Posts tagged local
Event Will Celebrate Tourism on Florida’s Historic Coast by St. Augustine Channel 1
May 20th
Tourism on Florida’s Historic Coast will be reviewed in grand style at the third annual State of the Tourism Industry event to be presented at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 24 at the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort. This special event will feature a review of last year’s tourism performance presented by the Visitors and Convention Bureau and the MMGY Global advertising agency, a presentation by one of the world’s leading tourism experts, and the announcement of 2012’s tourism employees of the year.
Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida’s Historic Coast features historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra and 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches – the same beaches that greeted Ponce de Leon in 1513 when he discovered and named La Florida.
“Tourism is truly the lifeblood of Florida’s Historic Coast,” said Richard Goldman, executive director of the Visitors and Convention Bureau. “Not only does the industry provide more than 11,000 jobs in St. Johns County, the 3.4 million overnight visitors who came here last year spent more than $660 million during their stay on Florida’s Historic Coast. Best of all, this essential economic activity is provided at no cost to local taxpayers. All of our tourism marketing activities are funded through the tourist development tax paid by visitors for overnight lodging. Last year, visitors paid $6.6 million in these ‘bed taxes’ – funds that were used to encourage millions of potential visitors to come here this year, help fund special events and to make improvements to beach and recreation facilities we all enjoy.”
This year’s review of local tourism will have lots of good news for the industry. Nearly every indicator shows impressive increases in the number of visitors and their spending while here. Clearly, the tourism industry has returned to the levels enjoyed prior to the economic downturn that began in 2008. In fact, recent data indicate tourism activity is nearing or exceeding monthly records.
As part of the event, the Visitors and Convention Bureau will review some of their major successes in placing Florida’s Historic Coast on the list of “must-sees” for millions of Americans. Much of this success has resulted from the Bureau’s contract and close working relationship with the Ypartnership advertising agency of Orlando which recently merged with MMG to form MMGY Global and stake their claim as the world’s unquestioned leaders in tourism marketing.
Once again, the centerpiece of the event will be a presentation by tourism visionary Peter Yesawich whose insights into tourism trends are followed closely by travel professionals worldwide. Formerly the chairman of Ypartnership and now the vice chairman of MMGY Global, Peter’s perspective on travel trends and changing consumer behavior, coupled with his intimate knowledge of Florida’s Historic Coast as a tourist destination will provide compelling information that can be successfully applied throughout the local tourism industry.
The State of the Tourism Industry event will also include the presentation of the coveted Tourism Employee of the Year Awards. The finalists represent the very best tourism employees on Florida’s Historic Coast and were selected on the basis of their exemplary service.
The event will take place at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, I-95 exit 323 in St. Augustine. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for coffee and pastries and the program will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and end by 11:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend. Admission is $10. To secure a reservation for what is expected be an extremely well-attended event, call Carey Cramer at 829.1711 or email ccramer@floridashistoriccoast.com
Source: Jay Humphreys, Communications Director, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau
Flagler College names AARP Bulletin editor Jim Toedtman as new Flagler Forum director
May 13th
Jim Toedtman, editor of AARP’s Bulletin, 
has been named director of the Flagler College Forums on Government and Public Policy lecture series.
has been named director of the Flagler College Forums on Government and Public Policy lecture series.
Toedtman, a speaker at the program for the last 13 years, succeeds Victor Ostrowidzki, who passed away this past spring after battling cancer. Ostrowidzki, 80, was a veteran journalist and former White House reporter who covered every presidential election from 1964 to 1988. He joined the faculty at Flagler in 1997, founded the Forum series and taught classes on elections and the media.
The Forum brings nationally-recognized journalists and authorities to St. Augustine to discuss issues of local, federal and global importance. Past speakers have included Robert Novak, Mark Shields, David Broder, Joe Klein, Anne Coulter, Pat Buchanan and Chris Matthews.
“I am delighted with the opportunity of continuing and enhancing the Flagler Forums in ways that enrich the academic lives of Flagler students and benefit the St. Augustine community,” Toedtman said. “I look forward to the challenge of building on the solid foundation set by my friend Vic Ostrowidzki.”
Toedtman has had a distinguished career as reporter and editor for the New York daily newspaper, Newsday, and as an editor for Hearst Corp. newspapers in Boston and Baltimore. At Newsday, he was part of a team of reporters investigating Long Island land scandals that won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for public service. From 1986 to 1995, he served as managing editor of New York Newsday and helped develop and direct the staff, which won numerous awards including the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. He was named Newsday’s Washington Bureau Chief in 1995.
He was named editor of the AARP Bulletin in 2005. Since his appointment, the Bulletin has been consistently recognized for excellence in covering a range of public policy and consumer issues. It is published 10 times a year and has a circulation of 22 million. He also helped develop AARP’s online news and information website.
Toedtman graduated from the College of Wooster and earned a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. He also studied at the University of Queensland, Australia, as a Rotary Foundation Fellow.
Flagler College President William Abare said, “I am delighted that Jim Toedtman has agreed to accept our offer to serve as the director of the Forums. Over the past 13 years, Jim has become a good friend of the College and a close personal friend.”
Abare added, “We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Jim’s experience to lead this important program. He is a well-respected journalist who has a great network of friends and colleagues from which to draw Forum speakers. He is very familiar with our campus and our community and will be a great addition to our staff.”
Source: Brian Thompson, Director, News and Information, Flagler College.
Media Characterizes Military Invasion of South Florida as “Cool Tourist Story”
May 9th
Hey Florida! Did any of you witness this last night? Here are some news reports about it.
What did you think? Please leave your comments. Thanks, editor.
VIDEO
A joint drill between military and police in South Florida involving troops storming a building in the middle of the night was characterized by local media coverage not as a frightening example of how Americans are being acclimatized to accept a state of martial law but as a ‘cool tourist story’.
Panic-stricken residents in Coconut Grove were awoken at 1am to the sound of simulated gunfire and explosions as military helicopters hovered over buildings and dispatched troops to the ground.
The Department of Defense drills prompted a deluge of 911 calls, but instead of asking why the military is terrifying American citizens on U.S. soil with drills designed to acclimate the public to accept martial law, local news station WSVN-TV framed the incident as a ‘cool tourist story’.
“Miami police assisted in overseeing the exercises — but they were instructed to keep quiet about the exercises until late Monday, for security reasons. The police also blocked off roads around the Grand Bay during the exercise,” reports the Miami Herald.
Source: Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars.com
