COMMUNITY NEWS
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Vlamings named
new Tourism
Cares CEO
Tourism Cares
appointed Paula
Vlamings as its new
CEO in March. Vlamings
has a history of launching successful
social impact initiatives, and Tourism
Cares Board Chairman Derek Hydon said
the move matches Tourism Cares’ mission.
“This transition reflects both our
strong growth over the last several
years and our commitment to harness
the power of change through travel,”
said Hydon. “With new leadership and
enhanced capacity in our social enter-
prise development, we’ll deepen the
impact of our initiatives and the value
we provide our 200-plus members, our
incredible partner network and the ben-
eficiaries of our programs.”
Vlamings is the former executive
director of G Adventures’ Planeterra
Foundation, and she provided senior lead-
ership to the Golden Gate National Parks
Conservancy’s Institute at the Golden Gate.
Previous CEO Mike Rea will aid in the
transition and stay with the organiza-
tion as its senior program advisor.
“Now more than ever, it’s vital that
travel and tourism providers integrate
more closely with community-based
organizations and conservation initia-
tives to create opportunities for the
people and the places our industry cares
about, while working to help distribute
tourism more sustainably,” said Vlamings.
Greater Fort
Lauderdale CVB
welcomes Simon
Ed Simon is the new
senior vice president of
convention sales and
services for the Greater
Fort Lauderdale CVB. In this role, Simon
works to grow the Broward County
Convention Center’s customer base and
develop the DMO’s sales teams.
“Ed’s market expertise, industry con-
nections and sales abilities fit perfectly
with our goals to aggressively promote
Greater Fort Lauderdale as a top-tier
convention destination and drive greater
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April/May 2018
market share in quality meetings, group,
convention and exhibition business,”
said Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of
the CVB. “He is a great addition to the
bureau in this leadership capacity.”
Simon has more than 20 years of expe-
rience in tourism and hospitality. Prior to
joining the CVB, he created the Association
Meeting Buyers Collective, an organization
for enhancing the buying power of asso-
ciations. He also served as vice president
of sales for Destination Hotels, where he
oversaw brand-wide sales strategies for
the company’s 40 properties.
“With development at its peak and
a growing international reputation for
Greater Fort Lauderdale, the timing is
ideal to launch a determined and fresh
approach to group sales development,”
said Simon. “I’m excited to join the
innovators at the bureau to help lead a
new pathway to success.”
Larry and Lorna Hundt of Great
Canadian Holidays receive
national honor
Larry and Lorna Hundt, founders of
tour operator company Great Canadian
Holidays & Coaches, were presented
the Meritorious Service Medal by the
Governor General of Canada, Her
Excellency the Right Honorable Julie
Payette, at a ceremony in February.
The medal was established to rec-
ognize exemplary Canadians, and the
Hundts were selected for their commit-
ment to promoting Canadian unity and
pride. Since 1995, their company has
used eye-catching graphics on its coaches
to promote great Canadian women,
Canadian sports achievements and other
significant parts of the country’s history.
Visit Oakland promotes Palma
to VP of sales
Visit Oakland announced Rhanee Palma
as its new vice president of sales and
services. Palma was previously the
DMO’s director of sales, and her new role
reflects increased responsibilities related
to meetings and conventions business.
“We’re extremely proud of Rhanee
and the success she has brought to the
organization under her leadership,” said
Mark Everton, CEO of Visit Oakland.
“The outreach, training and focus that
the sales team has provided to our
hotel partners has helped to build a
solid relationship with the hotels’ sales
departments. Rhanee has been able to
leverage her experience with hotel sales
to better promote Oakland through
trade shows, familiarization tours and
direct client contact.”
Prior to joining Visit Oakland two years
ago, Palma had been director of sales at
the Hilton San Francisco Financial District.
Bardstown Tourist
Commission hires
new executive
director
The Bardstown Tourist
Commission hired Mike
Mangeot as its execu-
tive director. Mangeot began his leader-
ship of the Kentucky DMO in February.
Mangeot is a native of Frankfort,
Kentucky, and served in the Kentucky
Department of Travel and Tourism
under Governors Paul Patton and Steve
Beshear. In this role, he oversaw stra-
tegic planning, budget forecasting, and
the creation of marketing plans for tele-
vision, print, radio and the internet.
“I’m very excited to lead the tour-
ism efforts for Bardstown and Nelson
County,” said Mangeot. “I know firsthand
the assets that Bardstown has to offer,
and my goal is to work with the distill-
eries, local attractions and businesses to
expand upon the success and growth that
you have seen over the past few years.”
“Mike brings a very strong and diverse
background in both tourism and eco-
nomic development to the position of
executive director,” said Bardstown Mayor
Dick Heaton. “Tourism is a major busi-
ness for us, and I am confident Mike will
help this industry grow and, at the same
time, enhance the visitor experience here
in Bardstown and Nelson County.”