Black Meetings and Tourism

November/December 2014

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M E E T I N G M E E T I N G T H E N E E D S O F Y O U R It's time to decide which destination and venue to book for your next event, conference, convention or board meeting. Back in the day, organizing those occa- sions was more of a routine task – make some phone calls, prepare an agenda, assem- ble the minutes, reports and documents and put them all in a neat little binder. That was then, this is now. Meetings have taken on a life of their own. A lot more details are involved in mak- ing them a success. Bells and whistles aside, what meeting planners need to be armed with is information, information and more information. This column aids meeting planners in their decision-making process by providing vital information on specific destinations. Highlighted in this column are Pensacola, Florida; Bakersfield, CA; Napa Valley, CA and Ja ckson, MS. PENSACOLA Pensacola has something for everyone. Whether you want to relax on Pensacola Beach or Perdido Key where you can soak up the sun and enjoy paddle boarding, parasailing, surfing, fishing, snorkeling, scuba div- ing, or a dolphin cruise, or whether you'd prefer to discover the city's arts, culture, entertainment and history, it's all there. "In the Pensacola Bay Area, we give you the best of both worlds," said Brooke Fleming, communications manager Pensacola Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "You can have that tranquil beach location with sugar-white sands and emerald-green waters, and then just 20 minutes away you have Palafox Street, which was named one of the "10 Great Streets" in America for 2013 by the American Planning Association. We are the perfect bal- ance of beach and bustle, with a dash of southern charm. Downtown Pensacola is entirely walkable." That's good news for the more than 4,300,000 overnight visitors to the Pensacola Bay area annually. The population of the city is just over 52,700 within the city limits and 305,817 in Escambia County, which encompasses the entire Pensacola Bay Area. The African American population is 28% of the Pensacola population and 22.9 % of Escambia County's pop- ulation. Some city highlights include: The Historic Pensacola Village, which is home to 27 properties on the National Historic Register. Visit the Chappie James Memorial BY DARLENE DONLOE B M & T ••• November/December 2014 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 16 M E E T I N G M E E T I N G THE NEEDS OF YOUR

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