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Worcester recognizes the value of meeting
and events. Destination Worcester is a strategic investment in the
hospitality industry, a focused endeavor to showcase and sell the
destination to meeting & convention planners, and event &
sports organizers. Acting as a single point of contact for the destination,
Destination Worcester provides enhanced communications and a streamlined
process for booking events in Worcester.
For assistance in booking your event in Worcester, please contact
one of our professionals.
Staff Profiles
Patrick
Lynch, CMP, CHSP
Executive Director
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With over a decade of hospitality and destination marketing experience,
Mr. Lynch came to Worcester to start Destination Worcester in June
2007 and was given the mission to build Destination Worcester into
a successful Destination Marketing Organization, recognized as the
“go to” organization for meeting and event planners looking
to book in Worcester. Mr. Lynch holds a Certified Meeting Professional
(CMP) certificate from the Convention Industry Council and a Certified
Hospitality Sales Professional (CHSP) certificate from the American
Hotel & Lodging Association. He is a member of several industry
organizations and is the 2007/2008 President of the New England Chapter
of Meeting Professionals International.
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Diana Casavecchia
Convention Sales Manager
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Diana started in the hospitality industry as a part-time housekeeper
at the age of sixteen and has held a myriad of positions in the industry
since. She has sold limited-service, extended-stay, and full-service
hotels as well as the entire central Massachusetts region. Most recently
Diana was part of the opening team for the Residence Inn by Marriott-Worcester,
which opened in 2007. Her experience in the hospitality industry makes
her well suited to sell Worcester as a destination for meetings and
events. Diana was a recipient of Worcester Business Journal’s
Top 40 Business Professionals under 40 in 2004. Diana is a member
of Professional Convention Management Association, the New England
Society of Association Executives, and Meeting Professionals International. |
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Robert Murdock
Sport & Event Sales Manager
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Bob joined Destination Worcester in November 2007 to promote and sell
the City of Worcester as a destination for sports, events, trade shows
and reunions. Bob has over fifteen years of experience in the field
including sports marketing agencies, the sports commission for Massachusetts
and World Championship events. He has managed high-end corporate hospitality
functions and events, not-for-profit foundations of professional athletes
and served as the Executive Director for the 2006 Men’s World
Curling Championship. He is a member of the National Association of
Sports Commissions and the International Association of Exhibitions
and Events. |
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Board of Advisors
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| Michael V. O’Brien, Worcester City Manager, is Chairman of the
Destination Worcester Advisory Board. Under his leadership and direction,
New England’s second largest city is in the midst of an incredible
transformation - with more than $1.3 billion in private and public
investment in economic development now underway, including a $563
million downtown revitalization project. During his tenure as City
Manager, he has forged a number of partnerships to ensure that arts
and culture play a vital role in planning and development with examples
such as the $31 million restoration of the Hanover Theater for the
Performing Arts. He was instrumental in helping to recruit new sports
teams to the region, including hockey, football and baseball. Destination
Worcester is a result of a 2005 effort when he appointed a 13-member
Task Force charged with re-energizing event and convention promotion
efforts. Subsequently funding was secured to create this organization. |
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| Mark Bilotta is CEO of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, a not-for-profit
association of 13 public and private colleges and universities located
in central Massachusetts. Prior to the Consortium, he held several
administrative positions within the higher education community, including
eight years in a cabinet-level position at Assumption College and
admissions positions at Worcester State College and the College of
the Holy Cross. Mark is actively involved in local nonprofit boards,
including the United Way of Central Massachusetts, Worcester City
Manager’s Advisory Committee on Youth, the Worcester Regional
Research Bureau and Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. He is also a cooperator
for Webster Five Cents Savings Bank and the Greater Worcester Community
Foundation. |
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| Brian J. Buckley is a Director with the law firm, Fletcher, Tilton
& Whipple, P.C. whose practice concentrates in the areas of criminal
defense, personal injury, commercial litigation and appellate matters.
Committed to the community he has served for over 25 years, Mr. Buckley
is active in many organizations throughout Worcester. In addition
to his participation on the Advisory Board for Destination Worcester,
Mr. Buckley is President of the Worcester Public Library Foundation
and President of The Worcester Regional Research Bureau. He is also
an active member of the Worcester County Bar Association, where he
has been editor of the organization’s newsletter since 1990.
He previously served on the WCBA’s elected Executive Committee
and was President in 2002. |
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| Michael Covino, President of Niche Hospitality Group, is a catalyst
for the development of Worcester's Canal District with the opening
of Block 5 Bistro and Bocado Tapas Wine Bar as well as the recent
opening of Mezcal Tequila Cantina on 'Restaurant Row' along Shrewsbury
Street. He is a firm believer in the eminent growth of Worcester through
hospitality by welcoming both residents of Worcester and out of town
guests to his restaurants and Worcester proper. Mr. Covino is committed
to making Worcester an iconic destination as a host for conventions
as well as a city that entertains events and supports business growth
and development. Michael has been a resident of Worcester for over
9 years with his wife Debra and their three children. |
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| Sandy L. Dunn, General Manager of the DCU Center, has worked in the
entertainment and hospitality industry for nearly thirty years. The
past twenty-four years she has been with SMG in Worcester, MA and
Niagara Falls, NY. SMG is the world’s largest private management
firm for public facilities including convention centers, arenas, theaters
and stadiums. While at the DCU Center the property has been awarded
the “Prime Site Venue” award for both the Arena and Convention
Center and the Arena consistently ranks as a “Top Ten Facility”
internationally. |
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| David P. Forsberg is President of the Worcester Business Development
Corporation (WBDC), an innovative and leading force in the economic
development of the central Massachusetts region. Prior to being appointed
President of the WBDC, Mr. Forsberg was the Chief Development Officer
for Massport where he was responsible for the development strategy
and asset management of the organization’s real estate portfolio.
From 1992-1997, Mr. Forsberg was the Chief Development Officer for
the City of Worcester responsible for a $1 billion economic development
agenda. In 1990, Mr. Forsberg was appointed Secretary of the Executive
Office of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, he was responsible for
human service and healthcare policy, as well as managing a $6 billion
budget and seventeen different departments, agencies and offices.
From 1989 to 1990, Mr. Forsberg served as the New England Regional
Administrator-Regional Housing Commissioner for the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during the former
Bush administration, reporting to then Secretary of HUD, Jack Kemp.
In this role, David managed and coordinated all HUD programs including
Federal and Public Housing, Community Planning and Development, and
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for the six New England states.
In 1975, Mr. Forsberg was elected to the Worcester City Council as
an at-large councilor. He was then re-elected in 1987 and served as
a District 1 City Councilor. |
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| Richard B. Kennedy, President and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber
of Commerce is a lifelong Worcester resident and business Professional.
He has over 30 years of marketing and sales experience in the high
tech and manufacturing industries. Mr. Kennedy’s extensive marketing
and management experience bring a unique perspective to the Destination
Worcester Board. As a global marketing leader at Saint-Gobain, he
directed marketing strategies and execution on five continents with
$1.7 billion in sales. His skills as a communicator and his recognition
of the importance of communication within an organization and to its
audience make him an effective leader. |
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| Paula Lawrence is the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in Worcester which is owned and operated by Lodgian. She’s
a graduate of Assumption College and a 25-year veteran in the hospitality
industry. She has held various positions in operations and sales for
Marriott, Sheraton, Wyndham and Intercontinental Hotels Group. In
her tenure, Paula has received various industry awards including the
MA Lodging Association Stars of the Industry Outstanding Manager of
the Year, and the Massachusetts Governor’s Conference Hospitality
Award for her leadership and commitment to tourism in the Central
Massachusetts region. |
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| Kate McEvoy-Zdonczyk is Director of Community & Government Affairs
at Fallon Community Health Plan. During her 6-year tenure at FCHP,
Kate has also held the position of Director of Marketing and Sales
for FCHP’s PACE program and Summit ElderCare, where she managed
the re-branding of the program. An active volunteer in central Massachusetts’
political and non-profit communities, Kate was selected as one of
the Worcester Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” award
winners in 2002, and was named one of the “25 to Watch in 2005”
by Pulse Magazine. She currently serves on Worcester State College’s
Alumni Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors for the Boys and
Girls Club of Greater Worcester, where she is the Vice President of
Leadership. |
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| Thomas Plunkett, General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, is a 30
year veteran of the hotel profession. A graduate of the Culinary Institute
of America in Hyde Park, NY, Mr. Plunkett has worked as a chef in
various hotels and restaurants in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas.
Mr. Plunkett moved from his position as Chef when was promoted to
Food and Beverage Director at the Hershey Corpus Christi Hotel, he
spent 12 years with Hershey Hotels. Eventually recruited to the Sturbridge
Host Hotel in Massachusetts, owned by Fine Hotels Corp. where he spent
the next 10 years, Mr. Plunkett ran food and beverage for 5 years.
He was then promoted to General Manager for the Holiday Inn Worcester
and spent 3 years at that property before receiving a promotion to
the Sturbridge Host Hotel as General Manager. More recently, Mr. Plunkett
was Food and Beverage Director for the Sheraton Springfield for 4
years before being promoted to opening General Manger at the Hilton
Garden Inn Worcester in July 2006. |
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| Dan R. Verrico is a Vice President with Cocard of Canton Mass. He
has been active in Central Massachusetts as a volunteer in various
organizations. He was the cofounder and chairman of the Ambassadors
Committee of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. He has also
served on the boards of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce,
the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Marlborough
Public Library, as a trustee and its chair. Most recently he just
finished chairmanship of the Central Mass. Convention and Visitors
Bureau, after serving 4 years on its board. |
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| Erin Williams, the Cultural Development Officer for the City of Worcester,
serves as the Executive Director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition,
representing 52 cultural organizations within the City. Committed
to cultural economic development she has spent more than 25 years
in the arts and cultural arena and has overseen development of Worcester
Wayfinding and public art programs; increasing the visibility of Worcester’s
cultural organizations building a broad network of supporters, and
fostering greater awareness of the role arts and culture play in economic
revitalization, and attracting meeting and events. She also serves
on the boards of the Western Massachusetts Arts Alliance, Worcester
Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative and numerous committees
supporting non-profit efforts. She is an active member of MAASH and
the Americans for the Arts and local community organizations. |
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| Mark Waxler, Vice President and General Manager, Beechwood Hotel has
been in the hospitality industry for over thirty years. He started
at the Front Desk of the Watergate Hotel and has worked for Hyatt
Hotels, Doubletree Hotels and Marriott Hotels in various management
positions before joining the Beechwood Hotel. During his tenure as
Vice President and General Manager for the past twelve years, he has
helped upgrade the property from the Beechwood Inn to the premier
property in Central Massachusetts. Mark is on the Board of Directors
of MA Lodging Association, New England Inns and Resorts, Destination
Worcester, Hospitality Advisory Committee for Worcester Vocational
High School, Worcester Regional Research Bureau. |
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Funding for www.DestinationWorcester.org was provided via a grant from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
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| Destination Worcester | 446 Main Street, Suite 200 | Worcester, MA 01608 | (508) 753-1550 | Contact Us |
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