Speakers
- Daniel Pink, author and independent business consultant
"The Whole New Mind"
- Dennis Snow, author, speaker, trainer and consultant
"Leading Excellence"
- Peter Yesawich, Chairman and CEO of Ypartnership
"America in Transition: A Preview of Emerging Lifestyles and Travel Trends"
- Secretary Jim Fain
- Justin Boner, Conservation Fund
"Small Towns Accomplishing Big Things"
- John Bordsen
"Get to Know the Media You Need to Know"
- Pat Cabe, Golden Leaf Foundation
"Small Towns Accomplishing Big Things" Art Jackson, Rural Center
"Small Towns Accomplishing Big Things"
- Vicky Jarrett
"Get to Know the MEdia You Need to Know"
- Patti Jensen, Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce
"Small Towns Accomplishing Big Things"
- Randy Johnson
"Get to Know the MEdia You Need to Know"
- Pat Long, Director, NC Center for Sustainable Tourism
"Sustainable Tourism: Protect and Enhance Opportunity for the Future"
- Warner McGowin
"Get to Know the MEdia You Need to Know"
- Christine Mackey, Director of Tourism Programs, N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development
- Lynn Minges, Executive Director, N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development
- Crae Morton, President, Grandfather Mountain
"Sustainable Tourism: Protect and Enhance Opportunity for the Future"
- Dennis Quaintance, CEO of Proximity Hotel
"Sustainable Tourism: Protect and Enhance Opportunity for the Future"
- Dana Simpson, Legislative Council, NC Travel & Tourism Coalition
"Tourism Policy Panel"
- Paul Stone, President and CEO, N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association
"Tourism Policy Panel"
- Susan Sweeny, President, Connex Network and Inc.
"Web 101"
- Chanize Thorpe
"Get to Know the MEdia You Need to Know"
- Eszter Vajda, Senior Producer of Public Affairs, UNC-TV
"Tourism Policy Panel" Moderator
- Duane Vinson, Vice President, Smith Travel Research
"Outlook on Accommodations"
- Connie Wilson, Legislative Liaison, NC Travel Industry Association
"Tourism Policy Panel"
 Daniel Pink: "The Whole New Mind"
Daniel H. Pink is the author of two influential business books, A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation. His latest, A Whole New Mind, charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and explains the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced and automated world. It is a New York Times, Washington Post and BusinessWeek bestseller -- and has been translated into 12 languages. A popular speaker, Pink lectures worldwide. He's provided analysis on dozens of television and radio broadcasts - including CNBC's "Power Lunch" and ABC's "World News Tonight." A free agent himself, Pink held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore.
 Dennis Snow: "Leading Excellence"
Dennis Snow’s customer service abilities were honed over 20 years with the Walt Disney World Company. There, he developed his passion for service excellence and the experience he brings to the worldwide speaking and consulting he does today. Snow began his Disney career in 1979 as a front-line attractions operator. As he advanced through the company, Snow managed various operating areas throughout the park, learning and applying the skills it takes to run a world-class, service-driven organization. He also spent several years with the Disney University, teaching corporate philosophy and business practices to cast members and the leadership team. In his last year with Walt Disney World®, Snow’s leadership performance was ranked in the top 3% of the company’s leadership team. Snow is the author of the book, Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service, which has been used in organizations around the world as a blueprint for organizational excellence.
 Peter Yesawich: "America in Transition: A Preview of Emerging Lifestyles and Travel Trends"
Peter C. Yesawich is chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, America’s leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency serving travel, leisure and lifestyle clients. The firm’s Research and Brand Strategy Group is regarded as one of the most respected sources of insights on the emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans, and co-authors the widely-acclaimed National Travel Monitor™ survey with Yankelovich, Inc. Yesawich is a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and Business Week, on the CNN, CNBC and MSNBC cable television networks, National Public Radio and BBC World. He is a co-author of "Marketing Leadership in Hospitality," published by Prentice Hall.
Secretary Jim Fain
Jim Fain was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Gov. Mike Easley in 2001 and reappointed in 2004 when Easley was re-elected. From July 1999 until his appointment as Secretary, Fain served as the department’s assistant secretary for economic development. As Secretary, Fain and the commerce team work to grow well-paying, sustainable jobs in North Carolina by recruiting new companies, growing existing businesses – large and small – and encouraging start-ups, while keeping North Carolina competitive in today’s global economy.
 Justin Boner
Justin Boner is the ecotourism programs coordinator for The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting America’s land and water legacy for current and future generations. He manages outdoor recreation at the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve and serves on the Tyrrell County Ecotourism Committee - a subcommittee of the county's Tourism Development Authority and the first of its kind in the state. He has helped the committee secure funding to develop a variety of marketing strategies, requiring little or no financial support from the county's limited budget.
 John Bordsen
Justin Boner is the ecotourism programs coordinator for The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting America’s land and water legacy for current and future generations. He manages outdoor recreation at the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve and serves on the Tyrrell County Ecotourism Committee - a subcommittee of the county's Tourism Development Authority and the first of its kind in the state. He has helped the committee secure funding to develop a variety of marketing strategies, requiring little or no financial support from the county's limited budget.
 Patricia Cabe
Patricia Cabe is the vice president of programs for the Golden LEAF Foundation. She is responsible for coordinating the grants-making and grants monitoring processes for the foundation, which makes grants primarily for economic development, agriculture and workforce preparedness initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, the Golden LEAF Foundation has awarded more than 640 grants totaling just under $240 million to projects all across North Carolina.
 Art Jackson
Art Jackson is the director of small town initiatives for the North Carolina Rural Development Center, which includes a 33-town economic development demonstration program. He has directed local downtown development/Main Street organizations in four towns in North Carolina and Georgia, and a rural Model Cities Program. He has served as an Army Engineer Officer and on the National Responsible Hospitality and state and national Downtown Development boards, as well as on local music, arts, literary and food festivals organizing committees.
 Vicky Jarrett
Vicky Jarrett is the editor in chief for Our State Magazine.
Patti Jensen
Patti Jensen is the director of tourism, events and festivals for the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce as well as the project coordinator for the non-profit project, The Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree, based in Spruce Pine, N.C.
 Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson is editor-in-chief of Hemispheres, the magazine of United Airlines, named World’s Best In-flight Magazine in 2006. He is the author of the bestselling Falcon Guides Hiking North Carolina and Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway. Johnson was a founding editor of The Mountain Times in Boone and a columnist for The Charlotte Observer. Thirty years ago this spring, he proposed, and was hired by Hugh Morton to implement, an innovative backcountry management program that preserved hiker access and helped Grandfather Mountain become the world’s only privately-owned Biosphere Reserve designated by the United Nations. During the completion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Johnson worked to mesh the mountain’s private and Park Service paths into the trail network in place today.
 Patrick Long
Dr. Patrick Long, a recognized scholar and tourism development specialist, is just settling into his new job as director of ECU’s North Carolina Center for Sustainable Tourism, a position he assumed October 1, 2007. The Center will promote the development of tourism that balances environmental, socio-cultural and economic needs. Long brings to the center extensive experience in grappling with the competing requirements of regional development and resource conservation. He comes to ECU from the University of Colorado, where he established the nation’s first sustainable tourism center.
Chris Mackey
Chris Mackey is the director of tourism programs for the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. Her duties include the development and implementation of the nationally and internationally recognized advertising and marketing programs.
 Warner McGowin
Warner McGowin has served as executive editor of Southern Living since October 2002. He oversees the magazine’s Travel department, which has been recognized with two Lowell Thomas awards from the Society of American Travel Writers in the past three years. Warner also manages the Livings department, which annually produces 42 individual sections within Southern Living for seven states and the mid-Atlantic region. With a readership of 16 million, Southern Living is the seventh largest monthly consumer magazine in the country.
Lynn Minges
Lynn Minges is the executive director of the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development of the North Carolina Department of Commerce. In this role, she provides leadership and strategic direction for the state’s tourism, film, sports and wine industries. She serves on the board of directors of the Travel Industry Association and is an active member of the National Council of State Travel Directors, where she has chaired and served on numerous committees. She is a past chair and executive committee member of Travel South USA, and is a member of the board of directors of Southeast Tourism Society.
 Crae Morton
Crae Morton is the president of Grandfather Mountain. He took over the reigns from his grandfather, the legendary Hugh Morton, in 2005 and has continued to make tremendous conservation efforts. Under his leadership, Grandfather Mountain is going “green,” implementing numerous sustainable tourism practices recommended by a team from the Appalachian State University Department of Technology.
 Dennis Quaintance
Dennis Quaintance is the CEO of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, which he co-founded in 1988. The Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels family includes four restaurants and two hotels, including the Proximity Hotel, which is receiving national attention for its environmental sustainable practices. Built to use 40% less energy and 30% less water than a comparable hotel, its sustainable design and construction followed the guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System,™ the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Proximity Hotel will be one of the highest rated LEED certified hotels in the country when it receives final LEED certification (Gold or Platinum) in 2008.
Dana E. Simpson
Dana Simpson is a partner in the Smith Anderson law firm, where he practices in the areas of government relations and administrative law. Simpson serves as legislative and regulatory counsel for the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition. In 2006, he was ranked by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research as one of the 50 most influential lobbyists in North Carolina. Prior to attending law school at the University of North Carolina, Simpson served as special assistant for communications and policy to the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.
 Paul Stone
Paul Stone is president and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA), a position he’s held since 2002. Headquartered in Raleigh, NCRLA is the leading resource and advocate for the state’s $13.5 billion hospitality industry. Stone is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and had a successful career in restaurant management before moving to the association world. He’s served with the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and as a senior director with Hospitality Minnesota prior to his move to North Carolina. Active in the state’s hospitality community, Stone serves on the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition Board, and is an advisor to the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Board. He’s also executive director of the North Carolina Hospitality Education Foundation, a non-profit organization founded as an off-shoot of NCRLA.
 Susan Sweeney
Renowned e-business and internet marketing expert, Susan Sweeney is the founder and president of Connex Network Inc., a thriving internet marketing and e-business consulting firm. She is the author of several successful books about internet marketing including: 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site; Internet Marketing for Your Tourism Business ; 101 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home; The E-Business Formula for Success; 3G Marketing on the Internet - Third Generation Internet Marketing Strategies for Online Success; and Going for Gold.
 Chanize Thorpe
Chanize Thorpe is a freelance writer and editor in New York City. She regularly contributes to Brides Magazine and American Eagle's in-flight publication, Latitudes, as well as other national publications and newspapers.
 Eszter Vajda
Eszter Vajda is the senior producer of public affairs at UNC-TV and anchor of “Legislative Week in Review.” A native of Budapest, Hungary, Vajda moved with her family to Israel, Brazil and California as a child before settling in Massachusetts. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Vajda taught in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, through the Peace Corps and Beloit College. Upon her return she received a master’s degree in history from Northeastern University. Vajda’s TV experience includes anchoring and reporting at a cable station in Massachusetts, WBKP (ABC) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, WVNY (ABC) in Burlington, Vt., and freelancing at several stations in New England.
 Duane Vinson
Duane Vinson is vice president of Smith Travel Research (STR), a leading authority on current trends in occupancy, room rate and supply/demand for the global lodging industry. Vinson joined STR in 1997 and serves as the contact for more than 300 Convention & Visitors Bureaus, local and state lodging associations and tourism offices. He is also head of the STR’s Global Lodging Census Group, which oversees the creation and updating of hotel information around the world.
 Connie Wilson
Connie Wilson is a former six-term member of the N.C. House of Representatives from Mecklenburg County and is currently the legislative liaison with the N.C. Travel Industry Association. Her 13 years as a legislator and 20 years in banking provide her with a strong political and business base. Over the years she has excelled at pulling together diverse coalitions, crossing party lines to pass controversial and technical legislation. Wilson has worked closely with many executive branch leaders and has a proven track record of resolving issues administratively when possible.
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