The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce the promotions of Kristen Paul to the role of director of destination development and Nick Povalitis as vice president of marketing & sports development. As part of their new responsibilities, Paul will oversee the destination development team and RACVB’s premier events and programs, while Povalitis will lead the marketing team and RACVB’s comprehensive tourism marketing and sports development strategies.

As part of the senior leadership team, Paul will lead the development and implementation of destination-defining events and programs including Stroll on State, CRE8IV: transformational ART and Forest City Beautiful. After joining RACVB as executive assistant to the President/CEO in 2016, Paul served most recently as destination development operations manager. Prior to joining the Bureau, she worked for 10 years in the hotel and hospitality industry in Chicago. Kristen comes to the role following the retirement of Tana Vettore who held the role since 2013.

“Kristen is the perfect fit to lead our destination development program into its next phase of excellence,” said John Groh, RACVB president/CEO. “We’re fortunate to have the talent of Kristen’s caliber in-house—she is respected by her colleagues as a team player and leader, has strong organizational skills and possesses the vision necessary for concepting and executing RACVB’s event and destination enhancing programs.”

Povalitis, who remains a member of the senior leadership team, will lead organizational brand management, annual marketing planning and program execution, and assist the President/CEO on regional reputation and major sports initiatives. Having most recently served as RACVB’s director of sports development, Povalitis will also continue to oversee new business development in the sports segment to complement the Bureau’s group sales efforts.

“Since joining RACVB in 2012, Nick has helped move the needle for our region as a sports tourism destination, including developing innovative marketing campaigns, new event development and diversifying our overall sports tourism event portfolio,” said Groh. “He has great rapport with local tourism hospitality leaders, as well as colleagues around the country, that will continue to yield strong results for the community. I’m excited about this new role for Nick and am confident that the move will help grow the Bureau’s brand awareness and tourism economic impact for the region.”

The mission of the RACVB is to drive quality of life and economic growth for our citizens through tourism marketing and destination development. www.gorockford.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Andrea Cook, RACVB Associate Director Marketing & Communications: 815.489.1664 or acook@gorockford.com