ON THE MOVE
Planners
Smith joins SmithBucklin
Kristen Smith has joined Chicago-based SmithBucklin, the association management company, as executive director for the American Society of Hand Therapists. Previously, Smith was executive director of Special Care Dentistry, also a Chicago-based association.
Griffin appointed at IACVB
Paul M. Griffin is the new director of meetings and events for the Washington, D.C.-based International Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus. Previously, Griffin served as the assistant director of convention services for the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Suppliers
Patricia Barnett has been appointed executive meetings manager at the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; Leesa Woodbery has been named director of national accounts.
Erik Dahlerbruch has joined LA Inc., Los Angeles’ convention and visitors bureau, as vice president of hotel sales.
Dale Freer has been named director of sales and marketing at the 683-room Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
Elizabeth Hawkins is the new sales manager, Northwest region, for the Palm Springs Desert Resorts (Calif.) Convention & Visitors Authority.
Karolyn Kirchgesler has been named president and CEO of the St. Paul (Minn.) Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Michael Lee has been appointed director of sales and marketing at the 311-room Kauai Coconut Beach Resort in Lihue, on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.
Keith Levey, CMP, has been named director of sales for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Also joining the facility are Michelle Minyard as associate director of sales and Jan Montz as national accounts manager.
James Moss has joined the 645-room Sheraton Bal Harbour (Fla.) Beach Resort as director of sales and marketing.
Nancy Wilkerson is the new director of sales and marketing at the 70-cottage Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville, Ga.
"We have added extras such as management receptions,
chair massages and custom maps for runners."
Mark Shine is director of sales and marketing at the 272-room
Quorum Hotel Tampa (Fla.), formerly the Crowne Plaza Tampa. The
hotel completed a $5 million renovation and added 2,000 square feet
of meeting space for a total of 12,000 before taking its new name
last August.
Is Quorum a chain? It is a Dallas-based company
that owns several independent hotels, including Brown Palace in
Denver. The plan is to make Quorum a leading midscale brand with a
boutique feel, but initially the company’s emphasis is on the Tampa
property, in the Westshore area.
How will you differentiate yourself? Tampa’s main midrange flags
lack the hospitality and service that guests want. So, we have
added extras such as management receptions, chair massages and
custom maps for runners.
How did you get into the industry? My father
worked for Holiday Inn, and he also was a hotel general manager. It
was in my blood from an early age, and I have been everything from
a bellhop to a kitchen steward.
What’s doing in Westshore? When I started work
here there was nothing but a rundown mall. Now there are upscale
malls, nationally known restaurants and 11 million square feet of
commercial space. The change has been phenomenal, and the airport
is right here, too.
Where would you like to see the hotel in five
years? I want this particular property to be perceived as
a leader in its market. Hopefully that process will be helped by
the opening of other Quorum hotels in key cities.