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Management Team
ConventionPlanit.com
Mission Statement
To provide the meeting, event and tradeshow planning community with a comprehensive web based portal designed to facilitate easy access to information, both domestically and internationally, on destinations, facilities, service providers and other industry related resources.
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Katherine S. Markham, CHME
Principal & Co-Founder
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As principal & co-founder of ConventionPlanit.com, Ms. Markham is responsible for sales and marketing strategies as well as new business development.
Ms. Markham began her career in group sales with Marriott Hotels and Resorts in 1980. Since then, she has held leadership positions in sales and marketing, both on property and in national sales, for major hotel, convention bureau, and service provider sectors of the meetings industry. Some of her past employers include Renaissance Hotels, Radisson Hotels International, The Homestead Resort, Associated Luxury Hotels and Resorts, Inc., Park Terrace Hotel, Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Expovision. She is also a Certified Hotel Management Executive (CHME).
Prior to launching ConventionPlanit.com in 2003, Ms. Markham was a Principal & Co-Founder of the Alliance Service Network, a national sales office and lead generation firm for service providers. This entrepreneurial step led to the evolution of ConventionPlanit.com.
Ms. Markham was a weekly host of Your Meeting Matters, a segment of the Washington, DC radio program Association Nation, in which she engaged key players in the meetings industry in lively discussions. She is active in committees and local boards of The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), Meeting Planners International (MPI), New York Society of Association Executives (NYSAE) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). Ms. Markham currently serves on the marketing advisory councils for APEX and Event Technology Exposition.
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David B. Markham
Principal & Co-Founder
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| As principal & co-founder of ConventionPlanit.com, Mr. Markham is responsible for operations, in addition to new business development.
Mr. Markham began his career at the Watergate Hotel and Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC, where over a period of several years,
he assumed several management positions of increasing responsibility
within the rooms and operations division. David later joined the
Astor Hotel Management Company to open the Ramada Renaissance Hotel
in Washington, DC, and held management positions in both the operations
and sales and marketing departments of the Renaissance Hotel and
Congressional Park Hotel.
Following his tenure with Astor Hotels, Mr. Markham
assumed the role of Director of Sales & Marketing for the Madison
Hotel Group and Omni Georgetown Hotel, both located in Washington,
DC. From 1992 thru 2000, David was Director of Sales and Marketing
in the Washington, DC office of the David Green Organization, a national
representation company of leading independent hotels and resorts.
Prior to launching ConventionPlanit.com, Mr. Markham was principal & co-founder of the Alliance Service Network, a national sales office and lead generation firm for leading service providers to the meetings industry.
Mr. Markham is a member of The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and Association of Meeting Professionals (AMP's).
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Al Rickard, CAE
Director of Communications
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Al Rickard is a Certified Association Executive
(CAE) with 20 years of experience in public relations, marketing,
publishing, public affairs, and association management. He is
president of ASSOCIATION VISION, a communications company that
provides services to a large client base of associations and
corporations that sell to associations. In the late 1990s, Mr. Rickard
served as Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs
at the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE)
and was publisher of Executive Update magazine. He also conceived
and launched the Ultimate Meeting Industry Calendar.
He also led a major division of one of the
nation's largest trade associations, serving as Senior Vice President
for Member Services & Marketing at the National Food Processors
Association. Mr. Rickard has also held vice president of communications
positions at the International Association of Convention & Visitor
Bureaus and Snack Food Association.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Rickard was the first
Section Newsletter Editor at the American Society of Association
Executives (ASAE) and was the first Editor of USAE newspaper,
an independent trade journal covering the association/meetings/hospitality
industry. He is a graduate of the ASAE Future Leaders Conference,
serves on the GWSAE Nation's Capital Distinguished Speakers Series
Advisory Council, was Chairman of the ASAE Communication Section
Membership Marketing Committee, and has earned 18 awards for
publications excellence and a Golden Bell Public Relations award
from HSMAI. He also serves on the Marketing Committee of the
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. Rickard is a member
of GWSAE, ASAE, the Public Relations Society of America, and
the Society of National Association Publications. |
Damion Rutherford
Director of Online Marketing
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Damion Rutherford is responsible for all online marketing of ConventionPlanit.com. He is one of the original Internet search engine optimizers who began this type of marketing work in 1996. He has worked with major corporations such as amazon.com (book sales) and servicemagic.com (home improvement lead generation) to achieve exponential increases in online leads. Rutherford currently has a partnership with Google to promote their “AdWords” program, Google’s main source of income. During a test period, he generated 48 percent of total revenue to Google for the Kitchen Cabinet industry through one site. He has also designed million-piece direct marketing campaigns and has also designed a radio advertising campaign for home repair contractors that ran on the Rush Limbaugh Show.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Rutherford was a highly successful telemarketer for The Smith Company, a – magazine sales and renewal firm, where he was the company’s top sales performer for 28 of 34 months and conducted cold calling campaigns that won new contracts for the company from U.S. News and World Report, TV Guide, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, among others. |
Shonna Talley Nitzel
Director of National Accounts
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Shonna Talley Nitzel is a highly skilled salesperson with a proven track record of building and maintaining relationships with high-level corporate decision-makers and achieving customer retention and loyalty. She was previously senior sales executive for key accounts with OnVantage/PlanSoft. Her background also includes launching an antiques and collectables company, teaching elementary school students, and a range of sales positions.
As Director of National Accounts, Talley Nitzel will handle key national accounts in North America and other markets.
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Julie Roberts
Director of New Business Development
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Julie Roberts has extensive experience in sales and marketing
in the hospitality industry. While attending college, Julie began her career in accounting in
hotels and then progressed into director of sales positions with the Cle Hotel Corporation in
Mobile and New Orleans. She joined Marriott Hotels at the New Orleans French Quarter Hotel and
later moved to the Marriott National Sales Office in Washington, DC. Roberts went on to spend
several years with the Washington, DC Convention and Visitors Bureau (now WCTC).
Ms. Roberts then joined SMG in Denver as director of sales and marketing of the Colorado Convention Center. Roberts later
helped open the Harborview Center in Clearwater, Florida, and joined the team promoting the
PGA’s World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida. Before joining ConventionPlanit.com,
Julie represented the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau in the Washington, DC
meetings market. |
Maureen Pickell, CTC
Director of Global Accounts
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Maureen S. Pickell, CTC, has worked in the travel industry for more than 25 years. She has worked as a travel agent as well as in airline sales for five different carriers. Most recently, she spent 21 years with Northwest Airlines as its manager of meeting and incentive sales based in Washington, D.C., specializing in the association market.
Maureen holds a Certified Travel Counselors degree from the Institute of Certified Travel Agents and was called on by the Professional Convention Management Association to author the chapter on Transportation for the 3rd edition of its textbook for planners entitled "Professional Meetings Management." The Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International named her the 2000-2001 Supplier of the Year and she has received numerous sales and marketing achievement awards during her airline career. |
Jean P. Mills
Director of Marketing Services
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Jean P. Mills is a seasoned meeting planner with
more than two decades of experience in conference management, exhibit
hall, and sponsorship development. She began her career as Director of
Meetings and Operations at the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society.
She went on to become Director of Meetings and Operations at the Association
of Biotechnology Companies and later Director of Meetings at the Biotechnology
Industry Organization.
Ms. Mills was later a consultant in event management
and sales for three years before joining ConventionPlanit.com as Director
of Marketing Services. |
Daniel Shipman
Webmaster
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Daniel Shipman is Vice President of Interactive Media at SRJ Marketing Communications. He honed his web programming skills through hands-on experience in interactive marketing. Mr. Shipman has supervised and personally created a wide range of technologically advanced websites for a wide range of clients. As soon as a new technology is introduced, Mr. Shipman carefully assesses it before integrating it into his development processes. He has advanced programming knowledge of Flash, PHP, MySQL, PERL, CSS, DHTML, and HTML. Mr. Shipman attended Wayland Baptist University. |
Debbie Carter
Director of Administrative Services
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Ms. Carter began her career in office management
with Prudential Insurance in 1975. Upon moving to Southern Florida in
1982, she worked in sales and office administration for Nautical Furnishings
and later, in the same capacity with Coldwell Banker. Before joining ConventionPlanit.com,
Ms. Carter previously worked part-time in
sales and office administration for INESS, a telecom equipment sales
and marketing firm in the Washington, DC area.
As Director of Administration, Ms. Carter performs a myriad of tasks relating to marketing and office
administration. |
Ashley Spitzer
Director of Internet Operations
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Ashley Spitzer is the Director of Internet Operations for
ConventionPlanit.com. She has experience in Web design, event planning, and sales --
a strong combination for the company. Spitzer is a graduate of the University of
Maryland with a Bachelor of the Arts in American Studies and concentrations in
Journalism and Government and Politics. |
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Destination
