MSCVB adds to new board members

The Mat-Su Convention & Visitors Bureau sat two new board members during its Annual Meeting and Voice of the Membership Nov. 18 at Evangelo’s.

The 10-person board welcomed Kierre Childers of Revel Treks and Tours and Sam Dinges from the Palmer Museum and Visitor Center. Fernando Salvador of Pursuit/Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge also won reelection to the board, and all three will serve three-year terms.

Travis Taylor of Premier Alaska Tours and Rick Peterson of Holland America-Princess were honored for their contributions to the board.

At the annual meeting, the organization’s new officers were also announced. Mark Austin of the Musk Ox Farm will serve as chair, with Roberta Warner of Alaska Tour & Travel as the vice chair. Wes Hoskins of the Mat-Su Trails & Parks Foundation is the secretary, and Israel Mahay of Mahay’s Jet Boat Adventures is the treasurer. Mark Fleenor of Sheep Mountain Lodge is the past chair, and Childers will join the executive committee.

Continuing on the board are Cole Chambers of K2 Aviation, Heather Dudick of the Alaska Railroad.

At the annual meeting, the Mat-Su CVB convened a panel of industry experts including Sarah Leonard, President and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association; Julie Saupe, President & CEO of Visit Anchorage; and Bonnie Quill, President & CEO of Mat-Su CVB. They talked about statewide date research findings, the Anchorage Tourism Master Plan, the Mat-Su CVB Sustainable Tourism Master Plan and the Gateway Visitor Center project.