Welcome...to
the June issue of Pulse, the official newsletter of the Greater
Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. If you have questions, or would
like to be included in the July edition of Pulse, please contact
Ryan Smith at rsmith@visitRaleigh.com
In this issue...
Best
Of…Again | Staff News | Hot Happenings | Bureau Bling | Sports News | New Faces | Get Off Your County Seat… and Visit Raleigh | Videos on visitRaleigh.com
Best
Of…Again
We’re constantly updating our Accolades
list, and in May the Raleigh area garnered three more rankings on “Best
Of” lists. Kiplinger’s listed the Raleigh area as a “Top 10
City” based on its status as a boomtown offering solid employment
opportunities and the talent to create new, well-paying positions. Forbes.com
ranked the area “The # 1 City Where Americans are Relocating,”
and Art Bistro named Raleigh-Cary as the “#5 City for Artists
and Designers.” The Today Show named Raleigh “#2 on
their list of Cities on the Rebound.”
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Staff
News
It isn’t just our area that receives praise and recognition. Bureau
staff members are making news in the meetings and convention industry.
Denny Edwards, president and CEO, has been elected
Vice Chair for the Industry Partner Alliance (IPA) of the American Society
of Association Executives and The Center for Association Leadership.
The IPA advises the Board of Directors on issues of importance and develops
programs and services that increase the value of ASAE and The Center
Industry membership.
Associate
Director of Sales Malinda Pettaway, CASE, has been
recognized as Tomorrow’s Leader by Meetings Professional International
(MPI) – Carolinas Chapter. This award is based on MPI-CC service including:
participation, industry contributions and community, articles written
in the hospitality press, speaking engagements, and awards and professional
recognition and career advancement designations.
National
Sales Manager Loretta Yingling, CMP, was awarded Supplier
of the Year by the N.C. Society of Government Meeting Professionals
(NC-SGMP). This award recognizes a member in good standing who is nominated
by industry peers and hand-selected by members of the organization’s
Board of Directors.
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Hot
Happenings
Front desk staff – do guests ever ask what there
is to do in the Raleigh area? Now, finding that information is as easy
as the click of your mouse. Click on www.visitRaleigh.com/visitors/hot_happenings2.php
and you can create a customizable Hot Happenings Calendar of Events
based on date, location, interests and costs. This free service is updated
daily with new events and information.
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Bureau
Bling
The Bureau was proud to receive seven Destination
Marketing Association of North Carolina's Destination Marketing Achievement
Awards during the DMANC Annual Conference held in Concord. The Bureau
received two Innovation Awards for Destination Operations and Sustainability
for the redesigned Meeting Planners Guide to Raleigh and Wake County
and a cost-effective solution to acquiring new professional photography
through the use of the social networking website, Flickr. Gold Awards
were received for Best Newsletter for the monthly Pulse E-Newsletter,
Best Destination Marketing Initiative for the Red Carpet Welcome Program,
Best Print Advertising (Group) for Raleigh “Convention Campus” connector
piece and Best Local Constituents Communications for the design and
functionality of Water Summit Meetings during the drought of 2008. As
a feather in our cap, the Bureau won a Platinum Award, DMANC's highest
honor, for the creation of a Greater Raleigh Game Plan, used to showcase
our area's unique and state-of-the-art sporting venues.
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Sports
News
Assistant Director of Sports Marketing Tori
Collins has been elected Chairman of the North Carolina Sports
Council. Her two-year term begins in July, and in this role, she will
work to promote and further strengthen the state’s reputation as a premier
sports destination. Sports facilities throughout the Raleigh area welcome
top high school baseball players from around the country during the
USA Baseball Tournament of Stars, June 23-28, and more
than 100 teams (and thousands of wheels) head to the 2Hot4 Ice
National Games, an in-line hockey championship, June 24-28
at Dream Sports Center in Apex.
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New
Faces
If you see a new face in the Bureau office, take
the time to say hello to one of our new summer interns. Join us in welcoming
N.C. State University students Jackie Maloomian (Communications,
not pictured), Susan Ball (Marketing), Gary
Gregory, Christine Werner and Blair
Dickerson (Services) and Nicole Robinson (Convention
Sales), a student at East Carolina University.
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Get
Off Your County Seat… and Visit Raleigh
The Bureau is launching a year-long marketing
campaign, beginning in July, which will target leisure visitors to the
Raleigh area who live in North Carolina. The campaign, titled Get Off
Your County Seat, will award one weekend getaway to one winner from
each of the 100 counties in the state. Stay tuned for more information.
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Videos
on visitRaleigh.com
Viral videos, blogs, Facebook marketing and Twitter-ing are all popular social media initiatives that the Bureau is slated to undertake during the next few months. The first project to take place, in conjunction with Triangle Blvd, is the production of videos which will appear on various pages of www.visitRaleigh.com. Throughout the 2009/2010 fiscal year, Triangle Blvd will produce six videos per month, totaling 72 in the first year. Videos will be shot of most all publicly funded, tourism-related facilities, and montages of topics including dining, outdoors, shopping, sports and more will showcase the area’s dynamic and celebratory offerings. Wake County hospitality partners will have the opportunity to work through the Bureau for discounts related to having Triangle Blvd produce additional videos. For more information contact Jonathan Freeze at jfreeze@visitRaleigh.com or 645-2663.
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