New Hires and Personnel Changes at the Houston CVBMay 20, 2008
Contact Information: Regina Drake, a 33-year veteran of the tourism industry, has joined the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau as membership services director. Regina is responsible for development and retention of the GHCVB’s members. Regina brings more than two decades of marketing, customer service and relationship management experience to the GHCVB. She started her career at Delta Air Lines as a flight attendant and worked her way up to supervisor and manager. During her 33 years at Delta, Regina spent more than 25 of those years in the sales and marketing department increasing responsibility in developing, negotiating and managing key relationships with many of Delta’s key corporate and global travel agencies partners. More recently, Regina was the leader for the Emergency Response Team and the 2004 Chairman’s Campaign for the Greater Georgia and Atlanta Chambers and was also one of the Chairman’s Club Honorees in 2005. “My immediate goals are to further develop and implement value based programs that provide expanded opportunities for networking, retention and renewal programs,” said Regina Drake. “Managing and balancing membership expectations and satisfaction with the strategic objectives of the GHCVB are essential for overall success." Regina is a native Houstonian and graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in Sociology. She continued her education at Louisiana State University, where she received her MBA. Karen Villagomez has rejoined the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau after a 10-year hiatus, and has taken the role of sales manager for the greater Austin area. Karen is representing Houston to the Texas association and meetings market. Karen is a 12-year veteran of the Houston hospitality industry. She served on the team that opened the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRBCC) in 1987 and served as director of sales for the GRBCC until 1990, when she joined the GHCVB sales team. She worked at the GHCVB from 1990-1998 and represented Houston to the national association and national corporate convention and meeting markets. “This is an exciting time for the hospitality industry in Houston with all the new developments. I look forward to working with the GHCVB sales team again and increasing the Texas association market share in Houston,” said Karen. More recently, Karen worked for Prentice Hall Publishing's higher education division as a sales representative. Karen is a native Houstonian and also a graduate of the University of Houston. Departmental Promotions The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau recently made two major personnel changes. Effective May 1, Deanea LeFlore and Rick Ferguson were promoted to vice presidents. Deanea LeFlore, former director of the Houston International Protocol Alliance, a division of the GHCVB, has been promoted to vice president/executive director of the Houston International Protocol Alliance. The Protocol Alliance serves as the office of protocol for the City of Houston. The division is a resource and the primary point of contact with regard to international protocol, consular relations, visiting international government representatives and Houston’s sister cities program. In this position, Deanea will continue to serve as a liaison to the consular corps of Houston and advise city officials and the general public on matters of international relations and protocol. Rick Ferguson, former executive director of the Houston Film Commission, has been promoted to vice president/executive director of the Houston Film Commission. The Houston Film Commission is a division of the GHCVB and promotes Houston, Harris County and the Eastern Gulf Coast region of Texas as a destination for film production. Rick has worked for the Houston Film Commission for 20 years, and as vice president he will continue to provide professional location services to film, video and print industries, as well as coordinate all marketing, advertising and sales efforts for the department. ### |
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