Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4253
Black Meetings & Tourism October/November 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 51 tive action compliance for the cor- porate office, as well as all regional offices, and company-managed field locations; including analysis of legislation and regulation with EEO/AA ramifications and prepa- ration of comprehensive reports for executive management and coordination of matters involving the OFCCP. Holland also serves as the company's compliance officer, reporting to the general counsel and the audit committee of the board of directors. Holland comes to Hilton with more than 20 years of human resources management experience, specializing in employee relations, industrial relations, equal opportunity affairs and workforce diversity. Prior to joining the Hilton family, Holland worked with Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) as director of workforce diversity & development. AL HUTCHINSON is vice president of Convention Sales & Marketing for the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). Hutchinson oversees the responsibility of generating direct spending revenue to Virginia Beach by bringing meetings, conventions, professional tradeshows and sports- related events to the City and it's state of the art 500,000-sq. ft. Virginia Beach Convention Center. Through his vision, professionalism, and highly regarded reputation, Hutchinson has opened the City's door to distinguished opportunities and numerous accolades. ANDY INGRAHAM serves as president/CEO of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers, Inc. (NABHOOD), of which he is one of the founders in 1999. NABHOOD was formed to increase the number of African- Americans developing, managing, operating and owning hotels; increase vendor opportunities and executive level positions for minorities, thereby creating wealth within the African-American com- munity. Ingraham is also president of Horizons Marketing Group Intl. Inc., a marketing and public relations corporation with special emphasis on African American and multicultural tourism. He has over 20 years in the tourism industry, developing specific expertise in multicultural and Caribbean tourism. Because of his knowledge and expertise, he is a constant source of articles and has been featured or quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, National Public Radio, Hotel Business, Black Meetings & Tourism magazine and a host of other publica- tions. Horizons created a number of programs for Caribbean destinations seeking to access the growing African American and multicultural market. ROY JAY, has been described as a multi talented, multi tasking entrepreneur. He has been in the convention, tourism and hospitality industry for over 15 years. Based in Portland, Oregon he became the first African- American to independently repre- sent and promote the City of Roses over a dozen years ago in the con- vention industry. Over that period of time, he has become an industry icon serving in numerous capaci- ties, including keynote speaker, workshop presenter, trainer, con- sultant, public relations and mar- keting guru extraordinaire. While Jay promotes not only Portland, Oregon as well as his own independent meeting planning operation called "Idea Works," his colleagues and competitors will tell of how he has always reached out to help and consult with others from coast to coast. He serves as a business and legal con- sultant to Travel Professionals of Color as well as one of the founding members of the rapidly growing Association of African American Meeting Professionals, quietly based in Washington DC. Jay has received the APEX Award for outstanding serv- ice as well as the Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award, and has been consistently recognized as one of the "Most Influential African Americans" in the indus- try by BM&T for the past 14 years. As president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon, he has helped fund daily transportation for local seniors to go shopping and attend doctor's appointments and other errands for the past 10 years. In 2005 he started a local program which has helped thousands of people in Oregon remove barriers to employment, housing, education and other opportunities by converting past due traffic and court fines into community service. In addition, expunging minor criminal convictions and re-establishing a child sup- port payment program, which enables individuals to quali- fy for driver's license reinstatement? The program called "Project Clean Slate" has won numerous awards and sup- port from everyone from the Governor of Oregon, City Council of Portland, judges, district attorney and numerous law enforcement agencies. In fact, the decline of gang activity was directly attributed to Roy Jay's community service program. ROBERT JOHNSON is the Founder and Chairman of The RLJ Companies, an innovative business network that provides strategic investment and direction in and for a diverse portfolio of companies in the financial services, real