Ratcliffe Leaves Big Easy And Heads for St. Louis
New Orleans bureau exec named to replace retiring Carole Moody
By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 4/24/2006
Talk about climbing the proverbial ladder.
Kathleen "Kitty" Ratcliffe is returning to the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, a group she worked for in the '80s as a convention sales executive. This time around, she's the president.
Ratcliffe spent the last 18 months as executive vice president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau. Before her stint in New Orleans, she served as president of the Jacksonville (Fla.) & the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, and vice president of sales and marketing for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Assn.
She will begin work at the St. Louis bureau in May, succeeding Carole Moody, who is retiring after a 30-year career with the group.
St. Louis bureau Chairman Dan Dierdorf called Ratcliffe "a big-time player in the destination marketing arena." He added, "We went into this nationwide search process hoping we could find a star and an industry leader for St. Louis. That's exactly who we found."
New Orleans bureau President and CEO J. Stephen Perry said he appreciated Ratcliffe's commitment to New Orleans and the contributions she made to the bureau.
"We are indeed deeply thankful for her service to the bureau, particularly through Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, and are proud of her ...," Perry said. "(Ratcliffe) gave it her all under difficult circumstances."
He added, "We wish her every best success."
Ratcliffe could not be reached for comment.
She is a past president of Meeting Professionals Intl. and an active member of Destination Marketing Assn. Intl., where she serves on the DMAI Foundation board. She is an ethics committee member for the American Society of Assn. Executives & the Center, and a member of the program committee for the Professional Convention Management Assn.
Back in New Orleans, Ratcliffe's replacement will be former bureau executive Nikki Nicholson, who is returning as vice president of convention sales, a post she held before a brief retirement.
Nicholson worked for the New Orleans bureau for 23 years before retiring three years ago to buy a Mississippi Gulf Coast bed and breakfast, Perry said.
Perry said Nicholson will "simply step right into her old job. This is really great for new Orleans because it means that we will not miss a beat."
The New Orleans bureau also recently hired former MPI Director of Communications Kelly Schulz, a New Orleans native, as vice president for communications and public relations, and Mary Beth Romig as director of communications and public relations.
Romig was most recently the public relations officer for the Ogden Museum of Southern Art at the University of New Orleans.
