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8th Annual
Somerset County Salute to Tourism

Drawing Inspiration from Chaos

January 27, 2021

Virtual Program via Zoom
10:00am – 11:30am
Networking 11:30am – 12:30pm


The Program

2020 may be remembered as the most challenging year EVER for members of the Tourism industry. Volatile market conditions and plunging demand pushed us to the brink, yet our members enacted inspired strategies to not only survive, but THRIVE! 

Please join us for a panel of Somerset County Tourism professionals who truly made lemonade from lemons in 2020. Hear their stories, from conception to execution, of overcoming the countless obstacles they faced. Find out how they reached their audiences, rolled out new products and even pivoted their business model to endure. 

Participating Organizations:

  • AC Hotel by Marriott Bridgewater
  • Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway
  • Somerset Patriots
  • Norz Hill Farm & Market
  • The Center for Contemporary Art

Be energized by your colleagues and start the new year with a fresh take on tourism!


The Panelists

vinnie cicerale profile photo Vinnie Cicerale
Director of Sales & Marketing
AC Hotel Bridgewater
Vinnie started his career as a chef working in hotels, and although he loved it, he decided to change course in his career into hotel operations. He started off as a Guest Service Agent, then was promoted to Front Office Supervisor, and went on to being Assistant General Manager at multiple properties. After some time, Vinnie wanted to try a new route within hotels and joined a hotel corporate sales team. From here, Vinnie went on to growing in sales, and eventually went back to a previous property of his, the Homewood Suites in Cranford, NJ, where he was the Director of Sales. Vinnie then decided to take on an opportunity in group sales, until the General Manager position opened up at the Homewood Suites in Cranford, NJ, and he decided to take this opportunity as it was a long-time dream of his. He later went back into sales, working in Global Sales for Benchmark, and found Briad along the way.


Brad Fay
President
Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway
Brad Fay is the President of the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition, the sponsor of Somerset County’s Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway. A marketing consultant and former elected official in Somerset County, he also leads the Discover Central New Jersey agritourism initiative. He is the co-author of The Face to Face Book, named best book in marketing for 2013 by the American Marketing Association.


Marc Rusinoff
Vice President of Public Relations
Somerset Patriots, the Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees
Marc is a graduate of Cook College and the School of Communication of Rutgers University, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Communication. He is responsible for all communication for the Somerset Patriots, media and community relations, and the daily operation of the Press Box. Marc has been with the team since the 1999 season. He is a resident of South Bound Brook, NJ with his golden retriever Bauer.

 


Rich Norz
Co-Owner
Norz Hill Farm & Market
 

 

 


Leigh Zona
Communications & Development Manager
The Center for Contemporary Art
Leigh joined The Center for Contemporary Art (The Center) located in Bedminster, NJ in 2016. As Communications & Development Manager, he is responsible for corporate sponsorship, membership program, individual fundraising, and special events, as well as, the marketing of rotating art exhibitions and The Center’s extensive arts education and outreach programs.

Leigh has spent more than thirty years as a non-profit arts administrator, where he worked at performing arts organizations in New Jersey and New York (on and off Broadway). He served as the Director of Marketing for Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for theatre. At TCG he was responsible for their membership program, the marketing of American Theatre (a national magazine), ArtSEARCH (a national online jobs database) and TCG Books, the largest independent publisher of drama in North America. Prior to coming to The Center, he served as the Gallery Director for J.M. Stringer Gallery, a fine arts gallery, in Bernardsville, NJ.

 


Click here to register.


Somerset County Tourism would like to express our deepest appreciation and thanks to our Charter Sponsor, Duke Farms, for their continued generosity and endorsement of the Salute to Tourism Program.

 

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