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CVB Welcomes New Staff Members

Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau Welcomes New Staff Members  It’s a busy time here at the CVB as we roll out the welcome mat to new staff members. If you happen to see them, please say hello and welcome them to the CVB family:

 

Director’s Office/Administrative Services Division

Marissa Jones

Marissa has joined the CVB family as an Account Clerk III and will work with Karen on our budget accounts. We jumped on the chance to have her join our team; she transferred to the CVB from PW. Prior to that, Marissa migrated to the beach from the City of Portsmouth where she developed a wealth of knowledge and experience during her 13 years there. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her 3 daughters Mariah, Morgan and London. Welcome, Marissa!

 

Convention Center

Heather Vickers

Heather Vickers joined the staff of the Convention Center as a part-time event coordinator in 2016. She became full time in January 2019. Heather was born in California and has lived in Virginia Beach since she was five years old. She is a graduate of James Madison University’s School of Media and Design. Prior to joining the VBCC, Heather was an event coordinator with Bon Secours. Welcome, Heather!

 

Marketing Communications Division

Erin Goldmeier

Erin Goldmeier has accepted the role as the director of public relations for Visit Virginia Beach, the city’s official destination marketing organization, working with travel editors, writers, bloggers and social media influencers to promote Virginia Beach as a travel destination. Goldmeier spent eleven years at VisitNorfolk, Norfolk’s official DMO, as the media relations manager securing coverage in outlets such as the Chicago Sun-Times, Washingtonian magazine, Washington Post, and National Geographic Traveler. She is also a freelance writer whose work has appeared in VegNews magazine, Culture Trip, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Convention South and Smart Meetings magazines. Goldmeier has over a decade of experience in domestic & international public relations, pitching, writing, editing and producing editorial content for digital, print, and social media.

 

Lauren Thorstensen

Lauren Thorstensen has joined the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Marketing Communications team as their in-house graphic designer. A graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y, Thorstensen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communication Design. She interned at Seventeen magazine and was a lead designer for BrickHouse Security before returning to Virginia Beach to work as a lead designer and photo editor for VistaGraphics, Inc. Inspired by the world around her, she aims to create new ideas for innovative design.

 

Welcome Erin & Lauren!

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MEMBER SURVEY BEGINS FEB. 1

Please plan to participate in the 2019 Quality of Work Life Member Survey. This is your opportunity to share what’s working well or what may need to improve at the City or in your department. Many positive actions have been implemented as a result of past surveys. The goal for the CVB is 100% participation.

Issues & Answers, a local professional survey and analysis firm, will be conducting the survey for us. Those with a work email address will receive the survey via email on Friday, February 1 from vbmembersurvey@issans.com. Your responses are completely confidential. No one from the City can access Issues & Answer’s database. If you begin the survey and have to close it before finishing, simply click on the link again and it will take you to where you left off.

Those without work email will receive a paper copy of the survey from your departmental communications representative. A pre-paid envelope also will be provided so that paper copies can be sent directly to Issues & Answers (or you can send the sealed envelope to Donna, HR/Member Communications, Bldg. 18, room 115).

You have until March 1 to provide your input. The survey should only take around 5 minutes to complete, depending on whether you provide comments.

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Sabrina Rinaldo Selected To Be On The Board For ILEA

Sabrina Rinaldo, Director of Sales and Operations for Distinctive Gourmet, was recently selected to be on the board for ILEA (International Live Events Association) as the Director of Programs and Education- assisting with coordinating all of the monthly meetings and finding speakers/topics for each meeting effective January 1st.

Congrats to Sabrina on her new leadership role in the special events community.

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RCMA Pics

This photo is from the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA) – 2019 Emerge Conference (Jan. 29-31), “Where Faith Meets”. This year’s event was hosted in Greensboro, NC. Almost 250 meeting planners in the Religious Market attended for one-to-one appointments with over 250 meeting venues, hospitality services and products represented.

 

Pictured are partners from Coastal Virginia and longtime meeting planner Ken Lupp. Also included are pics of the give back program, Out of the Garden Project. Their mission is to provide tangible signs of love so that no child goes to bed hungry. They  provide more than 125 bags of food each weekend to students and families at nearly 60 elementary, middle and high schools in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, and also have 22 fresh mobile markets each month that they take out to areas of Guilford County to distribute food to those in need.