & T ••• September/October 2021 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 12 proud to announce her promotion," said Ward. "Her col- laborative leadership style, knowledge of tourism assets throughout our city, and focus on community partner- ships has been invaluable in increasing visitation to Omaha." Working at Visit Omaha for the past 14 years, Goodwin has served as the organization's director of marketing, managing a team of content creators and VisitOmaha.com, the city's official tourism website. Her work to launch the Visit Omaha brand on social media began in 2008, in the infancy of internet communities, and under her leadership has grown into an online net- work with a dedicated audience of more than 170,000 fol- lowers. Goodwin also developed a blogger outreach pro- gram responsible for increasing online conversations about visiting Omaha by more than 150%. Since 2017, she has managed Omaha Restaurant Week, partnering with local businesses to promote Omaha's dining scene and helping to raise money for the Food Bank for the Heartland. You may have read about Goodwin leading up to the 2014 Super Bowl. During the playoffs her #OmahaOmaha tweet went viral, grabbing the attention of millions, increasing visits to the VisitOmaha.com website by 35%, Omaha hotel searches by 21%, and inspiring more than 1,000 articles worth at least $9 million in publicity about Omaha. It culminated with a visit from Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who accepted thousands of dollars for his charitable foundation and provided Goodwin with an autographed football. Well done, #JasmynJasmyn! For more information on attractions and future devel- opments in Omaha, go to VisitOmaha.com. CHOOSE CHICAGO WELCOMES ERIC KINCAID TO HANDLE CONVENTION MARKET SALES Choose Chicago Vice President of Convention Sales, Julie Mullins, announced that Eric Kincaid has joined Choose Chicago to handle the large-scale convention market. Kincaid will be based in Washington DC, representing and selling Chicago's convention package with a primary focus on conventions meeting at McCormick Place . Kincaid will be handling the entire large-scale convention market out of the Mid-Atlantic region. "I am so pleased Eric has joined Choose Chicago" said Mullins. "He not only brings decades of successful conven- tion experience and long-term customer relationships, but he will also bring an energy and passion to our city which will enhance our ability to remain one of the finest convention destina- tions on the plan- et." Kincaid joins Choose Chicago from Destination D.C. (DDC) where he served as National Account Director of Citywide Sales. In this direc- torship role Kincaid handled both the corporate and asso- ciation markets for groups of 2,500 sleeping rooms or more on their peak nights coming to D.C. for meetings and events. Kincaid came to DDC by way of Marriott International where for over ten years he held several key sales positions both on and above property. His strong communication and networking background along with his adaptation skills in an unpredictable market make him a true asset to any hospitality industry organization. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, Kincaid attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, with a concentration in Hospitality Tourism, Sales and Project Management. He holds a certificate of Healthcare Management Compliance and is active in several industry organizations including Meeting Professionals Inter- national (MPI) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). He currently is the chair of the Emerging Professionals Committee for the PCMA Capital Chapter and serves on the PCMA Foundation Development Committee. Kincaid is also an avid marathon runner and has participated in various races around the world. In 2017, he achieved his goal of thirty races within one year. When he is not running a marathon, you can find him traveling the globe, learning other cultures, entertaining friends and family and enjoy- ing live music events. ERIC KINCAID