Feb 8: Meet Our 2008 Board of Directors

Our Chapter’s new 2008 Board of Directors was installed at the January luncheon meeting at Laffing Matterz. Home with a cold, I watched the webcast on www.media17.com/hsmai . Boy, did I miss a great event.

I’m delighted to let you know a little something about our leadership team:

Fernando Harb (Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau), President;
Fernando is the Director of Sales at the CVB with previous experience at the Hollywood Beach Marriott and Miami Beach’s Roney Palace Resort. We are excited to have him serve his second term as our Chapter’s President.

Stacie Faulds (Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau), President-Elect and VP, Communications. Stacie is Creative Director at the CVB, where she has worked for 14 years. She is the proud mom of three: a son, a daughter and a website named Sunny.org

Phyllis Festinger (Professional Functions), Treasurer/Collegiate Chapter Liaison; Phyllis has recently retired from her managing director role HSMAI and reports that she is “watching daytime soap operas and eating bon-bons.” As if!

Haydee Casanova (PRA Destination Mgt.), VP-Membership; Haydee is currently with PRA Destination Management but has been a member of “the business” for more than 26 years. She says that “HSMAI is what hospitality is all about”.

Sandra Ginsburg-Edwards (Jungle Island), VP-Programs; Sandy has been the Director of Sales & Marketing at Jungle Island for the past 2 ½ years. Prior to that she was with the Greater Miami CVB for 18 years and has been a member of HSMAI since 1992. She feels that one of the most important things she has learned to do to help her career growth is to build relationships. Being a part of HSMAI has given her the opportunity to do that.

Gail Spier (City and Shore Magazine), Chapter Advisor; Gail has been involved with our HSMAI chapter for the past 15 years (including serving as our President one year). She started her involvement as a student member at U of Mass. She’s currently employed in the Sun-Sentinel magazine division. In addition to City and Shore, she works with Casa & Vida and also the Diplomat Magazine.

Linda Sue Marsh (Days Inn Bahia Cabana), Task Force Membership; Linda Sue is one of the original founding members of the Broward Chapter. Over a 20 year period, she has served numerous times as both an Officer and Board Director. Originally from Hinsdale, IL she came from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale during which her only career here has been as Director of Sales of three Fort Lauderdale Beach hotels.

Dan Cohen (Media 17), Technology/Immediate Past President; Dan is currently the Technical Director at Media 17, a full production company specializing in web casts. He’s been in production for the last 10+ years and has been involved with our Chapter for the last 5+ years.

Julie Wernick (JWFranklin & Associates), Communications; I’m your HSMAI Insider writing the Chapter’s weekly blog updates and assisting Stacie in getting out press releases and updating the website. There’s more about my background in the blog profile. I’m happy to be able to continue to contribute to our local hospitality industry through our HSMAI chapter.

Marcus Michaud (J Productions), Programs-Broward; Marcus is the Executive Vice President of Operations for J Productions, a full service Nationwide A/V & Production Services Company. Marcus has extensive expertise and professional experience in event concepts and production.

DeAnne Connolly Graham (Welcome Magazine), Programs-Miami Dade; DeAnne is the Regional Sales Manager for Welcome & Bienvenidos visitor magazines in Miami. For the past 36 years, these publications have provided quality information for visitors to Greater Miami & the Beaches. Although DeAnne sells print advertising for these publications, she constantly encourages her clients to network and participate in organizations (like our HSMAI) to help them build and reinforce quality relationships as a way to grow their businesses.

Beth Rice (Visit Florida), West Coast Florida Liaison; Beth will celebrate her 10 year anniversary with Visit Florida this July. She was 4 years in the Sales Department (based in Dallas), then 6 years in South Florida in Partner Development, so far. Beth resides in Ft. Myers and is happy to be serving on the HSMAI Board for the first time.

Susan Stern (Hampton Inn Plantation), Community Relations; Susan has been in the hospitality industry “almost longer than most of our HSMAI members and student members have been alive” according to her. She says this must say something about this exciting profession!

Rebecca Wiebe (Sheraton Suites Plantation), Chapter Development; Rebecca is senior sales manager at the Sheraton Suites Plantation. She is originally from Kansas and felt the “need to live at the sunny beach of Florida.” She’s been in Florida for 3 years and in Fort Lauderdale for about 6 months or so. She’s enjoying the beautiful city and can’t wait to be more involved in our community.

Christine Greenley (FIU), Collegiate Chapter. Christine is in her senior year at FIU majoring in Travel and Tourism Management. She is currently balancing her Internship, (a sales position for a high-end bridal show called The Wedding Salon), a full course load, the presidency of our HSMAI Collegiate Chapter, and various volunteer projects including the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. She’s a Canadian farm girl originally from Saskatchewan. She wants everyone to know she’s very innovative and not afraid to get dirty. Her Future Plans: Special Event Sales and Marketing; interested in sustainable hotels and tourism destinations.