June 6, 2008

HOTELS

Tulalip Resort Casino, located just north of Seattle, has appointed Tracy Banfield, Sam Samuelson and Donna Cappa as national sales managers for its new hotel, spa, and meeting and conference facilities, opening August 2008. In this role, they will be responsible for booking corporate, association, and travel groups.

Seaview Resort and Spa, in Galloway, N.J., has named Eric Reid director of sales and marketing. Reid comes to Seaview from Marriott Residence Inn, located in Somers Point, N.J., where he served as general manager.

Robin McHill has been named director of corporate accounts for the Marriott Hartford Downtown, located in Hartford, Conn. McHill was most recently the sales account manager at the Hartford Windsor Marriott.

The Boston Marriott Quincy Hotel has made two new executive appointments. David Cesario has been named general manager and Joan Ferraro has been hired as director of sales and marketing. Cesario comes to the hotel from the Detroit Troy Marriott in Michigan, where he served as general manager. Ferraro was most recently director of sales and marketing for the Newport Marriott in Newport, R.I.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts has made two new appointments to its sales and marketing teams. Carrie Sheridan has been named director of sales and marketing at the Millennium Hotel St. Louis and Lisa Schetinski has joined the Millennium Hotel Minneapolis as director of sales and marketing.

The Resort at The Mountain located in Welches, Ore. has appointed Brad Boler as sales manager. In this role, Boler will focus on the corporate market through regional and national group bookings.

CVBs/CONVENTION CENTERS

The Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau has hired Antoinette Green as national sales manager. Green comes to the bureau after serving as account executive at the Alabama Adventure theme park for the past two years.

The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau has named two new executives to its corporate meetings and incentives division. Patricia Tarnutzer has been appointed western regional director of accounts and Meredith Parkins has been appointed regional director of accounts. Parkins will focus mainly on the association market in the Washington D.C. area.

Melvin Tennant has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Meet Minneapolis, the city’s convention and visitors bureau. Tennant has held the position of interim president and CEO of the CVB since November 2007, while continuing to serve as chief executive for Meet Minneapolis’s software affiliate iDSS.

MEETING SUPPLIERS

ME Productions in Pembroke Park, Fla. has named two new executives to its sales team. David Berkoski has joined as director of sales, overseeing the company’s corporate sales efforts, while Sarah Gabel, a former regional manager with Helms Briscoe, has joined ME as an executive sales and event manager.

Ed Shartar, president and CEO of Experient since 2004, will be stepping down from his role as of June 6, 2008. The Experient board has appointed George S. Benson to serve as interim president and CEO while they search for Shartar’s replacement. Benson is an operating partner at The Riverside Company, Experient’s majority shareholder.

ASSOCIATIONS

Meeting Professionals International has appointed Joan England to the role of vice president of marketplace performance, effective June 12, 2008. In this position England will be responsible for MPI’s global sales efforts, which include overseeing all revenue streams for advertising and strategic partnerships, total account management, and fundraising for the MPI Foundation. England brings 22 years of travel industry experience to the role, most recently as vice president of Pegasus Solutions, Inc., a travel technology company. She has also held management and executive positions with both American Express TRS and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

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May 23, 2008

HOTELS

Rosen Hotels and Resorts in Orlando, Fla. has promoted Leslie Menichini to the newly created position of vice president of sales and marketing. Menichini has been with Rosen Hotels and Resorts since 2001, most recently as director of sales and marketing.

The Westin Boston Waterfront has appointed Tim Curry to director of convention services. Most recently, Curry served as director of catering and convention services at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge.

The Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa, opening June 12, 2008, has made the following appointments: Virginia Benke; director of food and beverage; Stacy Praytor, director of catering; Iris Garcia, corporate sales manager; and Leslie Newton, sales assistant.

Shelby Howe has been promoted to director of group sales at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. Howe most recently served as account director for the hotel and has been with Starwood Hotels and Resorts since 1992.

Debra Reasy has joined Prestige Resorts and Destinations as regional director of sales, focusing on the financial and insurance market primarily on the East Coast. Reasy was most recently director of sales for The Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa. She will be based in the company’s Scottsdale office.

CVBs/CONVENTION CENTERS

The Frisco Convention and Visitors Bureau has appointed two new executives to its management team. Denise Stokes has joined the CVB as public relations and communications manager and Jennifer Kimble has been hired as tourism and convention services manager.

Nancy B. McFadyen has been named senior national sales executive for the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau. McFadyen will be responsible for growing business to Orlando from the Washington D.C. association and trade show markets.

MEETING SUPPLIERS

BCD Meetings and Incentives has appointed three new executives to its U.S. strategic meetings management and business development teams. Kristen Dierickx, CMP, has joined the company as national director, SMM, while Jennifer Alyea and Judi Froehlich-Pascoe have been appointed directors of business development.

Event and exhibit services provider, Freeman has promoted a number of senior-level executives within its management team. Effective July 1, 2008, Donald S. Freeman, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, will be succeeded as CEO by Joe Popolo, formerly president. Carrie Freeman Parsons will assume the role of vice chairman in addition to her duties as chief marketing officer. John O'Connell will move from executive vice president and chief operating officer to president. And Jeff Price, formerly executive vice president, will become chief operating officer of the exposition services division.

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