Seidl wants to shine spotlight on Fox Cities

APPLETON — Pam Seidl says in her new role as executive director of the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, she wants to make the organization the go-to information hub for travelers coming to the region.

“Moving forward there’s a couple of things we have to look at,” Seidl said Thursday when the bureau announced she had been named to its leadership post. “The future of bureaus and destination marketing is changing certainly with technology and third party providers of places of where to get travel information.”

Seidl to stay ahead of the curve, the bureau must think like a traveler.

"When someone is looking to come to the Fox Cities (of Wisconsin), we want to be that independent and primary expert source of information,” she said. “Generally, we know what travelers coming here are looking for and where they want to spend their time and we can be that resource for them to match up their needs, whether it’s for sporting events or convention planning.”

Seidl said enhancing the Fox Cities attractions also is a priority.

The bureau’s tourism development grant program has provided about $7 million to improve attractions around its service area since 1986. The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and Fox Cities Stadium are just two destinations that have benefited from bureau grants.

“I think we have to continually look at developing and improving the attractions we have,” she said. “Certainly tourism is an aspect of the overall local economy but we also have to look at how we can help further enhance the quality of life for residents and where our next investments should go to complement our product offerings moving forward.”

Serving as bureau’s marketing director and spending 10 years with the organization, Seidl has established relations with media outlets and other other tourism industry and related professionals.

Seidl has been a member of the marketing committee of the Governor’s Council on Tourism and currently serves as a board member of the Appleton Baseball Club, Twin City Catholic Education System and Neenah Rotary. Before joining the bureau, Seidl held marketing positions at Schneider National and Tri County Distributors.

“I can hit the ground running,” she said.

Seidl takes over for Randy Prasse, who was hired April, and previously served as the CEO of Wisconsin State Fair Park. Prasse left the post in October over what the bureau described at the time as philosophical and managerial differences.

Seidl’s familiarity with the organization and ties with the community as well as industry connections helped her stand out, said Jeff Nooyen, chairman of the bureau’s board of directors.

“The search committee sat down and spent a lot of time talking where we needed to go and what we needed in the ideal candidate,” Nooyen said. “We think we found that in Pam.”

Nooyen said Seidl’s background in public relations and experience in marketing and brand building are skills needed to move the bureau forward.

“She obviously had the depth of experience and knowledge and was quite an impressive candidate,” he said. “She had everything we wanted and it was just a bonus we didn’t have to go far to find her.”

Reported by:  Postcrescent.com