Member News

ESSAE advances the association profession through a community of knowledge, sharing, education and advocacy.

Congratulations to the following ESSAE members on earning the Certified Meeting Professional designation!

Rachel Alcaro, CMP, Sales Manager, Syracuse Convention & Visitors Bureau

Roberta Daab, CMP, Director of Sales, Fort William Henry Corporation

Michelle D. Scott, CMP, Event Planner, Gatherings by Design

The foremost certification program of today's meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry, the CMP program recognizes individuals who have achieved the industry's highest standard of professionalism.

Long time ESSAE member Vera Nuspliger of Nuspliger Associates has been designated marketing coordinator by the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) for its new, expanded bus service in Saratoga Springs. She can be reached at 518-882-9816; vnuspliger@aol.com

The American Bus Association congratulated Penny Shoemaker for successfully completing the course requirements to earn her Certified Travel Industry Specialist (CTIS) designation. The Certified Travel Industry Specialist program is administered for ABA by Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis and is the first university-administered certification program in the group travel industry.

The professional development program is available to any employee of an ABA-member organization. Participants completed five correspondence courses over the past year, and attended and evaluated eight Industry Advancement Seminars presented at the American Bus Marketplace. To date, over 400 ABA members have earned the prestigious designation since the program¹s inception in 1989.

Siena College has named its radio and television broadcasting studios in honor of Joseph Reilly and the late Carol Reilly. Reilly, who has been president of the New York State Broadcasters Association for more than 20 years, made a donation to the Loudonville college¹s broadcast education program, but the amount of the gift was not disclosed. Reilly¹s wife, Carol, who was a local radio station general manager, died of ovarian cancer in 2000. The Joseph A. and Carol M. Reilly Broadcast Centers were upgraded this spring.

Emerson Resort & Spa, which opened its new inn and spa this March, has announced that it has added more than 5,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. Two hours from New York City, the Asian-inspired resort overlooks the Esopus Creek and Hudson Valley¹s Mount Tremper. Emerson¹s conference rooms are designed to allow planners to create a customized meeting environment. The multi-room facility is configured with the latest technology, such as AV equipment, LCD projectors and screens, flat-screen televisions, DVD players, white boards, post-it flip charts, laser pointer and wireless headset with sound systems. The resort's six main function rooms, many of them with a view, offer more than 5,000 square feet of flexible space. For more information, visit www.emersonresort.com.

The Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel has again achieved ³Select² Status within Starwood Hotels. Select Hotels are the highest-ranking hotels in the Starwood Hotels System with respect to a number of customer comfort and satisfaction criteria. The Sheraton was ranked as the #5 Hotel out of more than 200 Sheraton Hotels in North America. There are more than 25 categories measured and the Sheraton has consistently achieved #1 rankings in most areas. These categories include: Overall Guest Satisfaction, Cleanliness and Maintenance of the Hotel, Staff Friendliness, Guest Loyalty, Value for the Price Paid, Overall Restaurant Breakfast Experience, Problem Resolution, Speed & Efficiency of Restaurant Service and Responsiveness of Staff to Needs. These rankings are based on actual scores given to the Sheraton by guests who stayed at the hotel. For further information, Contact Richard F. Duda at 315-477-8204.

Sandra Baker is the new Director of Sales & Marketing for Oncenter Complex.

She can be reached at 315-435-8031; s_baker@oncenter.org.

Keri Greer, Senior Sales Manager for the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center Suffern, is the new ESSAE contact. She can be reached at 845-357-4800.

Empire Information Services has been renamed readMedia. For more information, contact Peter Pollak, CEO at 518-429-2800; peter@readmedia.com.

Jason Stratton, Sales Manager for the Rensselaerville Meeting Center is the new ESSAE contact. He can be reached at 518-797-5100 x615; jstratton@rmeetingcenter.com.

Robert Tackman, Managing Director for the Hawthorn Suites Syracuse is the new ESSAE contact. He can be reached at 315-425-0500; rtackman@hawthornsyracuse.com.