ON THE MOVE
Planners
Elderkin heads Bone & Mineral Research group
Ann L. Elderkin has joined Chicago-based association management company SmithBucklin as executive director of the American Society for Bone & Mineral Research. She most recently served as project director and managing editor at Health Systems Research, under contract with the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States, in Washington, D.C., where she remains based.
Suppliers
Marc Anderson has been promoted to assistant vice president, convention sales, at the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau. Also promoted at the CCTB is Cassie Veatch, CMP, to assistant director, bureau services.
Ross Anderson has been appointed director of sales at the 338-room Meritage Resort at Napa (Calif.), which opened this past May.
James Curtis has been named director of sales and marketing for both the 998-room Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, in Hollywood, Fla., and the 60-room Diplomat Country Club & Spa, in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Lauren Gallen has been promoted to events manager at the Overland Park (Kan.) Convention Center.
Marianne McConathy-Nelson is the new director of sales and marketing at the 150-room Hilton Shreveport (La.) Convention Center, which opens this December.
Annette Michael has joined the Palm Springs (Calif.) Convention Center as event services coordinator.
Kris Reagan has been promoted to director of sales at the 199-room Chattanoogan in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tammi Runzler has been named vice president of convention sales and services at the Orlando/Orange County (Fla.) Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Brenda Scott has taken the post of vice president of sales, services and marketing for the Arlington (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Angie Toailoa was appointed director of events at the 1,240-room Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island, Hawaii.
“The hotel is part
Renaissance, part baroque. Parts date from the 14th
century.”
Petr Marek is director of sales and
marketing for the Mandarin Oriental, Prague, which opened on Sept.
12 in the Czech Republic’s capital. Among its amenities, the
99-room property has a spa and a restaurant serving Asian and
pan-European cuisine.
Is this Mandarin Oriental’s
first property in any of the former Iron Curtain nations?
Yes, in fact, it is, and we’re very excited about it. The
property is in Prague’s Little Quarter, a very historical area that
is just five minutes from the St. Charles Bridge. Part of the
building but independent of the hotel is the city’s Museum of
Music.
What is your favorite part of
the hotel?
The Baroque Wing. The hotel is part Renaissance, part
baroque, and the latter area includes the Grand Ballroom, which
leads to a wonderful cafe adjacent to a garden. Parts of the hotel
date from the 14th century, and the whole building served for
centuries as a Dominican monastery, so all the public and meeting
spaces have high ceilings and unique architecture, especially the
ballrooms, both of which served as the monks’ refectory.
Have you always worked in
Prague?
I started in the hospitality industry in 1992, in Prague,
but since that time I have worked in hotels in Austria, Sweden and
the United States, in Florida and New York City. Actually, my first
job was working at the Blue Duck restaurant -- U Modre
Kachnicky, in Czech -- in Prague, which, coincidentally, is
next door to the Mandarin Oriental, so you could say I have gone
full circle.