Monica R. Smith, CMP, CASE, CDME has assumed her new role as president & CEO of the Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau in central Georgia.  “In my first three months, I’ll be evaluating the marketing, sales, and operations of the bureau to identify ways to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our efforts in promoting Macon and its cultural and geographical assets,” said Smith at an introductory news conference. “My primary focus is to build even more awareness of this wonderful southern destination among group and leisure travelers and to increase convention, tradeshow and meeting business to further strengthen Macon’s position as an excellent meetings destination.”

Smith most recently served as the director of sales and client services for the Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau in Pasadena, CA, overseeing the day-to-day operations in the absence of an executive director. She also has served as vice president of sales for the Newport Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau and as an account executive with the CVB of Greater Cleveland.  A graduate of Cornell University, she is a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), Hospitality Sales & Marketing, Association International (HSMAI), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners (NCBMP), Financial & Insurance Planners Association (FIPA), and Christian Meetings & Conventions Association (CMCA).

The Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Bureau is the non-profit destination marketing organization of Macon and Bibb County, Georgia. Funded by hotel-motel sales tax collected from visitors staying in local properties, the CVB was created in 1980 exclusively to market Macon and Bibb County regionally, domestically and internationally, to both groups and individuals, in order to enhance the economy and increase employment.
Smith can be reached at (800) 768-3401.