CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. – The McHenry County Convention Center has hired Jaki Berggren as executive director and Laura Witlox as group sales manager. Berggren joined the staff three years ago as the center’s group sales manager. Prior to that, she worked for the Rockford Area CVB as meeting sales manager. Witlox was previously communications coordinator for the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce.
MCLEAN, Va. – Pablo Torres has joined the Hilton Short Hills as general manager. Torres was previously general manager of the Hilton Nassau in the Bahamas.
ONTARIO, Calif. – The Ontario Convention Center and Visitors Bureau has named Michael Krouse as president and CEO. Krouse served as senior vice president of sales and client services for the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board.
ATHENS, Ga. – Tripp McKenney is director of sales for the Athens CVB. He has spent more than 11 years in the tourism and hospitality industry, including positions with Air Jamaica and SuperClubs Resorts in the Caribbean.
BRANSON, Mo. – Trina Fox-Konz has joined the Chateau On The Lake Resort, Spa and Convention Center as sales manager. She will handle sales efforts in the greater St. Louis area, as well as Illinois and Indiana. Fox-Konz comes to the resort with 10 years of hospitality experience, including a position as assistant director of sales for Embassy Suites Outdoor World in Grapevine, Texas.
APPLETON, Wis. – The Fox Cities CVB has promoted Jennifer Hecht to group sales manager. She joined the bureau’s visitors services department in January. Hecht will oversee events for conventions, conferences and reunions in the military and religious meetings market.
MESA, Ariz. – Kimberly Freer is vice president of sales and marketing for the Mesa CVB. She worked at the Greater Phoenix CVB as director of leisure sales and marketing.
AMARILLO, Texas – The Amarillo CVB has selected Dan Quandt as executive director. Quandt, a 30-year veteran of the tourism industry, had served as CVB director at South Padre Island, Texas.
NAPLES, Fla. – Amy Jacobsen is a new sales manager for the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club. Jacobsen will work with association and corporate markets, with a focus on the Mid-Atlantic and West regions. Prior to her hire, she served as national sales manager at the Loews Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Fla.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brooke Newton is the new convention sales manager at the Louisville CVB. Newton will manage group meetings and conventions with 200 rooms or less on peak nights for markets to include education, cultural, unions, medical, scientific, public affairs, government and direct selling. She comes to the bureau with experience as program coordinator for the University of Louisville.
