What makes your area a top meeting/convention destination?
Any destination can build meeting facilities and hotels - it's the rest that sets it apart. As the Waterpark Capital of the World, Wisconsin Dells offers a wealth of activities that go beyond the traditional.
Tell us about a meeting you're thrilled to have just signed or a recent meeting you're very pleased with.
We've booked the 2008 Wisconsin State Harley Owners Group (HOG) Rally for three days in June 2008, with about 6,000 attendees. We've also signed on the 2008 National Holstein Convention, with an estimated 800 attendees.
What is your position on destination leadership?
Destination leaders must know their strengths and capitalize on them, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Destination leadership also means looking for opportunities, not waiting for them to show up, and taking risks in terms of building business. It can pay off handsomely.
What is your area's blueprint for the future?
In booking groups like the Wisconsin State Harley Owners, we've joined the ranks of regional destinations. We're moving toward the national horizon. Over the past five years, there's been significant investment in our properties, and that will pave the way. Including accommodations in large lodges that house eight to 12 people, we technically have more than 8,000 hotel rooms and with the capacity of some of our lodging units, we can handle 10,000 to 12,000 meeting attendees.
What green initiatives has your area undertaken?
Last year, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism introduced its "Travel Green Wisconsin" certification. One of our local resorts and a number of businesses have attained that certification, and others are moving in that direction.

One of our waterpark resorts has a key card program that allows for lights to shut off automatically and thermostats to be set at 70 degrees Fahrenheit when guests leave their rooms. Another one of our recently added properties was built with sustainable materials.
How have destination marketing associations (DMOs) evolved over the past 10 years, and how do you envision the role of the bureau changing in the future?
Consumers no longer use one medium to obtain information, so DMOs have had to become much more savvy and sophisticated in their use of technology to market destinations, and in the sophistication of their marketing approach. We've also been forced to think strategically to get the most from our budgets, with smaller staffs. In the future, bureaus will be looking harder at what opportunities exist for destinations as a whole. Technology will play a role.
What is your biggest challenge as a DMO?
Avoiding complacency in favor of pursuing new opportunities. But we do a good job at the latter.
How did you get into this career? How long have you been there, and where were you before?  I've been in my current position for 12 years.

I'm really the "poster child" for the hospitality industry, having not been away from it except for two brief years in retail. My parents bought a resort when I was a teenager, and from then on I was hooked.