Meeting News - March 9, 2009 - (Page 8)

People Making News Baltimore Taps Calvert as New Sales VP The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association announced that Amy Calvert will join the BACVA as its new vice president of convention sales and services on March 23. Calvert will be responsible for leading a sales and services team of 22 and generating new business opportunities for the Baltimore Convention Center and area hotels. She will also oversee the convention services department that works directly with customers in planning and promoting conventions and meetings in Baltimore. “Amy will bring great energy and ideas to the Baltimore sales team,” said Tom Noonan, BACVA president and CEO. “She knows a lot of customers and is a natural leader with a proven track record of sales success. She has a CVB and hotel sales background and, therefore, understands the dynamics of destination sales, which is critical in this very important position.” Calvert has spent the past nine years with InterContinental Hotels Group, at its Washington, DC, ofﬁce, where she and her team exceeded the hotelier’s 2008 revenue target by 4 percent and increased delivery of revenue by 14 percent, year over year. “I am excited about this fabulous opportunity to showcase Baltimore to customers around the country and world,” said Calvert. “Baltimore is an ideal convention city, and I look forward to partnering with the hotels and convention center team to grow the convention and meetings business.” company,” said Barron Hilton. “His warmth and sincerity, and his irrepressible Irish charm, will long be remembered by our family and by our extended hotel family around the world. He is an irreplaceable friend that I’ll sorely miss.” tremendous talent, experience, and vision in Rochester,” said Bruce Fairchild, regional director of operations for the hotels surrounding Mayo Clinic. “Having a leader with his talent on property every day will ensure and enhance the Kahler Grand’s 87-year legacy of exceptional service and attention to detail.” I The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority promoted Nicole Van Note-Zacchi as its convention services manager. Van Note-Zacchi joined the ACCVA in 2003 and has held several positions with increasing responsibilities. In 2008, she completed the ﬁrst Event Leadership Executive Certiﬁcate Program at Temple University. Among Van Note-Zacchi’s responsibilities as convention services manager is coordination of all aspects of the ACCVA’s participation in conventions and trade shows, as well as the organization’s showcase and familiarization tours and events. Also promoted was Margie Hurley, as assistant manager of convention services. Hurley joined the ACCVA in 2004 as convention services staff assistant. Hurley maintains a temporary registration staff and active recruitment program to assist various ACCVA events. She is responsible for all service aspects of convention and trade show client needs. I Following the loss of its founder, William H. Just (who passed away on Dec. 19), the Association for Convention Operations Management is celebrating posthumously Just’s commitment to the industry by establishing the Annual William H. Just CAE, CMP Memorial Award. Every year, the award will be presented to an ACOM member who has recently received his or her CMP certiﬁcation, and the association will provide complimentary attendance to the ACOM Annual Conference. This year’s ACOM president, Lyan Tassler, noted, “ACOM feels that this award in Bill’s memory will forever commemorate the way he elevated the importance of education in the meetings industry.” H Mandalay Bay’s Hornbuckle Receives Honor from Nevada Hoteliers Group Bill Hornbuckle, president and COO of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, was honored as the Nevada Hotelier of the Year during International Hospitality Week at the second annual HotelWorld Expo & Conference, held March 1-4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. He is a past chairman of the board for the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association (NH&LA) and board member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). “Mr. Hornbuckle [was] honored by his colleagues and peers in the industry for his leadership, vision, and exemplary contributions to Nevada’s lodging and tourism industry,” said Van V. Heffner, president & CEO of the NH&LA. “This event is designed to recognize the true leaders in the hospitality industry and to provide them with a singular event to celebrate their yearly accomplishments. A total of 25 hospitality and design awards [were] presented during the award ceremony to recipients from across the country.” Hilton Hotels Legend Dillon Passes MeetingNews notes with sadness the passing of Gregory Russell Dillon, retired vice chairman and director emeritus of Hilton Hotels Corp. He died peacefully Feb. 18 at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 86. During his time at Hilton, Dillon was the right-hand man to CEO Barron Hilton, as well as Hilton’s late father, Conrad Hilton, the company’s founder. “Greg Dillon was a consummate professional in law and hotel development, and was a tremendous ambassador for our Shout Outs I In February, Scott Youngblood became general manager of Rochester, MN’s Kahler Grand Hotel. Youngblood is managing day-to-day operations of the historic property, located next to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. “I am proud to welcome Scott to the Kahler family. We are lucky to have someone with his E-mail your personnel announcements in the meetings and hospitality industries to Terri Hardin, Editor-In-Chief, at terri.hardin@nielsen.com, or mail them to MeetingNews, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. 8 MeetingNews March 9, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - March 9, 2009

Meeting News- March 9, 2009
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Live from the Forum
Inside the Industry
People Making News
Value Meetings
Convention Centers
Transportation
Green Beat
Planners Guide to Florida
Destinations: Tennessee
Destinations: Boston
Destinations: Dallas-Fort Worth
Ad Index
Passport

Meeting News - March 9, 2009