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| IRVING, Texas, January 5, 1999 -The Board of Directors of
the Irving Convention and Visitors
Bureau has announced the hiring of Jim Clark, formerly of the Tampa/Hillsborough
(FL) Convention and Visitors Association, as the new Executive Director
of the ICVB. Clark is expected to join the ICVB staff full-time by February
1, 1999.
�It is an exciting opportunity for me, a chance to work with a unique destination and a chance to work with a well-respected staff,� said Clark. �I�ve certainly known of Irving professionally for many years, and I am enthusiastic about being a part of something with so much potential and so many possibilities for growth.� The Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau is the fourth largest in the state of Texas. The city of 180,000 people lies in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth �Metroplex,� immediately adjacent to DFW International Airport. Irving offers more than 60 hotels and over 9,000 rooms; the city is also home to Texas Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys, the NHL�s Dallas Stars and the PGA TOUR�s GTE Byron Nelson Classic. Irving does not have a convention center, focusing instead on short-term corporate business and drive-to weekend business; the city�s hotels historically lead the state in occupancy, average daily rate and revenue-per-available-room. The Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau is a six-time recipient of the Meetings and Conventions Gold Service Award, and a two-time recipient of the Corporate and Incentive Travel Award of Excellence. The city was the focus of a two-page feature in Southern Living, November 1998. Clark�s background includes his role as President/CEO of the Tampa bureau since May 1990. Prior to that he was the Executive Director of the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, from April 1987 to May 1990. A hospitality industry veteran, Clark began his career as a management trainee with Westin Hotels. He worked as a Director of Sales for the Adams Mark Hotel in Kansas City and for the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, before joining the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1983 as a Convention Sales Manager. He was promoted to Director of Sales for the Denver bureau in 1985, where he remained until joining the Colorado Springs bureau in 1987. Clark is an active leader in the hospitality industry, serving on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, where he has chaired the Education Committee, and served on the Destinations Showcase Committee. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Outback Bowl, Florida Classic Association and the Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. |
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