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Dennis
Lauver [Email] [vCard]
President/CEO - Dennis is a native Kansan. He
returned to Kansas in late 2006 to become President/CEO of the Chamber. Dennis previously served as President of the chamber
of commerce in Clinton Iowa, Sarpy County Nebraska and South Sioux City
Nebraska. Dennis began work in the late 1980's at the Sioux
City (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce as the Director, Community & Government
Relations. He is on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Economic
Developers Association and has previously served as chair of the
government affairs division of American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the
trade association of chambers of commerce. He has been a speaker and
moderator at several of their National conventions.
He serves Kansas as an appointee of the Governor on the Electronic Health subcommittee of the Kansas Health Policy Authority. In addition, he is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank's Affordable Housing Council, which works with the bank to encourage affordable housing in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Oklahoma
In 2009, he was designated a "Certified Chamber Executive" (CCE). Less than 500 chamber officials in the world have the designation.
Dennis graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City, IA and has an MBA from Wayne State College, which is part of the Nebraska university system.
Dennis and his wife have two boys. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys being involved with the church they attend in Salina, reading and golf.
You can follow Dennis at www.facebook.com/dennislauver and www.twitter.com/denlauver
Senior Vice President - Don is a Kansas native. Don has been at the Chamber for 34 years. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in Journalism. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management, and has completed six years of Post-Graduate Institute. Don is Past President of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce Executives and Past Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Communication Council. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.
Don and his wife have two girls and 3 grandchildren. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys all types of sports.
Sandy
Cole [Email] [vCard] Sandy
studied data processing at the North Central Kansas Technical College, and
is a graduate of the US Chamber Institutes for Organization Management
curriculum and Leadership Salina. She
and her family live in Bennington, just north of Salina, which counts her
among the many in Salina workforce that commute from ‘bedroom
communities’ daily. Sandy is a member of the Noon Network AMBUCS club, and will serve as their
President in 2008. She shares her talent as a pianist in her church’s Praise Band.
In her spare time, she enjoys music, movies, needlepoint, and is an
avid reader. Aaron White [Email] [vCard] Aaron is a native of Iowa and a United States Marine Corp
Infantry veteran. He has a B.A. from Buena Vista University in Storm
Lake, Iowa, with a double major in Political Science and Psychology.
He earned his MBA from Kansas Wesleyan University. He spent 14 years
in agriculture and agribusiness, working in production, operations, merchandising,
sales and marketing , and truck/rail logistics servicing Kansas and the
surrounding states. Aaron is a member of Business Retention and Expansion
International (BREI) with a Business Retention and Expansion Project
Coordinator (BREPC) rating. Hi is also a member of the local chapter of
the Marine Corps League. Aaron and his wife have two daughters. He enjoys woodworking, motorcycling, and is an avid
outdoorsman.
Accountant
- Sandy joined the staff in 1989.
Her primary responsibilities include accounts receivable
and payable,
membership database management, monthly financial reporting and budgeting
for the Chamber and Visit Salina. Sandy
serves as staff liaison for the Finance Committee as they provide fiscal
oversight and management of the organization’s assets.
Business Retention and Expansion - Aaron has been on staff of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce
since 2008. He will is responsible for identifying and
advocating the retention and expansion of existing businesses; and
actively recruiting new industry to the
Saline County area.
Larry attended Business Retention & Expansion
International training in 2009 and is now a certified BR&E Project
Coordinator. Larry also holds a
Mini-MPA from the “Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs” from
Wichita State University; is a Graduate of the Economic Development
Institute of Norman Oklahoma; a Graduate of the US Chamber of Commerce
Institute for Organizational Management at Boulder Colorado; a Graduate of
the Kansas Law Enforcement Academy (KU) and holds a BSBA with minors in
Psychology and Music from Emporia State University.
Larry is a member of the Governors Kansas Cavalry and
served on that Board as the Assistant Regional Commander of Region 5 and
Region 6; is a founding member of the Kansas Industrial Development
Authority, currently known as the Kansas Economic Developers Alliance.
He has served on the state boards of the Kansas Retailers Association; KEDA
and was the State of Kansas Representative on the Southern Economic
Development Council, Inc. Board of Directors for 4 years.
Maureen
Toll [Email] [vCard]
Workforce Program Development - Maureen
has been the Director of Workforce Program Development at the
Chamber since 1997.
Her responsibilities include custom-designed workforce training,
assessments, and other human resource and business services for regional
businesses and industries; a national workforce recruitment initiative for
the Salina Chamber’s 1200 member companies; labor market research, policy
and analysis; coodination of workforce related task forces; and
representation on several national, state, regional and local boards related
to workforce issues, employment services legislation and funding.
Dr. Toll has experience - from both corporate and academic perspective - in the design, implementation and assessment of corporate training, secondary and post-secondary technical programs, Tech Prep, School to Career, Welfare to Work, the Workforce Investment Act’s One-Stop Services, the US. Chamber’s Workforce 2020 program, and the Synchronist economic development research and analysis system. Before coming to the Chamber, she was an Assistant Dean for continuing education, allied health, and business and industry training at a community college.
Dr. Toll holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, as well as, a bachelor’s degree in art and education from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Toll and her husband,
Doug, own a large farming operation north of Salina.
Their outside activities revolve around their four children, seven
grandchildren, church and their interests in fine and applied arts and in
discovering new and interesting challenges.
Roger Sinclair [Email] [vCard]
Outreach & Recruitment Specialist
Roger is responsible for recruiting a
talented workforce for Salina employers.
He attends local, state and regional job fairs at a variety of
venues. He works to maintain a strong relationship with area
employers and job seekers alike. Roger
also coordinates the newly formed Military Affairs Council.
This group has regular meetings and special events to build a stronger bond
between Salina and the growing military presence here.
He is a
recent retiree from the US Army. He
spent his last nine years recruiting qualified
servicemen throughout central Kansas into the Army
National Guard. He will soon
complete his
bachelor’s degree in Business Administration
through Grantham University.
Roger, his
wife and two teenage children enjoy sports and recreation together.
He has four older
children residing in
Nebraska.
Delta
Bryant [Email] [vCard]
Administration and Operations - Delta has been at the Chamber since 2000.
Her responsibilities include event coordinating, school to career
placements and farm show booth rentals.
Delta
attended design school in Colorado. Prior to the Chamber,
Delta worked as a floral designer.
Some of her favorite hobbies include counted cross stitch and watching classic movies.
Donna
Smith [Email] [vCard] Prior to joining the Chamber in Sept 2000,
Donna was a sales/service manager for a
local manufacturing facility. Donna is a life long resident of Salina and Sylvia
Rice [Email] [vCard] Sylvia is passionate about tourism and about the
role Salina plays in creating the Kansas product.
She represents Salina in many regional coalitions and partnerships,
including the Kansas I-70 Association, Kansas Adventures Times III, North
Central Kansas Tourism Council, and the Travel Industry Association of
Kansas (TIAK), having just concluded her term as 2007 TIAK President.
Sylvia attended Kansas Technical Institute, is a graduate of the US
Chamber Institutes of Organizational Management, and has earned the TIAK
designation of Kansas Destination Specialist. Sylvia enjoys classic movies, theatre, concerts and
cooking, but her most treasured down time is spent exploring Kansas with her
grandchildren – tourism promoters in the making! Tiffany
Benien [Email] [vCard] Tiffany
also works closely with the staff at local facilities including the Salina
Bicentennial Center, The Salina Parks and Recreation, and USD #305. Tiffany
has experience working with several sports events held in Salina on an
annual basis. Examples include
Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) championships for
baseball, basketball, football, softball, volleyball, and wrestling; the
NJCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship-the Salina JUCO Basketball
Blast; KS ASA Softball Tournaments; Triple Crown Sports Youth Baseball and
American Legion Baseball tournaments, golf tournaments, conventions and
more. Tiffany
began working for the Chamber in 1995. Prior to the Chamber Tiffany attended
Kansas Wesleyan University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business.
Tiffany is a native of Salina, she attended high school in Bennington. Tiffany
and her husband, Jeromy,
enjoy softball, volleyball and traveling to
destinations where palm trees are plentiful. They have a daughter, Rylee
born Dec. 2008 who brings new focus and tremendous joy to their lives. Rylee
likes Salina, and is also fond of her favorite vacation destination, Orlando
and Merrit Island Florida. Jo
Ann McClure [Email] [vCard] Prior
to joining the team at Visit Salina, Jo Ann spent many years as an
Advertising Sales Executive at the Salina Journal, and several years in the
hospitality industry while she attended and graduated from Cloud County
Community College and Kansas Wesleyan University. Andi
Pahl [Email] [vCard] She is a proud Salina native, and is our ‘unofficial
historian’ on staff. If
it’s a question about Salina, she either knows the answer, or knows the
person who does! She often
represents Visit Salina at consumer travel shows such as the Kansas Sampler
Festival and Kansas State Fair. Andi graduated from Salina High School and Brown Mackie
College. She returned to Salina
in 1998 after 20 years in New Jersey, where she was an editorial assistant
at Financial Executives Institute, Morristown and executive assistant at
Metro Commercial Real Estate, Mount Laurel. In her leisure time, Andi explores for antiques, is a
great cook, and likes to travel. She
also enjoys Chamber events and First Thursdays! Cindy Lamer [Email] [vCard]
Cindy’s business background is banking and insurance,
and she is a
long-time Visit Salina volunteer.
Accounting Assistant - Donna assists in compiling and recording financial data and maintaining fiscal
records according to established accounting procedures. To quote Helen Keller: "...it is my chief duty to
accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
Director -
Sylvia joined the Chamber’s Convention and Visitors Bureau staff in 1991,
first specializing in the convention market.
Years of experience in hotel sales, operations and management
instilled a strong commitment to great customer service and providing a warm
welcome to our visitors, the basic tenants upon which the Visit Salina
program is built today. Her
primary responsibilities include marketing, advertising, publications,
administration, staff development and the group/leisure markets.
Sylvia works with Salina’s hospitality industry – hotels,
attractions, retail, restaurants and events – to develop and promote the
“Salina Experience”.
Sports and Events Manager - Tiffany is responsible for
servicing and securing sports and special events that attract visitors into
Salina. She is passionate that
Salina is a great city to promote as a destination for new and existing
sports and special events, she strives to ensure that the sports market will
continue to attract visitors and create a significant influx of new dollars
into the Salina community. Tiffany often evaluates and estimates the visitor
spending that events hosted in Salina provide to the community. Vital to her staff are scores of community volunteers, which
Tiffany recruits, directs and builds strong relationships with so that
Salina’s events can be successful.
Convention Sales - Jo
Ann joined the Chamber’s Visit Salina office in 2004 as the Convention
Sales and Services Manager. Her primary
responsibility is to market Salina as a convention and meeting
destination. She works closely with Salina’s varied meeting venues and lodging facilities
to attract and successfully service groups of up to 1,500! Jo Ann has a strong commitment to meeting
planners who select Salina as their host city. Since joining our staff, she has enjoyed working with
many state and
regional associations, reunion and military groups, and has been instrumental in hosting
significant events including the Kansas Unmanned Aerial Systems Symposium
and Hawgsmoke.
Jo Ann is the bride of Russell Schmidt and they continue to make their home
in Salina. They enjoy traveling, cruising in their 1969 Corvette, company of
friends, family, and their dog and cat.
Administrative Assistant- Andi keeps Visit Salina running like a
well-oiled machine! Her primary
responsibility is the distribution of visitor information - promotional
brochures, quarterly magazine, requested visitor information packets,
responses to advertising inquiries, and calendar of event information to
name a few. She supports the
Visit Salina staff in coordinating volunteer schedules, arranging customized
services for conventions and events that might include transportation,
registration, welcome packets and programming.
Program Specialist- Cindy’s Visit Salina
work is primarily in sports, special events
and marketing.
She and husband Brad
have lived in Kansas
and Colorado. She is the mother of two grown children and enjoys reading, hiking, camping
and spending time with her grandsons.
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