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Caitlyn Blizzard
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (JULY 14, 2020) – Destinations International announced that 36 industry leaders received their Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) designation at Annual Convention which takes place virtually this year on July 14-15, 2020.
“Congratulations to those who have earned their CDME credential, the tourism industry's highest individual achievement." said Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destinations International. “These leaders have invested in their education and are now equipped with the knowledge needed to adapt to and manage the increasing change and competition facing our industry.”
“The communities that we serve can’t afford to stand still, and neither can we as destination leaders,” said Maura Gast, executive director of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau and CDME Board Chair. “The CDME program pushes us to ‘think beyond our mandate and act beyond our tenure’ and to see our roles in our communities’ viability as something much bigger, and something much more integral to the community fabric.”
The CDME program is the only integrated executive program specifically designed for destination management professionals and is the tourism industry’s highest individual educational achievement. The program is designed to prepare experienced destination organization professionals to leverage their experience and to apply their knowledge with a focus on vision, leadership, productivity and implementing business strategies.
2020 CDME recipients:
- Jason Aul, CDME, Formerly of Visit St. Mary's MD
- Todd Bertka, CDME, Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Waco Convention Center
- Buddy Boe, CDME, River Parishes Tourist Commission
- Laura Bradley, CDME, Destination Door County
- Diego Cannestraci, CDME, Bariloche Bureau
- Jennifer Case, CDME, Traverse City Tourism
- Jennifer M. Costa, CDME, Elizabeth DMO | GoElizabethNJ
- Travis Dancy, CDME, Visit Lake Norman
- Jayne DeLuce, CDME, Visit Champaign County
- Bethanie DeRose, CDME, JLL
- Kindra R. Fry, CSEE, SMP, CDME, Experience Bryan College Station
- Shelly Green, CDME, Shelly Green, LLC
- Tavis Hall, CDME, Experience Waterloo
- Charles Harris, CDME, Visit Anaheim
- Willma Harvey, CTP, CTIS, CDME, River Parishes Tourist Commission
- Dawn Holden, CDME, Formerly of Destinations International & VisitPITTSBURGH
- Dave Kirk, CDME, Visit Owensboro
- Jeniffer Kocher, CDME, Monterey County CVB
- Yoshiko Maruyama, CDME, World Business Associates Co., Ltd.
- Jessica McClellan, CDME, Mesquite Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Meagan McGuire, CDME, Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority
- Michelle Moore, CDME, Experience Kissimmee
- Lisa Oliveira, CDME, Visit Fresno County
- Jason Outman, CDME, Experience Columbia SC
- Lori Pappas, CDME, Discover Flagstaff
- Alyssa Phares, CDME, Visit Cape
- John Poole, CDME, Experience Kissimmee
- Rob Price, CDME, Formerly of Visit Tampa Bay
- Erin Rheinschild, CDME, San Francisco Travel Association
- Stacy Ritter, CDME, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Dasha Runyan, CDME, Richmond Region Tourism
- Marc Sapoznik, CDME, Rancho Cordova Travel & Tourism
- Kate Skidmore, CDME, Destinations International
- Christian Wentworth, CDME, Visit Fairfield, CA
- Kari Westlund, CDME, Eugene, Cascades & Coast - Travel Lane County
- Monty White, CDME, Visit Irving
For more information about CDME or Destinations International, visit www.destinationsinternational.org.
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About Destinations International:
Destinations International is the world’s largest resource for official destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards. Destinations International is about serving destination marketing professionals first and foremost. Together with almost 6,000 members and partners from nearly 600 destinations in 13 countries, Destinations International represents a powerful forward-thinking, collaborative association: exchanging bold ideas, connecting innovative people and elevating tourism to its highest potential. For more information, visit www.destinationsinternational.org.