VISIT FLORIDA Task Force

Several of our Board Members came to Tallahassee today to meet with senior staff at VISIT FLORIDA to discuss their Partners programs for attractions. Incidently, 95% of Florida Attractions Association members are also VISIT FLORIDA Partners!

Take a look at Florida's first national network television commercial!

http://www.visitflorida.com/sunshine_campaign

FLORIDA HUDDLE

I was honored to have been a guest at FLORIDA HUDDLE in Tampa today and participate in a press conference with about 35 representatives of numerous international travel media publications.

DJ Towle Director of Media Relations served as moderator and Lynn Warren, President of Florida Huddle; Steve Hayes, Executive VP of Tampa Bay and Company; Gary Sain, President & CEO of Orlando/Orange County CVB; Bud Nocera, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA and myself representing the Florida Attractions Association answered questions for about 90 minutes.

Preparing for the Strategic Planning Retreat

Chairman Geis and I met today today with Dawn Dalziel, Manager of Organization Development, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Dawn will be facilitating our Board Retreat in early February at the FFA Leadership Training Center in Haines City.

We made a lot of progress planning the retreat. Dawn is an amazing talent!

BYF #4 - St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum

Our final Backyard Forum was hosted by the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. Rick Cain (FAA Governmental Affairs Liaison) hosted us. Our meeting room was the 2nd story of the reconstructed lighthouse keeper’s house (the original house burned in the 1970s).

St. Augustine features the highest geographic concentration of member attraction in the state and attendance was excellent. Most folks in St. Augustine already know each other and work together with regional marketing alliances.

Following the Forum, Rick Cain (a certified lighthouse keeper) took us on a tour to the observation area of the lighthouse, then up to the very top where the lamp and the original first-order Fresnel lens is housed. The St. Augustine lighthouse is a jewel for all who enjoy America’s rich nautical history.

On the road again…this time home, to Tallahassee.

BYF #3 - Pirates Dinner Adventure, Orlando

Today’s Forum was hosted by Pirates Dinner Adventure. Keith Charlton (FAA Membership Liaison) and Andres Cibotti were our host. We met in the pre-show area of the attraction, fully themed out as a sea-side village. Though the event was well attended, several of our members from the Tampa Bay area were unable to come due to the closure of I-4 following a major multi-vehicle pileup.

Following the Forum, we were given a tour of the attraction. The main theater area is spectacular with a full-scale pirate ship in a lagoon as the centerpiece. I saw the show in November…it truly is a first-class immersive, interactive theatrical presentation.

On the road again….to St. Augustine.

BYF #2 - Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Our host attraction for today’s Forum was Sarasota Jungle Gardens. General Manager Rose Rinaldi (former FAA Board Member) greeted us this morning. The attraction has a great education/multi-purpose Center where we met. We had great participation today with attractions from the west coast of Florida.

Again, we enjoyed great discussion and input.

Following the Forum Rose and her staff provided a tour of the beautiful gardens, with large flamingos, reptile (the reptile show is excellent!), tropical birds, gators, crocs, turtles, and a very large Galapagos tortoise.

Several years ago, our Annual Conference was in Sarasota (as it will be again in 2009), and a portion of our “On-Stage” event was a dinner hosted by Rose and her team. It was great visiting the Sarasota Jungle Gardens again.

Following the tour, we were on the road again to Orlando.

BYF #1 - Miami Seaquarium

Our general format for this year’s forums is 3 parts. First, Linda, Mike and I made presentation of the benefits, activities, programs of the Florida Attractions Association. The second part was a roundtable discussion on the state of tourism, trends, what’s working, what’s not, best practices, regulatory issues, and region-specific issues. The third portion of the Forum is to receive member input in developing the Association Strategic Plan.

This year’s Backyard Forums are sponsored by Florida Vacation Auction, an innovative company offering benefits to participating attractions and hotels and the touring public. Glenn Letch will make a presentation at each of our 4 Forums.

Today was the first stop of out 2008 Backyard Forums. Our host attraction was the Miami Seaquarium. Andrew Hertz (FAA Treasurer) and Eric Eimstad (former FAA Chairman) are active members and they provided a first-class experience for our staff and members. The room was packed with representatives from south Florida attractions. The dialog and participation was lively and engaging.

Following the forum, we were treated to a special tour of the Miami Seaquarium by Andrew Hertz.

Following the tour, we hit the road for Sarasota, checked into our hotel, and hoping for a restful sleep before tomorrow’s forum.

Arrived in Miami

During our planning for this year’s backyard forums, the order of our 4 stops changed several times. We finally decided to make Sunday (today) our long drive day, making the remaining days reasonably manageable. Today, we drove from Tallahassee to Miami a 489 mile trek. Along the way, we stopped in Melbourne to pick up Chairman Steve Geis.

Steve is a huge San Diego Chargers fan, so we listened to the game on the radio. Steve’s father and brothers checked in with him by cell phone before and during the game. Steve is from the San Diego area. The Chargers defeated the Tennessee Titans and took a step closer to the Super Bowl.

We arrived safely in Miami and had a fine meal (Italian) and will have a good night’s rest before our first Backyard Forum.

2008 Backyard Forums

A Florida Attractions Association tradition started by Donna Ross in the mid 1990s, the Backyard Forums present regional meetings around the state. This year, Linda, Mike and I will travel with Chairman Steve Geis (Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex) to 4 cities in 4 days. This year's Backyard Forums are sponsored by Florida Vacation Auction.



Let the odyssey begin!


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Check out VISIT FLORIDA's New Web Site!

VISIT FLORIDA Launches New Travel Planning Resource
VISITFLORIDA.com a Virtual Wealth of Information
January 3, 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Karen Kirksey Jan. 3, 2008
Corporate Communications Manager
Ph: (850) 205-3863
Cell: (850) 345-9735
e-mail: karenk@VISITFLORIDA.org

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2008) – VISIT FLORIDA®, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, has radically enhanced its consumer web site, VISITFLORIDA.com. The web site includes blogs, image and video sharing and consumer comments and offers potential visitors to the Sunshine State a unique travel planning resource unlike any other destination marketing organization in the country.

“VISITFLORIDA.com is the ultimate Florida travel planning tool,” said Leon Corbett, VISIT FLORIDA’s director of advertising and direct marketing. “The web site raises the bar for promotion by using interactive and rich media content to engage travelers. It offers far more than the usual static imagery and simple listings of information.”

Among the VISITFLORIDA.com features are a welcome video from Florida Governor Charlie Crist, real-time weather updates, events calendars, Florida travel videos, a personalized trip planner, e-magazines, travel guides and more. The site continues to offer special sections in German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and the Queen’s English.

VISIT FLORIDA enlisted the help of 10 Florida experts to share their perspectives on a variety of experiences in Florida. Each expert specializes in a different area, including Arts and Culture, Boating and Fishing, Shopping and Nightlife, Beach and Surf, Family, Authentic Florida, Smart Travel, Golf, Outdoors and Adventure. The experts, who live in Florida, host videos and write specialty blogs on VISITFLORIDA.com.

“The web site is an opportunity to engage potential Florida visitors as they embark on their Florida vacation experience,” said Bud Nocera, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. “If you are considering a trip to the Sunshine State, you’ll find everything you want to know about Florida and more at VISITFLORIDA.com.”

The unveiling of VISITFLORIDA.com comes on the heels of news that visitation is up in the Sunshine State. Tourism industry leaders want to keep it that way. With 21.1 million tourists traveling to Florida during the third quarter of 2007, visitation increased by 4.8 percent compared to the same period in 2006. Tourism is one of Florida’s top industries. In 2006 alone, $65 billion was generated from tourism-related expenditures. VISIT FLORIDA, led by the Florida Commission on Tourism, successfully drives the Sunshine State’s tourism industry.

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Mom Gets Married

How many guys get to go to their own mother's wedding?

We lost Dad in 2005. Mom and Dad had been married nearly 52 years.

A month after Dad died, a gentleman in Hendersonville NC lost his wife after 43 years of marriage.

Friends introduced Mom to Hershel and today, the were married in a joyous celebration.

PS - Isn't my mother beautiful?

Happy New Year!