Kick off the new year by planning to attend the Annual Educational Conference beginning January 25th through January 26th in Columbus, OH.

On Wednesday morning, January 25th, Jack Johnson will deliverer his keynote address before the OACVB STAR AWARDS are presented over lunch.

Jack Johnson will be presenting Destination Promotion: An Essential and Necessary Part of a Community. Jack Johnson explains the reasons why destination organizations must focus on their residents and change the way they talk about themselves in order to survive and grow. By clearly articulating the role of a destination organization in a community, he will provide the starting point for an organization’s mission, lay out the political argument for public support of their efforts, and identify the ideas and values that form the basis of the “community shared value” concept where the destination organization is not only valued, but is viewed as essential and necessary in their community.

Following the awards ceremony, OACVB members will partake in breakout rooms and additional educational opportunities. There will be a dinner as well as team bonding activity Wednesday evening.

January 25, 2022

8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Breakfast

9:30 – 11:00 a.m. Keynote Presentation by Jack Johnson

11 – 11:30 a.m. Morning Break

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Lunch and STAR Awards Presentation

1 – 1:30 p.m. Afternoon Break

1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Lodging Tax: Best Practices for Protecting It by Andy Herf, OACVB Executive Director

6 p.m. Dinner at Brio Italian Grille 3993 Easton Station Columbus OH 43229

January 25, 2022

On Thursday morning, January 26th, OACVB will conclude the Annual Educational Conference with a board meeting.

9 a.m. – 11 a.m.  OACVB Board Meeting

Registration is $200 for the full conference and $50.00 for lunch only. As always, OACVB board meetings are free to attend for all OACVB members.  All OACVB members are board members.

REGISTER HERE

As Chief Advocacy Officer, Jack Johnson manages the overall public policy operations at Destinations International including member advocacy education and training, development of destination tools and best practices, coalition work with peer organizations, industry research and related public affairs activities. He also oversees the board governance, the Destination Management Accreditation Program (DMAP) and the DestinationNEXT (Assessments and Planning) Program. Johnson brings unrivaled experience developing innovative strategies, policy solutions and civic consensus for government, not-for-profits and small businesses.

Johnson has received numerous accolades including being named as one of Successful Meetings’ 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry in 2018 for his work on opposing travel boycotts and bans. Currently, his work around positioning destination organizations as a shared value in each of their communities and speaking with a new lexicon based on the emotion-driven by those values has made him one of the leading voices of the travel industry.

During his previous tenure with Choose Chicago, Johnson played a leading role in the extensive reforms of the McCormick Place Convention Center and the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, resulting in a new convention center operating model with both a travel industry and a citywide civic perspective. Johnson was integrally involved in the merger of the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and the Chicago Office of Tourism, resulting in maximizing their resources, unifying the message and embedding the organization into the city’s economic development strategy.