STS Member & Partner News

Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau Launches “Experience Little Rock in Color” Video Series Celebrating Black History Month

In celebration of Black History Month, the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (LRCVB) has launched “Experience Little Rock in Color,” its new interactive video series that features local Black community influencers as they discuss the Black experience in Little Rock, Arkansas’s capital city. See more.

Visit Florida Celebrates Black History Month Across Sunshine State

As the nation's multiyear efforts to commemorate the semi-quincentennial or 250th anniversary of the United States continues to unfold, BM&T's recurring column, Traveling In OUR World will showcase the historic past and the remarkable achievements of African-Americans during the 250 Year Journey in this country. Read more.

Baton Rouge Receives Four Statewide Awards for Outstanding Work in Tourism

The Louisiana Travel Association (LTA) awarded Baton Rouge four Louey Awards during its recent annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

Baton Rouge took home the Accommodation of the Year/Full-Service Lodging Award – WATERMARK Baton Rouge; Campground/RV Park of the Year – Farr Park Equestrian Center and RV Campground; the Marion “Butch” Fox Advocacy Award – Jill Kidder, President and CEO of Visit Baton Rouge; and the Will Mangham Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award – Paul Arrigo. Read more.

Visit Mobile Prepares for Tourism Growth with Promotions, Organization Shifts, and a New Hire

Visit Mobile announces plans to prepare for continued tourism growth in Mobile with changes within the organization which include internal promotions, structural shifts in the organization, and the hiring of a new team member. Read more.

Patty Kieffer

Patty has been promoted to senior vice president.

Derrick Williams

Derrick has been promoted to director of multicultural accounts.

Tom White

Tom has been hired as the new vice president of convention and leisure sales.

Brittany Gagliano

Brittany, partnership manager, has revived the Visit Mobile partnership program model and will now manage a stand-alone partnership department.

Downtown Russellville Collective Welcomes Ann McDermitt as Executive Director

The newly formed Downtown Russellville Collective (DRC) is excited to introduce Ann Epperson McDermitt as its first Executive Director, effective February 1st. Read more.

Executive Director of Explore Brookhaven Destination on the Left Podcast

On this Destination on the Left episode, host Nicole Mahoney talks with Renee Areng about her experience building a destination marketing organization from the ground up. They discuss the key ingredients needed for the successful formation of Renee's DMO located just outside the Atlanta Metro Area and how they proved instrumental in creating the right environment for the organization to thrive. Read more and listen.

Time for DMOcracy News

Global Best Practices in Community Engagement

STS has been an association partner of a major global study on best practices in community engagement – Time for DMOcracy. We want to share the free report and resources from this study with you.

This study was led by Miles Partnership and Group Nao – along with other academic, agency and association partners across North America and Europe. These resources provide invaluable support on tackling community related issues including community participation, resident sentiment research, DEI, media and communications and Short-Term Rentals.

You can read a summary of this study here and/or access the North American edition of the study here – and the European edition here.

Calling for Content!

STS DMO partners, part of our overall mission as an organization is to generate more visitors spending more time bringing more money to the Southeast. A big part of this goal is to feature the incredible attractions, events, and overall lifestyle that make your destinations shine.

We're asking you to share the best that your community has to offer with regard to a few upcoming seasonal events and holidays. See the March holidays we plan to highlight:

3/8 | Women’s History Month
3/17 | St. Patrick’s Day
3/22 | Spring Break Destination Highlights

*These entries will be featured on the STS social media channels.

Submit Your Content!

Upcoming Events

Travel Unity Summit

March 27-29, 2023 | Lake Charles, LA

For STS members: 20% off of regular ticket pricing through 2/25/2023. Code: STS20

Learn More | Register

CEO/Senior Leadership Forum

March 21-23, 2023 | Baton Rouge, LA

The Louisiana Travel Association and Southeast Tourism Society are co-hosting a CEO/Senior Leadership Forum, which will bring together executive-level leadership from throughout the travel industry for education and an opportunity to build a reliable network of other leaders.

Learn More | Register

Speakers include:

Trever Cartwright

Founding Partner of Coraggio Group

Trever helps destination leaders and their organizations get clear, get focused and get moving on their most important strategic and organizational challenges.

Sharonda Bishop

Owner of Bishop Consulting

Dr. Bishop is a seasoned professional, practitioner, and consultant in subjects including supervisory skills, talent acquisition, project management leadership, and organizational behavior.

Berkeley Young

President of Young Strategies

Young Strategies is a Charlotte, NC-based company that conducts customized research and planning for destination marketing organizations. Young’s hands-on experience running a CVB/DMO and managing a golf resort community gives him a unique edge when analyzing research data.

Julio Melara

President and CEO of Melara Enterprises

Melara Enterprises, a multi-media company, which publishes Business Report, 225 Magazine, InRegister magazine, Daily Report, 1012 Industry Report, and many other niche publications, websites, and e-newsletters.

Senator Fred H. Mills, Jr.

District 22 Senator in the Louisiana Legislature

Senator Fred H. Mills, Jr. has represented Senate District 22 in the Louisiana Legislature since 2011. In 2016, he was appointed by Senate President John Alario to serve as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, overseeing the physical, behavioral, and social health care policy and legislative directives governing the citizens of Louisiana.

Jay Markwalter

Executive Director of the GA Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus

Jay works with travel and hospitality industry partners to elevate Georgia’s tourism-driven economic development.

Previously, Markwalter served as GACVB President while representing the Augusta CVB team. He served as Director of Marketing Communications and Director of Sales with the Augusta CVB from 2014 – 2018.