In response to strong demand in the Washington, D.C. area, the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is expanding its sales efforts along the East Coast through the addition of a new sales manager. COURTNEY HALE, the CVB’s convention services manager, has been promoted to national sales manager and will be handling the Greater D.C. Mid-Atlantic district. The New England area will continue to be overseen by the Scottsdale bureau’s National Sales Manager Curt Moroney.

As a sales manager in this region, Hale will focus primarily on association meetings by attending trade shows, conducting sales calls and hosting client events. By dividing this large territory into two, the Scottsdale CVB will be able to more strategically market Scottsdale to association meetings in the D.C. area and corporate and pharmaceutical meetings in the New England area.

“Courtney’s previous successes at the bureau make her an obvious fit for this position,” said Dan Tavrytzky, vice president of sales and services for the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “She will help boost Scottsdale’s reputation as a world-class meetings destination by being a top resource for potential and returning clients.”

Hale has more than eight years of tourism management and event planning experience. Before joining the Scottsdale CVB, she worked as a destination services manager at Destination VIP, an in-house destination management company at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah. In addition, Hale also held positions with the Coca-Cola Hospitality Team during the 2002 Winter Olympics and Maritz Travel Company in St. Louis.

The convention services manager position at the Scottsdale CVB will be filled by JODELE PLUNKETT, currently the sales coordinator. Plunkett will serve as a vital link between meeting planners and CVB members by efficiently matching the planners’ request for services, off-property venues, speakers, wholesale gifts, golf companies and other types of services with CVB member businesses. She comes from an extensive travel background that includes positions with WorldCom and Town & Country Tours.

During the Scottsdale bureau’s fiscal year 2005-06 (July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006), the convention sales team booked nearly $54 million in meetings business. The Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is responsible for marketing Scottsdale as a premier travel destination to national and international target audiences, including meeting and incentive planners, travel agents, tour operators and individual tourists.