May 2015                                                                                      Issue No. 1505
Odessa Convention and Visitors Bureau's
Hot News

CVB News 

  • Jeff Myers, CVB Sport Specialist, attended the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) in Milwaukee, April 27-30.
     
  • State Association Sales Specialist Lawanna Lambert attended the Dallas Fort Worth Association Executives (DFWAE)"A" Day, April 13 in Hurst. 
      
  • Shelia Pippins traveled to Austin April 20-21 to make sales calls on state associations.
     
  • The Odessa CVB will host the Annual Meeting Planner Reception, May 19, at the Odessa Country Club.  All current and future meeting planners are invited.  Odessa hotels will be showcasing their properties and will be available for questions throughout the event.

2014 Meeting Planner Reception 





 

Tourism and Other News  

Mancha in Wichita Falls
  • Staff member Olivia Mancha attended the Texas Travel Industry Association's Travel Fair, April 15-17 in Wichita Falls. 
     
  • National Travel and Tourism Week will be celebrated May 2-10, 2015 throughout the United States.  The Odessa CVB will be supplying local hotels with gifts to give visitors during the week to help emphasize the importance of tourism in our community. 
    NTTW 2015 // Promo Video
    NTTW 2015 // Promo Video

 

CVB Says Farewell to Pippins

  

Shelia Pippins started her career with the Odessa Chamber of Commerce in May 1997 as the front desk receptionist.  Within 6 months, she was promoted to Local Sales Specialist of the Odessa Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

  

Working primarily with the SMERF (social, military, educational, religious, & fraternal) market, Shelia has been instrumental in securing some large

AL Conrad
2008 American Legion Bid with Conrad Roberson

conventions for Odessa over the years. Some of the largest conventions she is most proud of include the American Legion State Convention in 2011 with 1,200 attendees, the Texas New Mexico Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2009 with 800 attendees, the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly Women's Convention in 2001 with 1,000 attendees, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts in 2003 with 200 international attendees.  

 

Her primary responsibility has always been selling Odessa as a convention destination, but like many Chamber employees she wears many different hats. Shelia has also been responsible for servicing convention groups and a host of media functions throughout her career.  

 

2nd
National Tourism Week Coloring Contest

Shelia will be joining her husband Rick in Azle, a suburb of Fort Worth, in June. Rick retired from the City of Odessa in February and was sworn in as Chief of Police of Azle March 1st.

 

Shelia is not sure what the future holds for her concerning her career. "There are plenty of opportunities out there," she says. I think I will wait a while, get my new home established, get my daughter established in school, and learn the city before I start seeking employment."

 

When asked how she feels about leaving her current job and her hometown, she replied, "I love Odessa and always will; this is my home. Every great thing that has ever happened in my life has happened right here. Definitely I am sad to be leaving, but I am excited to start this new chapter in my life."

 

Chamber Chicks at a Chamber Challenge Golf Tournament

She adds, "I want to personally thank the Odessa CVB, the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors, and fellow staff members for allowing me the opportunity and privilege of working for this great organization for the past 18 years. It has been a wonderful experience."

 

The Odessa CVB will be hosting a farewell for Shelia in conjunction with their Annual Meeting Planners Reception. You are invited to attend the reception Tuesday, May 19, between 4:00pm and 6:30 pm at the Odessa Country Club.

 

In This Issue

Texas Bluebonnet

  

On March 7, 1901, the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature adopted the bluebonnet, a species of the annual legume Lupinus subcarnosus, as the state flower. The flower's popular name derives from its resemblance to a sunbonnet. It has also been called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and, in Spanish, el conejo ("the rabbit").

 

On March 8, 1971, the legislation was amended to include L. texensis and "any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded." At least four other species of bluebonnet grow in Texas: L. havardii, L. concinnus, L. perennis, and L. plattensis. Contrary to various folk stories and legends claiming that the plant originated outside the state, L. texensis and L. subcarnosus are native to Texas. 

 

Information obtained from the Texas State Historical Association, April 29, 2015 at https://tshaonline.org/handbook
/online/articles/trb01 

Contact Us
  
Linda Sweatt
CVB Director
  
Shelia Pippins
Web Administrator &
Convention Sales
  
Jeff Meyers
Sport Sales Specialist  

Lawanna Lambert
State Association
Sales Specialist

Olivia Mancha
Administrative Assistant
  
Odessa CVB
700 N. Grant, Suite 200
432-333-7871
1-800-780-4678
 
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