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•pg_3-13_p10_ICI__BMT_pg3-58 8/13/13 2:44 AM Page 10 Speaking Of People Lorne Edwards joined the Greater Phoenix CVB just over a year ago as director of Sales. In this position Edwards oversees and directs convention sales efforts of the Greater Phoenix CVB's 14member sales team and reports directly to the Senior Vice President of Sales James Jessie. Edwards joined the GPCVB after a 16-year sales career at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, where he most recently served as director of Sales and Marketing at two Boston-area hotels. Edwards also spent three years as associate director of Sales at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center where he was responsible for pre-opening sales operations and coordinated sales and marketing efforts with the convention center and Visit Denver. The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau is pleased to announce that Michael W. Carter has joined the organization as national sales manager. Carter is a hospitality and marketing professional with over 14 years of experience. Most recently, Carter worked as a national sales manager at the Aloft Washington National Harbor. Prior to that, he worked at the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association. Carter started his career as a corporate marketing representative before working in the hospitality arena in sales positions with the Ritz Carlton and Westin hotel brands. Carter holds a Bachelor's of Science in Marketing from Tuskegee University. Destination DC president and CEO, Elliott L. Ferguson, has appointed Robin A. McClain as the new vice president of Marketing and Communications for the official tourism and marketing office for the nation's capital. A seasoned travel marketing professional, McClain has led the marketing team over the last six months as the Interim vice president of Marketing and Communications, where she has been instrumental in gaining publicity about the changing landscape of Washington, DC as a leisure and convention destination. In here new role McClain will oversee a 12-member marketing and communications team. McClain joined Destination DC in May 2011 after moving from Los Angeles where she worked for LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau (now LA Tourism). Sue Murray has been hired as sales manager with the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC). Murray most recently worked as the vice president of the Port Hotel Restaurant and Inn in Port Washington, WI, for the last 13 years. Prior to that, she worked in various sales positions with Minneapolis-based hotel establishments. This market knowledge, combined with the accumulation of experience in all aspects of hotel and convention sales, will make Murray an excellent addition to the staff. As the new sales manager, Murray will be responsible for corporate market sales, focusing on revenue and room night goals. "I look forward to working hard to be a positive, proactive part of this wonderful team," said Murray. Stephanie Anderson currently serves as a sales manager for Global Spectrum at the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC), a role she has held since 2009. Anderson began her career at the MBCC as an executive assistant and worked her way up to becoming a sales manager for the facility. She works within several different markets and current accounts to include corporate, consumer, association, entertainment and specials events. She is a current member of National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners and serves on Global Spectrum's National Marketing Plan. In addition, she travels both with Global Spectrum and representing the MBCC to several different trade shows throughout the year to include NCBMP Conference, DSA and Destination Showcase, among others. Xenia CastilloHunter has worked for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau for 15 years. In her current position as national sales manager for Ethnic and Religious Markets, she works closely with both local and national ethnic and religious meeting planners and community leaders interested in hosting national conferences in metro Detroit. Prior to working as a national sales manager, Castillo-Hunter worked for the Bureau as an international sales manager, where she solicited and booked international meetings and conventions based in Latin America, Korea, Japan and Europe. Having a passion for both the ethnic and religious market, she has serviced many groups to build attendance and raise funds to help local and national meeting planners. 10 B M & T ••• July/August 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com