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CVB executive director to retire after 15 years of service
Article published on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/081006_pco-06.jpg) |
| Carole Ketterhagen |
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CLEARWATER – St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Carole Ketterhagen will retire in September 2007.
Ketterhagen was appointed the executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau on Jan. 15, 1992.
“It has been a great 15 years,” Ketterhagen said. “I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, where we are and how the destination and CVB are positioned for the future.”
Ketterhagen took the CVB from a five-person department to a 35-person full service CVB that was one of the first in the nation to be designated an Accredited Destination Management Organization – Accredited With Distinction from the Institute for Convention & Visitors Bureau Accreditation.
She was instrumental in bringing the NFL Super Bowl the region and the NCAA Final Four to St. Petersburg. During her tenure, the area has achieved record visitation for 12 of the last 13 years.
Ketterhagen was the founding chairman of the Florida Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus. She oversees the tourism promotion of the leading destination on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
In addition to marketing the county’s No. 1 industry, her administrative duties include overseeing the International offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Central Europe. Prior to joining the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area CVB, Ketterhagen was executive director of the Galveston Island, Texas, CVB and the Racine, Wis., CVB; and director of meetings and conventions for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, CVB.
A North Carolina native, Ketterhagen was educated at the University of North Carolina, majoring in Business Management. In addition, she has earned the Certified Destination Management Executive designation and the Professional Development Management designation from Destination Marketing Association International.
As executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area CVB, she operated an organization with an annual budget of more than $27 million. More than 13 million visitors (more than 5 million overnight visitors) annually come to the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area and contribute more than $6 billion to the local economy.
Ketterhagen is involved in numerous national and international tourism organizations including: Board of Directors of the National Council of Destination Organizations; Destination Marketing Association International; American Society of Association Executives; Travel Industry Association of America; International Ecotourism Society; Founding Chairman of the Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus; IACVB Tourism Committee; IACVB Bureau Accreditation Committee; IACVB Industry Standards Committee; SKAL Club of Tampa Bay; Tampa Bay 1999 Final Four Organizing Committee; Super Bowl 2001 Task Force; Salvador Dali Museum Board of Directors; Florida Aquarium Board of Directors; Dunedin Rotary Club Board of Directors; St. Petersburg Cruise Industry Task Force; Clearwater Cultural Task Force; the Florida Botanical Gardens Task Force; Dunedin Friends of the Library Board and the Board of Governors for the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce; Pinellas County Cultural Plan Advisory Committee; Friends of the Dunedin Library Board; and St. Alfred’s Episcopal Church.
She has one son and two granddaughters who live in North Carolina.
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Article published on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006
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