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Huntington
Beach
Conference and Visitors Bureau
History
The
Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors
Bureau began as a joint venture of the
City of
Huntington Beach
and Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce.
It was charged to develop "an image
that will position
Huntington Beach
in the marketplace as a viable destination
for meetings and visitors, thereby
enhancing and developing the economic
fabric of the community.”
The
Bureau elected a founding Board of Directors and adopted By-laws on January 12, 1989. Founding Officers were:
President
–
Steve Bone, The Robert Mayer Corp.
President
Elect – Bill Ellis, Huntington
Shores Motel
Vice President – Skip
Villerot, Heidi’s
Frogen Yozurt
Treasurer–
Dale Dunn,
Huntington
Savings
The
Founding Board also included: Klaus Goedecke, Auto
Club of Southern California;
Jack Kelly, August II; Lenny Lindborg,
Lindborg Racquet Club; Don MacAllister, Huntington
Beach City Council & Seevid;
Frank Richmond, Francois’
Restaurant; and
Pat Rogers, Huntington Center.
Ex-Officio
members were Paul
Cook, City
of
Huntington Beach
and
Joyce Riddell, Huntington
Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Past
Chairmen |
Dates
of Service
|
Steve
Bone |
1/89– 12/91 |
Bill
Ellis |
1/92 – 5/93 |
Dr.
Peter Green |
6/93 – 9/95 |
Dale
Dunn
|
9/95 – 10/96 |
Terry
Ashton |
10/96 – 9/97 |
Roy
Gonthier |
10/97 – 12/97 |
Dale
Dunn |
1/98 – 10/98 |
Pat
Rogers |
11/98 – 10/99 |
John
Gilbert |
11/99 – 9/01 |
Steve
Daniel |
10/01 – 9/02 |
Margie
Bunten |
10/02 – 9/03 |
Brett
Barnes |
10/03 – 9/04 |
Cormac
O'Modhrain |
10/04
- present |
Other Historical Highlights
10/16/89 Diane Baker is hired as the Bureau’s first Executive Director.
10/27/89 The Bureau receives its first grant from the City of Huntington Beach in the amount of $150,000.
11/1/89 The Bureau moves into offices at 2100 Main Street.
11/2/89 Bobi Sinclair is hired as the first Administrative Assistant, the Bureau’s second full-time position.
6/1/90 The Bureau publishes its first Visitors Guide and positions the City as “Southern California’s Coastal Playground.”
1/22/91 The Bureau receives tax exempt status from the IRS.
10/3/92 The Bureau organizes the City’s first Sandcastle Festival contest that attracts 2,000 people.
6/27/93 The Bureau kicks off the 8th annual Great American Race, a cross country rally of antique cars vying for a $250,000 purse.
2/7/95 The circulation of the 1995 Visitors Guide reaches 75,000.
3/31/95 The Bureau moves to new offices at 101 Main St.
2/17/98 The circulation of the 1998 Visitors Guide reaches 100,000.
5/1/98 The Bureau moves to new offices at 417 Main St.
10/99 The Bureau launches its first website, www.hbvisit.com.
12/3/01 Doug Traub is hired as the Bureau’s new President & CEO; Diane Baker retires four weeks later.
7/15/02 The Huntington Beach City Council approves a new Hotel/Motel Business Improvement District to fund the Bureau.
2/4/03 Debbie Stock is hired as Communications Manager, the Bureau’s third full-time position.
3/1/03 The Bureau moves to new offices at 301 Main St.
9/3/03 The Bureau hires its first public relations agency to promote the City and news clips triple from 167 to 547 within a year.
10/4-5/03 The Bureau organizes a new Sandcastle Festival contest that attracts 7,910 paid attendees.
3/1/04 The Bureau launches a new database-driven website and Internet visitors quadruple to over 440,000 unique viewers within a year.
5/14/04 A new rack brochure is distributed through 1,928 locations in three states with an annual circulation of over 400,000.
6/16/04 Bill Ross is hired as Marketing Director, the Bureau’s fourth full-time position.
7/2/04- 9/26/04- The Bureau successfully tests a small visitor kiosk at the pier to provide visitor information; in all, 7,138 inquiries are resolved.
11/17/04 The Surf City USATM name is filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; the www.surfcityusa.com URL is adopted.
1/4/05 The circulation of the 2005 Visitors Guide reaches 150,000.
1/16/06 The Bureau hires its first full-time Director of Public Relations, Anne Warde
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