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Association News
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People & Places Presented by Association News (September 2015)
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Los Angeles, CA – September 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Each monthly issue of Association News contains information from state and regional associations, convention bureaus, hotels and hotel chains and other meeting facilities.

CVBs/DMOs
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Association News (September 2015)Johanne Bélanger has been named president and CEO of Tourism Toronto. For the past 10 years, Bélanger served as president of Freeman Audio Visual Canada. She also served as chair of Tourism Toronto’s board of directors from 2012 to 2014 and has been a member of the board since 2009.

Laurie Paolicelli has been named director of the newly created community relations and tourism department for Orange County, North Carolina. The new department merges the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau and Orange County Public Affairs. Paolicelli previously served as executive director of the Orange County Visitors Bureau.

Visit KC in Kansas City, Missouri, has appointed Cori Day as vice-president of sales and services, Traci Preus as senior vice-president of marketing and communications and Ashley Jones as vice-president of partnerships and events. Day previously served as tourism director of the Independence (Missouri) Tourism Department. Preus most recently worked as vice-president of marketing and advertising for the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. And Jones was previously executive director of the Olathe (Kansas) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Justin Page has been named director of sales at the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, where he will manage the in-house and small-meeting sales teams. Prior to working at the Atlanta CVB, Page served as senior sales manager for the Hyatt Regency/Atlanta.

Zack Davis has been promoted to director of marketing at the Louisville (Kentucky) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Davis previously served as convention sales manager, a position he had held since starting at the bureau in 2008.

Abby Spatz has been appointed chief marketing officer of NYC & Company. Spatz previously served as the head of integrated marketing and communications at Bliss, the spa and beauty brand.

The Walnut Creek (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Scott Slocum regional director of sales and marketing. Slocum has held similar positions at the Orchard Hotels of San Francisco and the Hotel Shattuck Plaza in Berkeley, California.

Brendon Wagner has been appointed director of event management at the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission. Wagner previously worked as director of operations for VenuWorks in Iowa and North Carolina.

Amy Schmidt has been named destination sales manager for Visit Wichita (Kansas), where she will manage trade associations. She previously was convention sales and catering manager at the DoubleTree by Hilton/Wichita Airport.

Hospitality & Suppliers

Mark Becker has been appointed area vice-president and general manager of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Becker has been with Hyatt for 25 years and most recently served as general manager of the Hyatt Regency/Minneapolis.

Tracy Marks has been appointed general manager of the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Marks most recently was general manager of the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon.

Jason Kern has been named general manager of the Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, where he most recently served as director of sales. Prior to that, Kern served as director of sales and marketing at the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.

Eron Hodges has been appointed general manager of the Andaz/Napa in Napa, California. Hodges most recently served as director of rooms for the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa in Huntington Beach, California.

Julian Miller has been named general manager of the Eventi Hotel in New York City, where he most recently served as hotel manager. Prior to working at Eventi, Miller was hotel manager of two Kimpton properties in the Boston area: Hotel Marlowe and Nine Zero.

The One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, Florida, has named Marc Bauer as general manager and promoted Jeanne Bothwell to director of sales and marketing. Bauer most recently served as complex general manager for Benchmark Resorts & Hotels. Bothwell previously served as the resort’s associate director of sales.

Brian Honan has been named director of sales and marketing at the Trump/Soho–New York. Honan most recently served as director of marketing at the New York Palace Hotel.

Bob Frear has been named director of sales and marketing at Pendry/San Diego, the first of a new Montage Hotels & Resorts brand scheduled to open in 2016. Frear most recently served as director of brand sales for Montage Hotels & Resorts.

Christie Evans has been appointed director of sales and marketing at the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel & Resort in Oxnard, California. Evans began working at the hotel in 2007, serving as front office manager.

April Storms has been promoted to director of sales at the Andaz/Fifth Avenue in New York City. She previously worked for several other New York City properties, including the Andaz/Wall Street and the Grand Hyatt/New York.

Nick Anderson has been promoted to associate director of sales at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida. Anderson started working at the property in 2014 as the group sales account director. Additionally, Dan Determan has been named the resort’s group sales account director. He was formerly a senior sales executive at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

Jamie May has been named property sales manager of the Caesars Entertainment Corporation and will serve as the on-property sales manager for Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center, California. May was previously an area sales executive with Marriott International.

Construction & Expansion

The Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino has opened in Palm Beach, Aruba, with 355 guest rooms offering views of the gardens, pools or sea. For meetings and events, the property has nearly 40,000 square feet of space.

The 50-room Hotel Vandivort has opened in Springfield, Missouri. The hotel offers two meeting rooms and the Vandivort Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 200 guests.

The Hotel RL/Baltimore Inner Harbor, the first of a new Red Lion Hotel brand, recently opened within the historic Keyser Building. Features include 130 guest rooms and 2,400 square feet of meeting space for up to 175 attendees.

The Garland in North Hollywood, California, has completed a $20 million, multiphase renovation, which included a new dining area, revamped guest rooms and an updated lobby and lobby bar. The hotel features 257 guest rooms and more than 16,000 square feet of event space, including a new 4,000-square-foot outdoor venue, Beverly Park.

The Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California, has completed an extensive renovation of its 100,000 square feet of meeting space. The property features 560 rooms.

The Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme, Michigan, has completed a $7 million renovation of the guest rooms in its 17-story glass tower. The property offers nearly 600 guest rooms and 86,500 square feet of meeting space.

The Abbey Resort in Fontana, Wisconsin, has completed the final phase of a multimillion-dollar renovation project, which included updates to its meeting facilities, guest-room lounge areas, the Avani Spa, two restaurants and the lobby. The resort offers 334 guest rooms and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

The Semiahmoo Resort, Golf & Spa in Blaine, Washington, has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation, which included updates to its guest rooms, lobby and Packers Oyster Bar and the opening of the new Pierside Kitchen. The hotel features 212 guest rooms and more than 35,000 square feet of meeting space.

The Hyatt/Fisherman’s Wharf–San Francisco has completed a $10 million renovation, which included a redesign of its 316 guest rooms, two dining outlets and public spaces. The hotel offers more than 19,000 square feet of event space.

The 1,622-room Hilton/New Orleans Riverside recently opened Public Belt, a cocktail lounge that can accommodate up to 61. The hotel offers more than 130,000 square feet of event space.

The MGM/National Harbor, expected to open in the second half of 2016 in National Harbor, Maryland, recently unveiled the design of its 308 guest rooms. Other plans include a casino with more than 125,000 square feet of space, some 18,000 square feet of retail space and 27,00 square feet of meeting space.

And Finally...

Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day, and the InterContinental Hotels Group is taking the morning ritual very seriously. The company appointed actor and comedian Rob Riggle as the Holiday Inn Express brand’s first creative director and to serve as the “breakfast excellence honcho,” rolling out several projects and programs over the fall.
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What’s Ahead at Convention Centers for Meeting and Event Planners?
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Download “Convention Trends 2015” (PDF File)
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This current issue of Association News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking here.

About Schneider Publishing
Schneider Publishing is the parent company of Association News, America’s most-read magazine for association executives, and SportsTravel, the sports world’s event magazine. In addition to Meetings Quest, Schneider Publishing organizes the TEAMS Conference & Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers, which will be held November 9–12 in Las Vegas. TEAMS ’16 will be held September 26–29, 2016, in Atlantic City. The group travel markets served by Schneider Publishing generate 106 million hotel room nights annually.

For press information, please contact Ann Shepphird, or call 310-577-3700.

Association News, Meetings Quest, SportsTravel and TEAMS are registered trademarks of Schneider Publishing.

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Publishing Dates: 09/22/15 – 11/22/15
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