Debbie Zimmerman
Meet Hawaii, a collaboration between the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) and the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, have appointed Debbie Zimmerman, a long-time meetings veteran, to lead its Hawaii Business Ambassadors Eleele Program. Zimmerman, the president of New Millennium Meetings, Inc. will assist Meet Hawaii in leading this program and bringing more national and international meetings to Hawaii.
The Elele Program enlists the support of community leaders, also known as ambassadors, who have ties to professional organizations with national and international meetings. These volunteer ambassadors then work with the Meet Hawaii team to craft bids and reach key decision makers for a variety of different meetings. Because a large number of national and international conventions require invitations from a Hawaii contingent to consider the state as a meeting destination, these ambassadors play a crucial role in bringing businesss to the Hawaii Convention Center and the islands as a whole.
“The Elele Program is a critical component to our overall Meet Hawaii strategy allowing us to gain insight into the accounts we are soliciting, as well as access to influencers who impact meetings decisions made on the highest levels,” said Brian Lynx, vice president of meetings, conventions and incentives for the Hawaii Tourism Authority. “Debbie is a driven, well-connected professional who understands the intricacies of the meetings industry and has a successful record of working with local influencers to bring meetings to Hawaii. For those reasons, and many more, we are very pleased to welcome her to our team.”
“The meetings, conventions, and incentives market is highly competitive and personal and professional relationships are often key factors in venue selection,” said Zimmerman. “There is tremendous opportunity in the meetings market right now and I look forward to working with our local ambassadors to bring mutually beneficial meetings to our state.”
Zimmerman brings more than 17 years of convention sales and meeting planning experience to her position, having previously worked with the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, the HVCB, and the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. She also led the Elele Program at HVCB from 1998 to 2002 when it was previously known as the "Kuhina Program." During her four-year tenure leading that program, she helped secure more than $690 million in convention business in Hawaii.
For more information about the Elele Program, meeting owners, organizations, and planners are encouraged to contact Debbie Zimmerman directly at
[email protected].