Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/22095
include representing AHLEI as its spokesperson and leader, formulating profitable and productive strategic business alliances to enhance AHLEI, increasing penetra- tion of the international markets, and enhancing market- ing efforts within the industry. Prior to his present position, Steele had spent his entire 30+ year career with Hyatt Hotels Corporation, serving as general manager of the Grand Hyatt Tampa, Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Baltimore, Md.; Hyatt Regency Washington, Washington, D.C.; and Hyatt Fairlakes, Fairfax, Va., prior to his current position. Steele is also a past chairman of AH&LA, having held the position of 2007 chairman of the board. 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 develop- ment 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 pro- gram. Taylor is co-founder of theBeale street development cor- poration, the organization that reintroduced the historic dis- trict as a tourist destination. He also worked as publicity director at Southland Racing Corporation, the southeast’s largest pari-mutuelwaging center.Additionally he is amem- ber of theNationalCoalition ofBlackMeetingPlanners and is a past chairman of the Tennessee Association of Convention andVisitors Bureaus. Besides being amajor player in the state’s tourismindus- try formany years,he has also served theTennesseeTourism Roundtable (TTR) faithfully as a board member, TTR Government Relations Committee member and chair, and chair of the annual TTR salute to the legislature. This past year he has served as vice-chair of TTR and will be serving as chair during 2011. Taylor was named as the recipient of the 2010Tennessee Tourism Roundtable Knight of the Roundtable Award, an award given in recognition of an individual for their out- standing contributions of leadership, service,and profession- alism to the Tennessee tourism industry and for their involvement with and service to theTennessee tourism. MELVIN TENNANT is president and chief executive officer of Meet Minneapolis, the official convention and visitors association.He became the organization’s second CEO in 2006. Since joiningMeetMinneapolis,Tennant has overseen convention sales and marketing programs that bring an economic impact of approximately $11 billion to the area. 64 With an annual budget of $ 9mil- lion and a staff of 50, he played an integral role in laying the ground- work and implementing logistics for Minneapolis Saint Paul’s suc- cessful hosting of the 2008 Republican National Convention. Additionally,Tennant oversees the management and operations of iDSS, a private company that delivers a complete web-based series of software applications for destination marketing organizations, associations, hotels and corporations. Bringing more than 25 years experience in destination sales and marketing to Meet Minneapolis, Tennant has served on the boards of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Minneapolis Downtown Council, the Airport Foundation MSP and March of Dimes – Minnesota Chapter. In addition, Tennant has served on the boards of the Travel Industry Association, the ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and the MPI Foundation, and is a past chairman of DMAI. During his career Tennant has received many accolades, most notably the RMCA’s President Award, MPI’s Chapter Legacy Award – Carolina Chapter, and Black Meetings & Tourism magazine’s APEX Award. Tennant received his B.A. from Rice University and holds an Association Executive Certificate from ASAE. ALBERT TUCKER serves as vice president of Multicultural Business Development for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Conv- ention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB). It isTucker’s vision to expose ethnically diverse individu- als and groups to Greater Fort Lauderdale so that GFL becomes the destination of choice for indi- viduals of color.A key part of the outreach is to identify and support infrastructure and tourism proj- ects that will facilitate multicultur- al visitor growth. For the past ten years,Tucker has helped increase mul- ticultural 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, Black Meetings & Tourism November/December 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com