Letter from Interim Executive Director Tamara Pigott

It is with great anticipation that I temporarily take the helm of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) in light of the recent resignation of Executive Director Suya Davenport. The county already has launched a search for a successor, whom County Manager Karen Hawes hopes to appoint by March.

In the meantime, I can assure our partners continuity of leadership and an unwavering execution of all core programs. Having served the VCB for the last nine years, first as Beach & Shoreline project manager and most recently as deputy director, I am intimately familiar with the organization, its operations and its staff – knowledge that will serve me well in my new role.

Since unveiling our 2009-2010 sales and marketing plan in October 2009, the VCB team has begun implementing the initiatives outlined in that document, with many exciting developments in the new year. Specifically, we are shooting new 30- and 60-second television commercials with a strong emotional appeal and expect to begin airing the new spots in select markets in March. We also just finished shooting new b-roll and new still photos spotlighting popular aspects of the destination for publicity and promotional use.

In addition, we unveiled a revamped industry Web site in December at www.LeeVCB.com, and we are in the process of totally redoing our consumer Web site at www.FortMyers-Sanibel.com. We hope to launch the latter site this spring with exciting new interactive capabilities and more intuitive navigation based on the results of a consumer usability study.

And speaking of launches, this month marks the kick-off of our third consecutive year on the road with our 40-foot-long branded RV in the Island Treasures Tour. This program takes our destination story to consumers, travel agents, meeting planners and government officials in a year-long guerilla marketing quest to drive new visitors to our unspoiled island sanctuary. 2010 marks the first-time industry partners are joining us in a cooperative venture to market their offerings to potential visitors touched by the road tour.

These are just a few highlights of the VCB’s major initiatives for the coming year. We have a lot of exciting programs planned, and we hope to garner your support of our efforts throughout the new year. Please feel free to contact me at tpigott@leegov.com or at 239-338-3500 with your ideas and input for the VCB. My door is always open.

In the meantime, I hope to see you at our first Team Tourism program of the year on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers where we will hear “Lessons from Dolphins.” This interactive program teaches the art of effective communication using tried-and-true dolphin training techniques from a Dolphin Quest trainer/speaker. Join us for this fun and innovative event.

As you can see, the VCB team is hitting the ground running in 2010 with many new and exciting initiatives. While most major indicators point to another challenging year for the tourism industry, we will continue to do everything we possibly can to maintain market share and maximize our return on investment.

Happy New Year!

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