“Visit Evansville’s” Excellent Decision
by City-County Observer Staff
December 29, 2022
“Visit Evansville” has been a long-embattled organization with the responsibility to turn Evansville, Indiana into a tourist destination of choice. The once Evansville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau made two moves in 2021 that will serve to clarify and focus the efforts to attract tourists to Evansville and the City-County Observer has high expectations for success this time.
The first big change was the name change to “Visit Evansville” which fully embodies the mission of the organization. It is now clear that visitors are what is sought, and the value of visitors is not segregated into categories like conventions, athletes, veterans, or casual visitors. It must be mentioned that many Convention and Visitors Bureaus changed their name to “Visit ——” in 2021 and the changes are widely expected to be positive.
The board of directors of “Visit Evansville” was also put into a position to do another search for a CEO by the resignation of Jim Woods who decided after two years to seek his fortune elsewhere. Woods was the 4th CEO of the organization in the last decade. Excessive turnover has plagued the entity for as long as most of us can remember. For some reason, past boards of directors have been infatuated with the prospect of bringing in a heavy hitter from other places.
After another national search, Alexis Berggren, who has been managing the Old National Bank Events Center was selected as the new CEO. Selecting a local is a welcome departure from the searches in the last decade and it is a good decision.
Berggren has demonstrated creativity in bringing national and exciting events to Evansville in ways that have not been done here for many years and it has paid off with an increase in tourists and day trips from what is called the drive market. This is precisely what Evansville can expect to find continued and sustainable success with. Berggren will have an achievable set of goals that will move Evansville forward in entertainment, youth sports, and other creative offerings that she will most certainly pursue.
For an entity that started the decade with an embarrassing Bacchanalian wine fest that squandered more taxpayer dollars than one can comprehend and the dismissal of a former CEO for political reasons, 2021 is a welcome positive advancement for “Visit Evansville”. Success in serving the drive market and the hiring of someone who already lives here has the potential to maximize the tourist industry performance of Evansville.
Congratulations to the “Visit Evansville” board of directors on the excellent decision to hire Alexis Berggren as their next CEO/President. We look forward to reporting on their success.
