Welcome...to
the May 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 June edition of Pulse,
please contact Ryan Smith at rsmith@visitRaleigh.com
In this issue...
Housekeeping Notes | Dates to Remember | Sensory Overload | Awards | Ambassador Appreciation Day | Sports Scene | Travel Matters | Golf Outing
Housekeeping Notes
The Bureau has officially discontinued
using the PO Box 1879 address. Please delete this address from your
records and use 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1505; Raleigh, NC 27601-2995
as the correct mailing address. The new Official Visitors Guide
to Raleigh, Cary and Wake County has hit the Internet. Check
out the digital version online at www.raleighvisitorsguide.com,
complete with all the same great information as the printed guide.
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Dates to Remember
Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 10, for the Bureau’s
Annual Luncheon at the Raleigh Convention Center. More information
to come on the newly formatted program and breakout sessions from the
Sales, Sports, Convention Services, Marketing and Communication departments.
The next Community Hospitality Partnership (CHP) Customer Care
Class is scheduled for June 15 at the Residence Inn Raleigh
Crabtree. An official invitation will be sent this week. For more information
contact Julie
Brakenbury.
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Sensory Overload
The Bureau’s Marketing Department recently launched
an online campaign dedicated to a month of “Sensory
Overload.” The Raleigh area gives you more than 150 reasons
to celebrate this May with 20 festivals, 37 sporting events, 11 culinary
experiences, more than 50 concerts, six shopping extravaganzas, four
major museum exhibitions and 25 FREE attractions …just to name a few.
Check out what’s still in store this month at www.visitRaleigh.com/may
and register to win a family four-pack of tickets to Elmo Grows Up at
the RBC Center May 28-30.
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Awards
From shopping to philanthropy and the best place to grab a burger, the Raleigh area is on the top of everyone’s list. The Cotton Company in Historic Downtown Wake Forest has been designated one of the Raleigh area’s Top 10 Places to Shop! Editors at 10Best.com, an online travel advice source used by more than 40 million travelers, compiled the Top 10 List in conjunction with travel editors from Southern Living, Sunset, Cooking Light and Southern Accents. Commercial Real Estate Women gave a Visionary Award to the Raleigh Convention Center at their Annual Meeting, and The Hyatt Place Raleigh-Durham Airport has won the Hyatt Place Ultimate Hotel Award. The hotel was chosen based on numerous guest nominations from 130 hotels nationwide. At the 2008 National Jaycee Awards, the Raleigh Jaycees won again for the best Ways & Means Fundraising Project in the nation for 2008 PONY softball. The Raleigh Jaycees were also awarded Best Community Development Programming of any chapter in the nation. The Raleigh area ranked in the Top 25 as cities nationwide vied for top ranking in AmericanStyle magazine’s 12th annual arts destinations poll. This area truly lives up to the moniker Creative Capital! Barbecue at its best was recognized as The Pit was listed among the “Top 50 Restaurants” by Travel + Leisure magazine, and Food Network Magazine has listed the burger at the Raleigh Times Bar the “Best Burger in North Carolina.” Once you have a belly full, walk it off, since Raleigh ranks as the #10 Best Walking City by Prevention Magazine.
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Ambassador Appreciation Day
Fun was had by all when more than 40 Bureau Ambassadors spent the day learning more about the organization and its mission, as well as hearing about tour, transportation and dining options in the Raleigh area. Representatives from Taste Carolina Food Tours, SuperShuttle, J&L Carriage Company, Raleigh Rickshaw and the R-LINE all participated in a tradeshow-style event. Thank you, Ambassadors, for all you do! For more information on becoming an Ambassador contact Julie Brakenbury.
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Sports
Scene
Memorial Day weekend promises to be an exciting
time for area sports fans, as a couple of major events are planned for
Cary. The NCAA
Division II Baseball National Championship will be held
at the USA Baseball National Training Center, May 23-30. The event is
part of Cary's NCAA "Championship City" schedule. Also, the
National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet is scheduled
for May 23-24 at the Triangle Aquatic Center. More than 700 swimmers
will travel to Cary to compete for a title, and U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist
Cullen Jones is expected to make an appearance (not as a competitor).
The Greater Raleigh CVB is a host partner for both holiday events.
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Travel Matters
The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau
joined hundreds of cities, states and travel-related businesses nationwide
in recognition of the 26th Annual National Tourism Week, May 9-17. In
conjunction with National Tourism Week, North Carolina celebrated National
Tourism Day, May 12, with activities throughout downtown Raleigh and
at the N.C. Legislative Building.
This year's theme, “Travel Matters,” emphasized the economic benefits
travel and tourism brings to local workers and communities and demonstrated
the importance of travel. This event was part of a larger effort led
by the U.S. Travel Association with rallies in dozens of cities nationwide.
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Golf Outing
Associate Director of Sales Malinda Pettaway, CASE, and National Sales Manager Loretta Yingling, CMP, hit the links at the Association Executives of North Carolina’s Annual Golf Tournament, held at Ironwood Country Club in Greenville, N.C. The Bureau sponsored Hole Number Four with the theme “Rack-n-Roll” in Raleigh. The tent, themed like a pool hall, was voted second place in the annual sponsorship competition.
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