New Orleans CVB Executive Kim Priez Elected Board Member of Louisiana Travel Promotion Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Jennifer Day/Jennifer Lotz
New Orleans CVB
504-566-5019
jday@neworleanscvb.com
jlotz@neworleanscvb.com

New Orleans CVB Executive Kim Priez Elected Board Member
of Louisiana Travel Promotion Association
Priez will serve as a representative and voice of New Orleans’ hospitality community throughout the state

NEW ORLEANS – July 30, 2010 – Kim Priez, vice president of tourism for the New Orleans CVB, was sworn in as part of the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association’s (LTPA) Board of Directors. Serving her second term as a LTPA board member, Priez will act as a representative for New Orleans’ tourism community, voicing the needs and accomplishments of the local hospitality industry among representatives throughout the state.

“As a member of LTPA for 15 years, I am honored to serve on the Board of Directors for this important state organization,” said Priez. “In addition to representing the needs of my hometown New Orleans, I look forward to assisting all LTPA members, working diligently to promote the great culture, food and history of Louisiana.”

With more than 800 members as part of LTPA, the Board of Directors serve as a voice for Louisiana’s tourism community, offering its members marketing and educational opportunities. Tourism directly employs 124,000 Louisiana residents and attracts 23.3 million visitors to the state a year.* In New Orleans alone, tourism employs nearly 70,000 people, attracts on average 8 million visitors annually and generates $7 billion in economic impact, making tourism one of the most vital industries in the city and state.

New officers installed on the executive board committee include: Alana Cooper, with the Monroe-West Monroe CVB, as Chairman of the Board; Fran Thibodeaux, with the Iberia Parish CVB, as Vice Chairman of the Board; Kyle Edmiston, with the Ruston-Lincoln CVB, as Secretary of the Board; Norman Marmillion with Laura Plantation, as Treasurer of the Board; and Sharon Alford, with the Houma Area CVB, as Past Chairman of the Board.

New members on the board of directors and establishments/organizations they represent are Stacy Brown, with the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau; Carolyn Cheramie, with the Bayou Lafourche Area CVB; Chimene Connor, with the Audubon Nature Institute of New Orleans; Linda Curtis-Sparks, with the Sabine Parish Tourist Commission; Sandra Davis, with Conrad Rice Mill, Konriko; Phil Frost, with BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo; Shelley Johnson, with the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana CVB; Kitty Martin, with the West Feliciana Tourist Commission; Alice Scarborough, with Kent Plantation House; and Sherry Smith, with the Alexandria-Pineville Area CVB.

“As an association charged with strengthening the private sector of the state’s tourism industry, LTPA strongly relies on the experience and leadership of its board,” said Jill Kidder, Co-Executive Director of LTPA. “We feel certain that the new and returning board members are more than capable of helping our members and the association successfully navigate the road ahead.”

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Officers on the executive committee and members of the board of directors are elected annually by majority mail ballot. Each year, the Chairman of the Board selects a nominating committee that is comprised of members who are not up for re-election and who are not seeking office. This committee is responsible for presenting a slate to the 800 plus members of the association that recognizes all regions of the state and all segments of the tourism industry.

The New Orleans CVB is the driving catalyst for New Orleans’ largest industry – tourism – strategically leading national and international marketing, public relations and visitor services efforts that attract millions of visitors, events, conventions and festivals. Consistently recognized as one of the top five CVBs in the country, the New Orleans CVB is celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2010. For more information, please visit www.neworleanscvb.com.

LTPA is a private, non-profit, membership trade association with more than 800 members statewide. It strengthens the private sector of Louisiana’s tourism economy and provides marketing and educational opportunities to its members, while it serves as the advocate, resource and voice for the tourism industry.

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*Source: Louisiana tourism Forecast 2009-2013 and The Travel Satellite Account