Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/44484
sales department at the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, was one of four African-Americans in the 30 Under 30 group. The selec- tion process began in the spring with each convention and visitors bureau CEO nominating two candidates, who were required to submit an application that included an essay about their vision for their future role in the industry and produce a video in which they responded to three specific questions, Brooks says. Interestingly, Brooks first entered the meetings and tourism business from the client side. "I totally fell into the indus- try by happenstance," he says. "My first year out of col- lege, I was working with the local African-American Chamber of Commerce. I supported the chamber by doing some special events and planning meetings. . . . I was working with the CVB on a special initiative they had to target minority conferences and travel to our destination. That's how I got to know what a CVB does." When a sales position became available at the CVB, Brooks applied and landed the job. Today a staff member based in Atlanta is in charge of marketing to the African- American meeting meetings segment, but Brooks says, "We will often tag team so that if she needs a lead or some help on the ground, I'm here to assist with that process." Convention Takeaways The convention drewmore than 1,000 attendees from 10 countries, including over 710 Destination Marketing Organization professionals, educators, student and indus- try partners representing 50 more than 274 nations, along with over 300 exhibitors from 90-plus industry vendors. Television journalist Lisa Ling was the speaker for the open- ing general session, while famed political couple James Carville and Mary Matalin appeared at the closing gen- eral session, where Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Irvin Mayfield provided enter- tainment. In between, more than more than 30 education- al sessions were presented. Brooks attended six or seven convention sessions, on topics including how to stay relevant in the market- place and how to interact with third-party meeting planners. ("That's such a hot topic right now.") "The biggest takeaway I got, since I'm on the conven- tion sales side, was to make sure that I show the value added by working with our organization," he says. "We are meant to be the experts for our destination but, besides giving information on our destination, what other value can we add for a meet- ing planner to make their job easier?" Wright participated in a panel discussion focused largely on just that question. "Relevancy for the DMO Channel in the Meetings Market," the session also fea- tured panelists David Goldschmidt, manager, sales operations and revenue strat- egy at LA INC; Michael Clarke, senior director, con- ferences and trade shows at BBI International; Loren Gold, executive vice president, Great Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Jason Fulvi, CDME, executive direc- tor of convention sales at Visit Pittsburgh. Christine "Shimo" Shimasaki, CDME, CMP, managing director of DMAI's online event planning tool, empowerMINT.com, was the moderator. In her session com- ments, Wright noted that customers are often con- fused about the services DMOs provide. She says her overall convention experience reinforced the need for greater clarity. "The best [lesson] for me is educating not just our cus- tomers but our staff on what we do," Wright says. "We clearly need to make sure that we're showing value to the customers and, from a staffing perspective, that we are showing value to what we can deliver." Monica Smith, president and CEO, Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Bureau, attended her the conference was personal- ly very rewarding." For Smith, one of the most fruitful conference ses- sions was the one on the Destination Marketing Accr- editation Program. "We have been consider- ing the DMAP program for the past several months," she says. "The information provided during the DMAP session was very helpful and we'll be planning to apply for DMAP accredita- tion within the next 12 to 18 months." Lisa Simon, CTP, presi- dent of the National Tourism Association, say the conven- tion gave her reason for opti- mism about the future of the LISA SIMON MONICA SMITH first meeting of the Destinat- ion & Travel Founda-tion Trustees as a new member of the group. She also brought some DMAI Convention newbies with her to New Orleans. "I decided to invest in the professional development of both our VP of convention sales and services and the VP of leisure travel by having them attend the convention for the first-time," Smith says. "Their excitement and enthu- siasm for the knowledge gained and creation of new personal relationships estab- lished as a result of attending tourism and hospitality industry. "Just from my experi- ence, I could certainly tell that the attendance was up," says Simon, who heard lots of buzz at the Business Exchange about the growing number of Chinese visitors to the United States. "The ses- sions seemed to be very well attended . . . with good and timely information. And the mood of the dele- gation was extremely posi- tive, and that's a good sign, with what's going on eco- nomically in the country and the DMO world. It's nice to hear some positive expectations for the future." Black Meetings & Tourism September/October 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com