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Official Convention and Visitors Association
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The mission of Meet Minneapolis™, Official Convention + Visitors Association, is to sell, market and internationally promote Minneapolis as a premier, year-round destination for convention, trade show, corporate meeting and leisure travel. We are committed to service and excellence for all of our clients. We do this for the economic benefit and vitality of the members, businesses and communities we serve.
Meet Minneapolis is a 501(c)6 organization that is contracted by the City of Minneapolis to sell the city and its surrounding areas as a convention site and visitor destination.
We are served by a 40-member Board of Directors:
The organization was formed as the Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association in 1987 as an offshoot of the Minneapolis Convention & Tourism Commission. In August 2006, the organization officially changed its name to Meet Minneapolis™, Official Convention & Visitors Association, to better convey what the organization does. See the press release.
The efforts of Meet Minneapolis are the result of a public/private partnership. Of our $9 million annual budget, approximately 77% is funding from the City of Minneapolis. The rest comes from the downtown hotel tax, membership dues, sponsorship revenue, service fees and other miscellaneous sources.
The staff of Meet Minneapolis™, the Official Convention + Visitors Association, are experts in many areas of the tourism and convention industry.

Connie Stelter
Public Relations Manager
Connie is responsible for public relations for the destination and leisure travel market. She serves as the primary liaison between Meet Minneapolis and local and national media while administrating media tours, writing and editing and conducting media analysis. Connie has been a part of Meet Minneapolis since May 2007.

Laura McCarthy
Interim VP of Marketing
Laura manages leisure and destination marketing programs that create awareness of the Minneapolis Saint Paul area, drive traffic to websites, and generate hotel room bookings. She also oversees the organization's public relations efforts across all industries. With more than 15 years in marketing communications under her belt, she's been with the organization for 7 years.

Kevin Lewis
Vice President of Convention Sales
Kevin is responsible for overall convention sales efforts for Meet Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Convention Center which includes managing a 22-person sales team. A 26-year hospitality industry veteran, Lewis has spent the past 17 years with Meet Minneapolis.
* Areas of expertise: Hotel developments, occupancy and trends in the local hotel market; convention and meeting booking initiatives; the Minneapolis Convention Center

Melvin Tennant
CEO and President
Melvin oversees the day-to-day operations at Meet Minneapolis and iDSS, including the professional and support staff. Melvin serves as the voice of Meet Minneapolis through speaking engagements, civic activities and political council meetings. He has served as interim president and CEO of Meet Minneapolis since November 2007.
* Areas of expertise: Overall direction and goals of the organization, industry trends, innovative solutions, public speaking

Bill Deef
Vice President of Tourism
Bill and his department promote Minneapolis as a viable travel destination to tour operators, individual tourists and niche markets in order to attract regional, national and international leisure travelers. Since 1987, Deef has made significant contributions to the Minnesota tourism industry—from serving as a chair of the Washburn Academy of Hospitality and Tourism to working as a liaison for Minneapolis's sister city program.
* Areas of expertise: Minneapolis-Saint Paul's international travel markets, group travel, airline service to and from the market, what attracts travelers to Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
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250 Marquette Avenue South, Suite 1300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 USA 1-888-676-MPLS