(Originally published April 11, 2005)Seattle -- Former HelmsBriscoe executive Don Welsh has taken over as chief executive of the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau, replacing Steve Morris, who resigned.Welsh served as executive vice president of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based meetings site-selection company prior to joining the Seattle bureau in 2003 as senior vice president of sales and marketing. He assumed his new position on April 1 and leads a team of 50 employees.Morris, who was instrumental in the bureau board's promoting Welsh to CEO, said of his successor, "I am confident he will guide the organization to even greater accomplishments in the years ahead."The bureau's executive board president, Carla Murray, in turn praised Morris's efforts on behalf of the bureau."The Seattle Convention and Visitor's Bureau has become one of the finest bureau organizations in the United States due largely to Morris's strategic vision and his ability to execute that vision," Murray said.In addition to his work with HelmsBriscoe, Welsh has held senior sales and marketing positions at Westin Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, and the former MGM Grand, now MGM Mirage. He was also an original member of the start-up team for Horizon Air.Morris remains associated with the bureau as a consultant.