Business Before Hours - Tourism Update 2019

Join your Chamber at the November Business Before Hours scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 2019 for our annual Tourism Update featuring Tom Riford, Assistant Secretary overseeing the Marketing and Communications Division, including the Office of Film, Tourism and the Arts for the Maryland Department of Commerce. He will be discussing the state’s strategies for promoting tourism. Sarah Duck, VP of Tourism & Marketing for the Chamber, will also be providing an update on tourism in Garrett County.

Tom Riford is an Assistant Secretary for the Maryland Department of Commerce and is responsible for managing the Division of Tourism, Film, and the Arts and the Department of Marketing and Communications. Mr. Riford was most recently the executive director of the Thomas Kennedy Center Inc. Riford served for more than a decade as the president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was successful in significantly driving up visitor spending and visitation, and is the former vice president of Homewood Retirement Centers. He also served as marketing director for several years with the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission.

Mr. Riford is an award-winning public relations and marketing professional, as well as a reporter and anchor, and has reported the news for decades in Hagerstown on WJEJ and other radio stations. He has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and is a decorated Marine Corps veteran.