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Hospitality | Tourism 2025: MCCLENNY, RITA
A Southampton County native, McClenny has been working to bring tourism and film productions to Virginia since 1991. She ran Virginia Film Office, a division of the Virginia Tourism Corp., for two decades before becoming president of the state agency in 2012. As Virginia Film Office head, McClenny was responsible for bringing high-profile TV and […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: GEORGE, MICHAEL
A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, George founded Crescent Hotels & Resorts in 2001. The company operates more than 120 properties in the U.S and Canada. Its hotel portfolio includes Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and InterContinental Hotels Group brands, along with the Latitudes: Lifestyles by Crescent collection of independent hotels and resorts. In 2024, the company announced […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: EVANGELISTA, ALLIE
A native of Brazil, Evangelista arrived in Bristol in 2022 with more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and gaming. She previously worked for Penn National Gaming and joined Hard Rock to lead the state’s first casino, which opened three years ago in a temporary home. Since then, the $515 million Hard Rock Hotel […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: DESAI, NEEL
Desai joined LTD Hospitality Group in 1998 as the second generation of the family-owned hotel development and management company co-founded by Desai’s father in 1983. As a managing principal, he oversees property management and the profitability of its portfolio. Following in those entrepreneurial footsteps, Desai invested in Dallas-based fast food franchise Super Chix Chicken & Custard[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: WOOLARD, KERRY
Woolard manages operations for the 1,300-acre winery and estate purchased by the Trump family in 2011 after Patricia Kluge declared bankruptcy. Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing now owns the property, which includes a hotel and event facilities, and Eric Trump is its president. Billed as the state’s largest winery, the business opened a cidery business in […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: SPADONI, MARK
Spadoni joined the nearly 260-year-old Omni Homestead in 2021. He has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 40 years, working at The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa in Georgia for about 20 of those years. The Bath County resort was founded in 1766. Omni Hotels & Resorts purchased the property from […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: FLEET, CLIFFORD B. ‘CLIFF’
Fleet became the ninth president of the world’s largest living history museum in 2020. Prior to that, he was CEO and president of 22nd Century Group and, before that, president and CEO of Richmond-based tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris USA. He’s also an adjunct professor at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business. The […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: NASSETTA, CHRISTOPHER J.
Nassetta is the longtime president and CEO of one of the world’s largest hospitality companies. Hilton has a portfolio of 8,600 properties and 24 brands in 139 countries and territories. Nassetta joined Hilton in 2007 after investment firm Blackstone acquired the company in a $26 billion deal. Hilton went public again in 2013, and by […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: KAMENSKY, JANE
Kamensky started work as the head of the foundation that owns and operates Monticello, in 2024. Home of Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president and author of the Declaration of Independence, Monticello draws more than 300,000 visitors annually. Before coming to Albemarle County, the Yale alumna was a history professor at Harvard University and director […]
Marion museum aims to ‘Do the Dew’
The Birthplace of Modern Mountain Dew museum is expected to draw thousands of tourists with a thirst for history when it opens in the small town of Marion in May 2026. It will highlight the town’s role in improving a soda created in Tennessee in the 1940s. Bill Jones, general manager of Tip Corporation of […]
Virginia Tourism Corp. taps new marketing VP
Virginia Tourism Corp. on Thursday announced that it has named Catherine “Cat” Marshburn as vice president of marketing.
Virginia casinos report $78.5M in June revenue
June gaming revenues from Virginia’s three casinos totaled $78.5 million, down $6.9 million from May, according to a Virginia Lottery report.
