Page 7 - Downtown Little Rock Partnership 2017

TOP OF THE ROCK
One of the highlights of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership’s annual meeting is the presentation of the Top of the Rock Award to an organization, business or indi- vidual who has worked to elevate downtown Little Rock. Those who have been honored with the Top of the Rock award vary in their work and scope, but all have helped shape the downtown area.
Past recipients include the Central Arkansas Library System and Bobby Roberts, Anne Laidlaw and the Arkansas Building Authority, Entergy Arkansas, Walter E. Hussman Jr. and many others.
This year’s honoree is Gretchen Hall, president and CEO of the Little Rock Con- vention and Visitors Bureau. Hall joined the bureau’s operations department in 2001 and became the bureau’s first director of mer- chandising and communications before she assumed her current role.
As the official destination marketing or- ganization for Little Rock, the LRCVB man- ages public facilities such as the Statehouse Convention Center, Ottenheimer Market Hall and First Security Amphitheater. Re- cently, much of Hall’s time was spent man- aging the $70 million renovation and expan- sion of the Robinson Center, which closed in July 2014 and reopened in November 2016.
Other milestones in Hall’s career include celebrating the grand opening of the Clinton Presidential Center and the 50th anniversary of Little Rock Central High School’s integration.
As the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock is the state’s largest tourism hub. Pulaski County welcomes nearly 6.2 million visi- tors each year, and those visitors help fuel the local economy. The LRCVB and part- ner organizations have worked together on recent additions, ongoing destination de- velopment and announcements for future expansions that help ensure that Little Rock will continue to enjoy significant growth in the travel and tourism sector.
In addition to her work with the LRCVB, Hall is an executive committee member of the Downtown Little Rock Partner- ship, president of the Heart of Arkansas Regional Travel Association and secre- tary for the Arkansas Association of Con- vention and Visitors Bureaus. She also serves on the board of directors for the Arkansas Travel Council and the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Hall is a board trustee for Lyon College in Batesville, where she earned her bachelor’s degree, and she served on the Lyon College President’s Council. She is a member of the
Gretchen Hall
U.S. Travel Association, the Destination Marketing Association International, Skål International, the International Association of Venue Managers, the Little Rock Rotary Club 99 and the Southeast Tourism Society Board of Directors.
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