Sunshine Matters

Today the VISIT FLORIDA board of directors accepted my resignation as President and CEO, allowing me to assume the same position at Brand USA, effective November 1, 2012.  These announcements begin new chapters for each organization and for me. Continue reading »

Today, VISIT FLORIDA held a Board of Directors meeting to establish a formal process for filling its soon-to-be vacant President and CEO position. This vacancy was created when Chris Thompson was officially announced as Brand USA’s new President and CEO, effective November 1, 2012.  As part of the meeting, a formal search committee made up of six board members was appointed. The board voted unanimously to have Will Seccombe, VISIT FLORIDA’s CMO since 2008, serve as Acting President and CEO to bridge the time between Thompson’s departure and the naming of a permanent replacement. Continue reading »

Brand USA today named the new leader for national tourism: our own Chris Thompson, VISIT FLORIDA’s president and CEO.  There is no better choice for the job.

I congratulate Chris on this exciting opportunity to replicate at the national level the successes he has achieved at VISIT FLORIDA.  In the past three years, Chris has proven he has the vision, passion and commitment to build and lead a world-class organization that will increase the economic impact of international visitors to the United States. Continue reading »

I am pleased to announce that the 2011-2012 VISIT FLORIDA Annual Report is now available online.   For the third year, we have created the report in an interactive online format, with the opportunity to download a printable PDF version.  The previous two year’s reports are also available.  We hope making the annual reports available online, with links to more details through archived blog posts and other web content, will allow viewers to move more easily through the wealth of information on VISIT FLORIDA’s efforts to market the Sunshine State and serve as a thought leader for the tourism industry this past fiscal year. Continue reading »

On Wednesday, September 5, in conjunction with the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, industry members came together to participate in an informative corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity at Clean the World.  The purpose of CSR events is to embrace responsibility for the organization’s actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, communities, employees, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.  While visiting for our annual conference, VISIT FLORIDA wanted to organize an event that would provide attendees with an opportunity to give back to our host community, Orlando. Continue reading »