People 10-1-2003

Meetings & Conventions: People October 2003

People

By Terence Baker

Judi London is executive director of the Camden (N.J.) Waterfront Marketing Bureau as well as president of the South Jersey Tourism Corp., which was launched last month with the goal of promoting tourism, meetings and conventions to southern New Jersey.

How do you define SJTC’s mission? To organize, manage and market the tourism assets of the area between Atlantic City and Philadelphia. The New Jersey counties in that region want to capitalize on the drive-through traffic, so our first role will be to establish what we have to offer.

What are your key challenges in Camden? We continually fight against the public’s image of the city, despite recent redevelopment. I started the Camden bureau when the only thing there was the aquarium. Now there is an amphitheater, a minor-league baseball stadium, parkland and the U.S.S. New Jersey battleship. New projects include an IMAX theater and several restaurants.

What is most satisfying about your job? I have to deal with many forms of government counties, townships, etc. and it is really satisfying to see everyone reaching out and saying they need our help and outlining how they can benefit the area. Changing people’s perceptions, which we are doing, is very rewarding.

Do you have any spare time? I have two children, and my spare time is spent with them. My son, age 13, plays hockey; my daughter, who is 16, has begun looking at colleges for a career in education. She also has studied marketing, so maybe she’ll follow in my footsteps.

PLANNERS

Newman hired by National Retail Federation
Susan Newman has joined the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation as vice president of conferences. She is responsible for the association’s annual convention, among other events. Previously, Newman was director of conferences and trade shows at Potomac, Md.-based PBI Media LLC.