LAKE PLACID, ADIRONDACKS - The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism/Lake Placid CVB is pleased to announce the addition of Tracey Ridenour to head their conference sales team.

As Director of Sales and Marketing, Ridenour will lead the meetings and convention sales efforts for Lake Placid and the new Conference Center at Lake Placid, which is slated to open in early 2011.  She brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience to the position, including the operation of her own marketing and communications company, and posts in the corporate environment that include Thomas Cook Travel and Raymond James Financial services. Most recently, she was responsible for marketing and operations at a business within Lake Placid's vacation rental industry.

"This is an exciting time. As an integral part of the Conference Center sales strategy, we have been anticipating the addition of sales and service staff for years," said James McKenna, president of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism. "The conference center will serve a key role in achieving our long-term goal of a year-round economy, and this represents the next step in a process that will drive business during our typical off-seasons, and ultimately increase jobs and benefits for our residents," said McKenna.

"An important and unique aspect of this project is that it has been completely funded through Empire State Development - so there will be no resulting debt load to the community," said Ted Blazer, New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) President and CEO. "We are poised to hit the ground running!"

The sales strategy, including booking space and marketing for the conference center will be conducted cooperatively by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and ORDA, and interim promotional materials for use in ongoing sales efforts, including a sales video and a new website, have already been developed.

"Projects within the sales and marketing strategy are already being implemented," said Arlene Day, director of sales and service. "Space is typically booked more than a year in advance for conferences, and we've already sold space for 2011."

The new Conference Center at Lake Placid will be located adjacent to the Olympic Center, and will incorporate the Lake Placid Visitor Information Center. Conveniently located in the center of town and only a short walk from most hotels, the Olympic Center Complex with the added Conference Center space will offer over 89,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, a ballroom and a full service production kitchen. Construction techniques adhere to the criteria set forth by LEED and incorporate optimized energy performance, renewable, recycled materials and daylighting. Operating with ongoing environmentally sound practices, the center anticipates gold LEED certification upon completion.  

"I'm looking forward to proactively promoting this tremendous new facility and the high quality hosting capabilities of the community's lodging properties collectively," said Ridenour. "The new conference center is a state-of-the-art product that will allow us to aggressively target new markets and gain exposure for the unique meetings and conventions experience Lake Placid offers."  Ridenour lives in Lake Placid with her husband and two children.  

For more information about the Conference Center at Lake Placid, contact Tracey Ridenour at 518.523.2445 x104 or visit the website at www.lakeplacid.com/meetings for updates.

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The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is the accredited destination marketing organization responsible for promoting the Schroon Lake, Lake Champlain, Whiteface, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid regions to the traveling public via traditional advertising, public relations, and by harnessing the power of electronic media. They operate a main office in Lake Placid and one in Crown Point. www.lakeplacid.com