A VIRTUAL EVENTDECEMBER 9, 2020

Hosted by:

AGENDAOPENING SESSION9:00 am – 9:15am Welcome Jaclyn Hotard, Parish President, St. John the Baptist Parish Garrett Monti, Board Chair, River Parishes Tourist Commission TRACK 1 - SALES/MARKETING DEVELOPMENT9:15am – 9:45am What Happens Next with the Bus and Group Travel Industry Peter Pantuso, President & CEO, American Bus Association

9:45am – 10:15am The Secret to Group Experiences that Go Above and Beyond Gini Trask, Owner, Top Tier Travel

10:15am – 11:00am “What are Receptive Tour Operators and How Can They Promote Your Tourism Entity?” Tomas’ Rey, Owner, Rey Royal; Martha Martinez, Owner, YAYA Louisiana Tours & Travel

11:00am – 11:30am Importance of Digital: Now More than Ever Andy Kutcher, Digital Supervisor, DEVENEY

11:30am – 12:15pm Working with Louisiana’s River Parishes as a Brand Matthew Dardenne, Partner + Creative Director, Red Six Media

12:15pm – 12:40pm LUNCH

12:40pm - 12:45pm Introduction of Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Peter Dufrense, Parish President, St. James Parish

12:45pm - 1:15pm Tourism Matters Billy Nungesser, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana

TRACK 2– DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT1:15pm – 2:00pm Main Street & Historic Districts: Just Do Something! Jeff Siegler, Founder, Revitalize or Die

2:00pm – 2:45pm Case Study: Natchitoches Rebecca Blankenbaker, Executive Director, Cane River National Heritage Area

2:45pm – 3:30pm Events as Destinations: Cruisin’ the Coast Woody Bailey, Vice Chairman and Executive Director, Cruisin’ the Coast

3:30pm – 4:15pm Louisiana River Parishes 2030 Strategic Plan Buddy Boe, Executive Director, River Parishes Tourist Commission Phillip LaFargue II, Vice President, Emergent Method

4:15pm – 5:00pm BREAK

TASTE OF TOURISM5:00pm – 5:15pm Welcome Matthew Jewell, Parish President, St. Charles Parish

5:15pm – 5:25pm Louisiana Office of Tourism Doug Bourgeois, Louisiana Office of Tourism

5:25pm Leadership in Tourism Awards Presented by Buddy Boe, Executive Director, River Parishes Tourist Commission

SPEAKER BIOSPETER PANTUSO

AMERICAN BUS ASSOCIATION WASHINGTON, DC

Peter J. Pantuso is President and CEO of the American Bus Association (ABA). He also serves as President of the National

Bus Traffic Association and the ABA Foundation. The American Bus

Association is the largest transportation, travel and tour organization in the United

States, with nearly 4,000 member companies and organizations. ABA uniquely represents intercity bus transportation providers and tour

operators, who collectively provide 600 million passenger trips annually. In

addition, ABA’s membership includes travel companies who serve the traveling

public and would like motorcoach passengers to visit their cities, hotels, restaurant, theaters, museums, theme parks and other attractions. Peter has 40 years of experience in association

work, at all levels. Mr. Pantuso is a native of Bradford, PA. He holds a bachelor’s

degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from George Washington University’s School of

Business and Government.

GINI TRASKTOP TIER TRAVELHOUSTON, TEXAS

Born into a family of entrepreneurs, business is simply second nature to Gini. She began her first business at the age of 16 and never stopped. Her first foray into

travel was at the age of 24, when she grew Time to Travel and Tours, a motor coach brokerage, from start up to multi-

million-dollar revenues in its first two years. She has owned and grown numerous small business from

incubation into the multi-millions including, Top Tier Travel (established

2010) and continues to help other small to medium sized business owners

optimize their ventures in travel. She is passionate about helping businesses to

thrive and not just survive in the dynamic world of travel.

MARTHA MARTINEZYAYA LOUISIANA

TOURS AND TRAVELKENNER, LOUISIANA

I started the tour company in 2018 to service the greater New Orleans area

with tour specifically walking tours in the French Quarter and Garden District as I am certified tour guide, unique new

tours and tour packages for the repeat visitors and locals, and working with tour

planners. I have worked at several hotels, CVB, and tours for many years, and could not have found a better or more industry for which I work in. My

background goes as follows: University of New Orleans, BS in Marketing. Tour

guide certification from Delgado Community College. I have thoroughly enjoyed sales and servicing groups for

most of my career, and tourism will always be my true passion. As owner of

tour company specializing in the development of unique and memorable

tourism experiences in Louisiana by working with the best tourist attractions,

restaurants, tours, etc. Sheraton, DoubleTree, Hampton Inn,

Astor Crowne Plaza Hotels and New Orleans & Company.

JEFF SIEGLERREVITALIZE, OR DIE PITTSBURGH,

PENNSYLVANIAJeff has assisted hundreds of commu-

nities with their revitalization, economic sustainability, and community devel-opment over the course of his career. Utilizing a background in urban plan-ning, downtown district management,

revitalization, real estate, economics and organizational development, his diverse

background and expertise lends a unique vantage point for addressing community concerns. What Jeff lacks in patience and eloquence, he makes up for in passion and honesty. He believes revitalizing

communities is the most important work we can do. Revitalization has the power

to transform people’s lives by fostering a stronger sense of community.

Revitalization enhances quality of

life, it provides people with more enrichng experiences, and Jeff has

dedicated himself to killing apathy- one town at a time.

PHILLIP LAFARGUEEMERGENT METHOD

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANAFor 15 years, Phillip LaFargue has been committed to improving people’s lives and experiences – supporting organi-zations that bring positive, equitable services to the world. He does this

through thoughtful engagements with deep discovery and problem definition phases, a focus on collaboration, and outcomes led by both evidence and

vision. Phillip has worked with Emergent Method in full-time and contract

capacities since 2014. Prior to that, he worked in strategy, design, and

marketing roles in economic development, community planning,

hospitality, and workforce development sectors in Baton Rouge and Atlanta. Phillip holds a Master of Design in Human-Centered Communication

Design from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in

Chicago, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Louisiana State University. He currently serves as board

chair for Leadership Baton Rouge Alumni and vice chair for the Baton

Rouge Gallery and Center for Contemporary Arts.

SPEAKER BIOS MATT DARDENNE

RED SIX MEDIABATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

A native of Baton Rouge, LA, Matt Dardenne started advertising and mar-keting agency Red Six Media in 2009

one month after graduating from LSU. As a creative director, Matt has helped lead Red Six to over 50 advertising and

marketing awards at the local, regional and national levels. As a

business owner, he and his two partners are proud to have Red Six named an Inc.

5000 fastest-growing company in America, an LSU 100 fastest-growing

Tiger-led business 5 consecutive years, and a Best Place to Work in Baton Rouge two years running. Matt led his team in

the re-brand for Louisiana’s River Parishes, along with sub-brands Bonfire

Country and New Orleans Swamp Country and events River Rhythms and

Streamin’ on the River. He serves on the board of Friends of Louisiana Public

Broadcasting and lives in Baton Rouge with his brilliant and beautiful wife Corey.

ANDY KUTCHERDEVENEY

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANAAndy has more than a decade of digital marketing experience having worked

for two nationally recognized agencies across industries such as travel and tourism, healthcare, legal, food and

beverage, and more. As our Digital Su-pervisor, Andy oversees all internal and

client digital work including social media management, paid search, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing,

email marketing, and more. Andy is both Google Analytics (Analytics for Beginners, Advanced Google Analytics, Ecommerce Analytics, Google Tag Manager Funda-

mentals and Google Analytics for Power Users) and Google Ads certified. She is a graduate of Millsaps College, an ADL

(Anti-Defamation League) Glass Leader-ship Institute alumnae and a 2019

Ada Lovelace Women in Tech, Digital Marketing finalist.

TOMAS REYREY ROYAL

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANATomás Rey is the CEO and owner Rey Royal, a local and regional Receptive Operator, with services (accommoda-tions, attractions, etc.) throughout the South and the Midwest. Based in New

Orleans, Rey Royal is the leading Receptive Operator in the South and fast

becoming an innovative Receptive Operator in the Midwest. Through his

international travel and business, Tomás has lived in four continents and is

multilingual. His international career goes back some 25+ years from

international commerce to tourism, where in 2002 Rey Royal was established

in New Orleans, serving primarily Louisiana and Mississippi. Now over 18

years in the industry, Rey Royal has operations throughout the South and parts of the Midwest. As Rey Royal’s

motto “Travel Like A Local” exemplifies, Tomás and the team at Rey Royal always strive to offer their clients the most up-to-date services while offering unique

travel experiences to domestic and inter-national clients alike.

As Rey Royal’s motto “Travel Like A Lo-cal” exemplifies, Tomás and the team at Rey Royal always strive to offer their cli-ents the most up-to-date services while

offering unique travel experiences to domestic and international clients alike.

REBECCA BLANKENBAKE CANE RIVER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA, INC.

NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA Rebecca Blankenbaker has over ten

years of experience working with com-munity leaders, heritage attractions, and

local stakeholders to create authentic and sustainable heritage tourism prod-

ucts in Natchitoches & Central Louisiana.As Executive Director for Cane River National Heritage Area, Rebecca has

worked to create innovative public-private partnerships that create community outreach and educational

programs, improve interpretive services, and enhance the region’s marketing and heritage tourism initiatives. She oversees the partnerships with the US Army Corps

of Engineers at the Grand Ecore Visitor Center and the Louisiana Office of State Parks at Los Adaes State Historic Site.

Rebecca serves as Chair of the Louisiana No Man’s Land Coalition, an eight-mem-ber regional tourism marketing group,

on the Board of Directors for the El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail Association, and the

Louisiana Travel Association. She also serves on the executive committee of

the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission.

SHERWOOD R “WOODY” BAILEY, JR.

CRUSIN’ THE COASTGULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI

Woody Baily has served as the Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Crui-sin’ the Coast since its inception. Under

Bailey’s direction, Cruisin’ the Coast grew from the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s little car

show to America’s Largest Block Party, registering over 10,000 vehicles from 44 states, Canada, Europe and Puerto Rico

from 2016 to 2019.Bailey served on numerous committees,

including the President of the Missis-sippi Coast Home Builders Association,

Finance Chairman and Chairman for Mis-sissippians for jobs (successful in bring-ing casino gaming to Harrison County and after Hurricane Katrina, bringing

casino gaming inland), President of the Medical Foundation of the Mississip-pi Coast, President of the Gulf Coast

Realtors Association, Life Director of the National Home Builders Association,

and Metro Board Member of the YMCA. Awards: South Mississippi Outstanding Community Leader; Harrison County

Tourism Commission Excellence in Tour-ism Award; Mississippi Home Builder’s

Hall of Fame. Woody and his wife Betty live in Gulfport,

and they have two daughters, Miles and Katy.

A VIRTUAL EVENT

DECEMBER 9, 2020 5:00pm – 6:30pm

Leadership in Tourism Awards @ 5:25pm

BUDDY BOEExecutive Director

DENISE BURRELL Deputy Director

WILLMA HARVEYSales & Business

Development Director

ANDRE WATKINSDigital Content

Manager

GARRETT MONTIChairman

St. Charles Parish

ELIZABETH JOSEPHVice-Chairman

St. John the Baptist Parish

CAMELLA LANDRYTreasurer/Secretary

St. James Parish

PAUL AUCOINSt. James Parish

RICARDO SMITHSt. Charles Parish

ROBERT TAYLORSt. John the Baptist Parish

VACANTSt. James Parish

EVIN STEINSt. John the Baptist Parish

TRACY SMITHSt. Charles Parish

COMMISSIONERSSTAFF