Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1476179
B M & T ••• July/August 2022 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 18 Leadership Forum, Leadership Philadelphia, and Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange. CAROL MOTLEY joined the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau as Senior Vice President of Convention Sales & Services in 2021. She is excited to lead the team as it works to bring meetings and conventions to the Reimagined Miami Beach Convention Center and other amazing venues in Greater Miami & Miami Beach. She has nearly 30 years of direct experience selling convention and meeting destinations for CVBs, convention centers and hotels during her distinguished career. Carol relocated to Miami from Washington, DC, where she served as Director of Convention Sales at Destination DC for seven years. She and her team developed sales programs to foster a strong relationship between Destination DC and the hotel community, as well as the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, to yield the maximum number of events and room nights for the city to generate positive economic impact. Prior to that, she was the Senior National Account for Visit Orlando for five years. She was responsible for strategically placing citywide business in the Orange County Convention Center. Her focus was on soliciting new and repeat business from the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia markets. Before joining Visit Orlando, Carol was Senior Sales Manager for the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, where she was responsible for all citywide business. She has also served as Director of Sales for the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and National Sales Manager for the Baltimore Convention Center. MICHAEL HOOPER is General Manager of the Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon for the last 6 years. Previously, he was Hotel Manager at the 1500 room Hilton Chicago, General Manager at the British Colonial Hilton Nassau – Bahamas (AAA 4* award winner), General Manager at Hilton London Gatwick Airport (and General Manager at Hilton London Kensington. Michael has been actively involved in mentoring of minority students at the high school and college. He currently sits on the Boards of the Florida Restaurant Lodging Association – Miami Chapter and the Greater Miami and Beach Hotel Association. Michael was awarded Hotelier of the year by the Bahamas Hotel Association in 2005 and General Manager of the year for Hilton United Kingdom Hotels in 1997. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Vancouver, BC – Canada. He has roots in the Bahamas where his father is from and has many brother, sisters and other relatives living there. He has been married over 30 years and has a 27 year old son who is a lawyer in Miami. Michael enjoys golf, cycling, music, mentoring and traveling. Solomon and Gloria Herbert, Publishers/Editors of Black Meetings & Tourism magazine, hosted the event, making several of the award presentations themselves. Other presenters included Andy Ingraham, while PJ Douglas Sands handled the MC duties. Previous Apex Award recipients include Arnold Donald, President/CEO of Carnival Corp., Rita D. McClenny, President/CEO of Virginia Tourism Corp., Julie Coker, SVP for Philadelphia CVB, Elliott Ferguson, President/CEO of Destination DC, Gary C. Sain, President/CEO Orlando/Orange County CVB, William Norman, President/CEO of TIA, Dionisio James D'Aguilar, Minister of Tourism and Aviation for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and Orlando Ashford, President of Holland America Line, to name a few.