Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545782
can access the BoP Pass, along with a directory of area Black busi- nesses, on the Visit Baltimore website. Warm Welcome is a bureau program that aims to convey the city's strong support for diversity, equity and inclusion. Local hotels, restaurants, attractions and event venues can join the effort by participating in a DEI training program and displaying a pledge of their commitment to making sure every visitor feels welcome and safe. Another initiative, called Charm City Certified, trains local transportation and hospitality workers to become tourism ambassadors. Among the major events Visit Baltimore has landed recently are the CIAA basketball tournament, which has extended its contract with the city through 2029; the 2026 annual conference of the National Society of Black Engineers in March; a regional meeting of Delta Sigma Theta in August 2026; the national meeting of Kappa Alpha Psi, coming in July 2027; the annual meeting of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) in 2030; and the ASAE annual convention in 2033. Professional organizations like the Professional Conven- tion Management Association, ASAE and NCBMP have had major impacts on Swinton's career. "The National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals was huge for me," he says. "It was the safest space I'd ever been in professionally, that made me feel like I was back at Howard again, and that really says a lot to me." When he's off the professional clock, Swinton enjoys spending time with his two college-age daughters. "I'm a volleyball dad," he says, noting that his eldest daughter plays the game at Bowie State University, where she's majoring in sports administration, while the younger one will be competing in the sport at Morgan State when she enters as a freshman in the fall to begin studying toward becoming an anesthesiologist. For Swinton, being able to have a positive impact on the com- munity and local businesses is the most rewarding part of his job. "I continue to tell my team it's not about us, it's about everyone," he says. "And if the city of Baltimore wins, and my people win, we just happen to win too." B M & T ••• July/August 2026 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 16 "I continue to tell my team it's not about us, it's about everyone," he says. "And if the city of Baltimore wins, and my people win, we just happen to win too." View of Baltimore city skyline and Inner Harbor