Visit Florida adds Sarasotans

SARASOTA — Five members of the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau were appointed to serve on various committees within Visit Florida, the state's official tourism and marketing corporation.

Virginia Haley, SCVB president, will chair Visit Florida's Cultural, Heritage, Rural & Nature Tourism Committee for a second consecutive year. Erin Duggan, SCVB communications director, will be a member of the Communications Committee.

Anne Zavorskas, sales and marketing director for the SCVB, will serve on the Advertising Committee; SCVB Sales Manager Kelly Defebo will serve on the Sales Committee; and Lynn Hobeck Bates, SCVB cultural and international sales manager, will serve on the International Sales Committee.

Each of the five will begin working with Visit Florida effective July 1, through June 30, 2012.

Yesterday, Gov. Rick Scott made changes to the state's economic development functions by creating a new government department.