Two Glastonbury Residents Elected to Statewide Industry Board

Press release from Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau:

July 28, 2021

MIDDLETOWN, CONN., July 20, 2021 – Two Glastonbury, Conn. residents have been elected to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). They are: Heather Solomon, the President and Founder of Solomon & Associates Event Management (S&A) in Glastonbury, Conn.; and Jason Soucy, the Director of Business Development for the annual PGA TOUR Travelers Championship. Each of their three-year terms started on July 1, 2021. The Middletown, Conn.-based CTCSB is the State of Connecticut’s only statewide sales and marketing organization for meetings, conventions, and sports events. In addition to Solomon and Soucy, David Kooris, the President of Stamford Downtown, was elected to the Board.

“Both Heather and Jason have developed numerous partnerships with a wide range of business, industry, and community leaders across the state, and they will be great assets to the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau as we sell our state to meeting planners and sports promoters across the U.S.,” explains Thomas Madden, the Chair of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau and Director of Economic Development for the City of Stamford.

· Heather Solomon is the President and Founder of Solomon & Associates Event Management (S&A) in Glastonbury, Conn. Since its establishment 1994, the firm has provided a full range of conference and event planning services to corporate, association and nonprofit clients worldwide. Prior to founding S&A, Heather worked in marketing and events for Coopers & Lybrand LLP in Hartford. She is a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Connecticut River Valley Chapter and is a Certified Pandemic Compliance Advisor for meetings. Her current focus is consulting with clients to promote and produce safe and successful gatherings in a post-COVID Connecticut.

· Jason Soucy is the Director of Business Development for the Travelers Championship and has held that position, with that of Director of Sales at Connecticut’s PGA TOUR event, since 2009. Soucy has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, selling, and promoting championship golf on the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, and Champions Tour in multiple markets around the country. Prior to the Travelers Championship, he was a member of the IMG Golf Division as Vice President of North American Event Sales and spent several years as a Tournament Director for the PGA of America. In addition to his golf industry experience, Soucy served as Assistant General Manager/Director of Sales at Agganis Arena at Boston University during its opening from 2004-2006.

· A third new Board members also was elected to the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau at the organization’s annual meeting in June. David Kooris is the President of Stamford Downtown, the largest business improvement district in Connecticut. He also is the Chair of the Connecticut Port Authority and is a graduate-level lecturer at Yale University’s School of Environment. He most recently served as Deputy Commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. Prior to that position, Kooris was the Connecticut Department of Housing’s Director of Resilience, and the City of Bridgeport’s Director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development.

“The composition of our Board of Directors reflects many of the professions and businesses involved with our nation’s meetings, sports and hospitality industries,” adds Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. “Heather Solomon, Jason Soucy and David Kooris each bring specialized expertise and perspective to the organization as we work to attract new and retain existing business for our state.”

The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) markets all of the state – convention and meeting venues, hotels, attractions, and sports facilities and athletic sites – as a premier destination for international, national, regional, and statewide conferences, conventions, and major sports events. In partnership with Connecticut’s businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations and their surrounding communities, the Middletown, Conn.-based organization works to generate new and return events, thereby generating increased economic impact for Connecticut’s local regions and tax revenue for the State. For more information about the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, visit www.CTmeetings.org or call 860-728-6789.

This press release was produced by the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. The views expressed here are the author’s own.