Jacquelyn Powell is president and chief executive of the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, leading a staff pushing conventions in a city that perhaps doesn’t top the list of obvious meeting destinations.
But why not Dayton? The Midwest has it charms, after all. USA Today readers last year chose nearby Indianapolis as a top convention city for its array of hotels and restaurants. Glitz isn't all.
We recently sat down with Powell at her Dayton Convention Center office for 3 Questions. This is edited and condensed.
Q: What brought you to Dayton CVB?
Powell: "I had been in the hotel business prior to coming to the Convention & Visitors Bureau. I was in sales and marketing for a number of years for hotels. Then I started here in the same sales and marketing (field). A year later, I became president.
“I worked for … a Ramada property that was here in Dayton for a number of years, the one that was south of town for quite a while, on (Ohio 725). I was there for about eight years. From there I went to Kings Island Conference Center for about three-plus years. …
“(Kings Island Conference Center) was different from the perspective that three or four months out of the year, maybe longer, you were full every night, thanks to Kings Island. And that was, at that time, one of the few properties at that location. A lot has changed and developed since then, so there’s quite a bit more product. … So you had to do a little more digging for off-season and shoulder-season business. We did quite a bit of corporate business, for P&G (Procter & Gamble) and some of the other companies in that area.”
Q: I imagine the digging prepared you for this job. Is it tough to sell conventions here?
Powell: "We definitely have a community that has world-class attractions. Nowhere else can you find anything along the lines of what's at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Our Dayton Art Institute is a wonderful mid-market-sized art museum, with works that any museum would be proud to own. The arts community here is outstanding.
“So all of those things, plus attractions like the Packard Museum. So many other diverse attractions. The Boonshoft Museum. There’s just so much that’s here in the community. Not to mention the rivers, and everything that’s going on with that. So from a recreation standpoint, the Five Rivers system does an outstanding job.
“There’s so much really here, that yes, maybe as residents, we take it for granted. I think if you were to ask maybe the average resident here, when was the last time you were at the Air Force Museum, you might be surprised to find that it’s been many, many years.
“But every day you can go out to the museum and see a license plate from so many states across this country.”
Q: How is CVB structured? Are you independent?
Powell: "We are not part of the (Dayton-Area) chamber (of Commerce). When I first started here, we were. But very shortly thereafter, we became our own separate entity, a 501(c) 6 organization.
“We have our board of directors. We’re funded through the (Montgomery) county’s hotel lodging tax. We receive 70 percent of the collection. …
“I don’t think residents really think of us as as being a town that really hosts conventions. They might when they see the ham radio people (Dayton Hamvention) here in town. But other than that, they probably don’t have a real good idea of just how many types of convention groups, or youth and amateur sports groups, religious conferences, different things that come into our community. They’re all very important to the local economy.
Know someone who can handle Three Questions? We're looking for behind-the-scenes-but-still fascinating Miami Valley residents with something to say. Send your suggestions to tom.gnau@coxinc.com.
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