Frank Poe Is Ready to Shake Up Dallas

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 10/11/2004

The saying "Once a Texan, always a Texan" must ring true for Frank Poe, who was recently reappointed director of convention and event services for the Dallas Convention Center.

The center and the city are nostalgia triggers for the Texas native, who previously held the position for seven years beginning in 1991. Then, in 1997 he chose to venture east to Alabama for a 7-year stint, as CEO and executive director of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

But Poe, 54, isn't returning to reminisce about the three Super Bowl wins the Cowboys had during his previous tenure. When he rejoins the DCC the week of Dec. 13, pushing Dallas to the front of tradeshow executives' minds will be priority No. 1.

Many of Poe's peers say he's the ideal man for the job. "There's not many Frank Poes out there in this business," said Dr. Clyde Echols, chairman of the BJCC's board of directors, adding that Poe's accomplishments left him "dumbfounded and shocked."

Poe restructured the BJCC's contracting process and merged the sales and marketing staffs of the convention center and the Sheraton Birmingham headquarters hotel, which Poe oversaw as its CEO. Those actions, he said, helped the 220,000 square foot BJCC better respond to customer needs.

Poe also introduced a concierge program for the two structures, formed a marketing partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment and hired a single public relations firm for the BJCC, Sheraton and the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Because Birmingham is "a strong second-tier market destination, we have to do things better, and we have to do things in a more diverse fashion to be competitive," Poe said.

He also developed a community outreach program and an in-house video production unit, supervised a $9-million complex renovation, arranged to have Shepard Exposition Services become the first Birmingham-based service contractor and played a leading role in efforts to add a $500-million sports and convention dome to the BJCC.

In Dallas, Poe said he'd like to see a possible unification of the DCC and the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau staffs, and perhaps a convention center hotel.

"There is a strong desire to shake things up and to recognize that what we've done (at the DCC) in the past few years has not worked. Change is necessary," Poe said.

His "desire to effect change" was a primary reason he was picked for the job. A March PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by the Dallas CVB listed the need to "establish a brand identity" and "ensure that its destination marketing resources are competitive" among the city's objectives.

"We're not where we want to be, but we're certainly headed in the right direction," said Dallas CVB President and CEO Phillip Jones, a member of the selection committee who picked Poe. "His experience in the industry is recorded as one of the best in customer service. It will be a very solid, strong partnership."

Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said she's known for a long time that there are two words that will send a message from Dallas that it is serious about drawing tradeshow business. "Those two words are 'Frank Poe,'" she said.

Poe said he will create an operational model that will help the 1 million-plus sq. ft. DCC compete with new facilities that have cropped up while Dallas was busy managing its managers. The 2002 resignation of former DCC Director Wilhemina Boyd and General Manager Oscar McGaskey Jr. left the center under the supervision of interim executives Daniel Huerta and Gloria Carter, who will move to other city departments upon Poe's arrival. The 2003 departure of former Dallas CVB Chairman Chris Luna and President David Whitney, who were accused of fiscal impropriety, also put a dint in convention sales.

Poe, who served as the center's manager from 1980 to 1991 and as the director of the Orange County Convention Center for two years before that, said he hopes to give the city back its tradeshow edge.

"Focus on the customer has to be paramount. That historically has been the edge that Dallas has had," Poe said.

The BJCC executive director and CEO post will be filled by Assistant Executive Director Jack Fields on an interim basis.

Poe's annual salary will be upwards of $162,900, with a base salary of $137,500, up to $20,000 in incentive pay and a $5,400 car allowance from the Dallas CVB.

"Dallas has been very, very good to me," Poe said, although he said he's surprised by the circuitous route his career has taken.