Black Meetings and Tourism Magazine Online

SPEAKING OF PEOPLE

Felicia Madison, CMP, has been named the new director of Sales for the (b)San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau (SACVB)(eb). In this new role, Madison will manage nine account managers with the goal of driving non-convention center sales for regional and national, associations and corporations. Additionally, she will still pursue citywide convention sales of the African-American market. She holds a B.A. in Speech Communication from St. Mary's University and brings 15-plus years of sales experience to this position. Previously a national convention sales manager for the SACVB, Madison has been with the organization for nine years. During this time she has maintained a noteworthy sales record, an achievement exemplified by leading the Sales Team as its top producer for Fiscal Year 2007.

Bernard Carpenter was recently named national sales manager of the Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC). Carpenter, a 20-year veteran in the hospitality industry, will be responsible for booking multicultural, religious, social, military, and fraternal events.

Carpenter, fluent in Spanish and French, was senior catering manager for Aramark at the PCC. Prior to Aramark, he worked at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino as catering sales manager, and the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City at the Front Desk.

Carpenter, a member of National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners and committee member of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Multicultural Affair Congress and the Religious Conference Management Association, resides in Camden, New Jersey.

Naz Sabripour has joined the Pasadena Convention Center (PCC) as senior event manager. In her new position, Sabripour will supervise and set standards of excellence for a team of event managers, work with show producers to determine their needs, and act as the liaison with the PCC’s other service departments. She comes to the PCC from Centennial Conferences in Louisville, CO, where she served as conference manager intern from January-March 2007. From 2004-2005, she worked as a sales manager for the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX. She gained extensive operations experience as the center’s event manager from 2000-2004. A dedicated employee, Sabripour was honored with the 2004 Employee of the Year Award from the City of Houston’s Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department.

Lois McLaughlin returns to the Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) as director of Event Services just as Convention Center expansion gets underway. McLaughlin, an industry professional, served on the inaugural event services team when the PCC opened in 1993. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Event Services Department.
McLaughlin, a 20-year veteran in the hospitality industry, says her philosophy on customer service is a simple one: “Treat the customer the way you would want to be treated.” She believes you can teach anyone how to manage events in a facility; however, it must be one’s passion to do it well.

Previously, McLaughlin served as event services manager for the Minneapolis Convention Center and director of Event Services for the Atlantic City Convention Center and SMG.

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association (ICVA) announces the hiring of Heather Trent as senior sales manager in the ICVA's Washington, D.C. satellite office. In her role with the ICVA, Trent will work to attract business to Indianapolis from associations, corporations and other organizations based in D.C. and the Southeast.

Trent brings nine years of experience in full-service account management, direct ssales and business development in the meetings and hospitality industry to the ICVA, most recently with the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Tiffany Bowers has joined the Georgia World Congress Center sales team as a new sales executive. Originally from Baltimore, MD, Bowers has over four years of sales and marketing experience and most recently served as a Far Coast Brand Ambassador with the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta.

As a sales executive for the Georgia World Congress Center, Bowers is responsible for the implementation and execution of the sales functions for the Center’s short-term bookings in the local market for the facility’s ballrooms, auditoriums and meeting rooms.

Bowers graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in marketing.
Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center features 1.4 million sq. ft. of prime exhibit space and 106 meeting rooms.