People 3-1-1998

Meetings & Conventions: People March 1998
March 1998
People

EDITED BY CHRYSTAL INGRAM WHITE

  UpClose: Stacia Gault

Making tracks: For Stacia Gault, cycling is much more than a mode of transportation.

Stacia Gault logs about 125 miles a week on the road. This would be no big deal if she were cruising down the Interstate in the comfort of a sport utility vehicle, but imagine clocking those miles uphill on a mountain bike.

"I began mountain biking four years ago," says Gault, incentive program manager for ADI Meetings and Incentives, Inc., in Tempe, Ariz. "I started to get more competitive with the sport about a year into it. Now I bike with a 20-person team sponsored by the SouthWest Bike Shop in Phoenix." But when you've got a good rhythm going, why put the brakes on? Gault decided to enter a few 60-mile road races, too.

"I train on the bike six days a week and, in addition, try to include three days of lifting in the gym," says Gault, whose incentive clients include television stations, financial institutions, insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms. Training day-in and day-out is no sweat for the pros who make a career of their sport. But Gault's life is bustling with activity. This year, for instance, business will take her to such places as London, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Hawaii and Alaska. She keeps in shape by making sure the properties she stays in have top-of-the-line fitness centers.

And her strenuous training has paid off. Last year, 30-year-old Gault placed in the top percentile in all her races and placed fifth in the state in her age group. But some winning achievements have come by way of a bumpy ride.

"I've had flat tires, broken wheels and broken pedals," she says matter-of-factly. "Mechanicals are a part of every race. But [winning] is all mental," she reasons. "You just have to know how to handle it when you fly over the bar."

Planners

LAUER MOVES TO PER-SÉ
Gregg S. Lauer, CMP, is now manager of corporate events for software company Per-Sé Technologies, a division of Medaphis Corporation, based in Atlanta. Lauer was previously a meeting planner at Dun & Bradstreet Software, also in Atlanta.

WALRAVEN JOINS BELLWETHER GROUP

Charlie Walraven is the new president of the meetings services division for the BellWether Group, an independent meeting planning firm in Nashville, Tenn., and Niantic, Conn. Walraven was formerly director of convention services for the Opryland Hotel Convention Center in Nashville.

Suppliers

Susan K. Dahle has joined Orlando-based Sea World of Florida as senior manager of convention sales.

Joe DiBenedetto has been named director of sales and marketing for the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City, Mich.

Megan Fleming has been appointed regional director of sales and marketing-Europe and Middle East for Conrad International Hotels, based in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Anne Hamilton-Chehab has been promoted to director of resort sales for Lake Buena Vista, Fla.-based Walt Disney World Resort.

Greta Lint has joined the Greensboro (N.C.) Area Convention & Visitors Bureau as sales manager.

Robert Prohaska has been named director of sales for The Sutton Place Hotel in Chicago.

Elisa Putman is now event services manager for the Nashville (Tenn.) Convention Center.

Cleo Sefton is the new sales manager for special group markets for the Doubletree Hotel Anaheim (Calif.)/Orange County.

Karri Cecil Schildmeyer has been promoted to national sales manager for the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Shannon Simpson has been appointed director of sales and conference planning for Suncoast Convention Management Services, Inc., in Orlando.

Scott Spann is now food and beverage manager for the Hayes Conference Center in San Jose, Calif.

If you would like notice of a career move considered for inclusion in this column, contact Chrystal Ingram White, Managing Editor, M&C, 500 Plaza Dr., Secaucus, N.J. 07096; fax: (201) 319-1796; e-mail: [email protected].
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