May 19, 2014- Greenwood, MS - The Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is pleased to announce the appointment of veteran tourism industry professional Tonja Ray-Smith, TMP, as Executive Director. Ms. Smith comes to the CVB from the Yazoo County Convention & Visitors Bureau where she has been Executive Director since 2008. Smith is currently a representative on the Mississippi Delta Tourism Association (MDTA) Board of Directors, and Member at Large of the Mississippi Tourism Association (MTA) Board of Directors.
In her role as Executive Director, Smith will oversee all of Greenwood's tourism programs including sales, marketing, public relations and visitor services. She will also implement programs designed to promote and attract tourists, visitors, groups, conventions and related activities to Greenwood.
Smith was hired to replace Paige Hunt, who recently left her position at Greenwood CVB to become the Communication and Advertising Bureau Manager at Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Tourism.
“We are so excited about the future of the Greenwood CVB under the direction of Tonja Ray-Smith,“ says Greenwood CVB Board of Directors Chairman, Andrew McQueen. “She has proven herself to be an asset to the tourism industry in the Mississippi Delta, and we are thrilled that she has accepted our offer. We couldn't have hoped for a better outcome.”
Ms. Smith has been a Mississippi Certified Tourism Professional since August of 2006, and is a Tourism Marketing Professional who earned her diploma from Southeastern Tourism Society (STS) Marketing College in 2010. She led the Yazoo County CVB to the MTA CVB of the Year award for 2012 and 2013, the first such award for Yazoo County. She previously served as a member of the STS Marketing College Board of Trustees, and was named a Top Minority Business Leader by the Delta Business Journal in 2013.
"It's an honor for me to be able to come into the Greenwood CVB," said Smith. "This community is rich with Travel and Tourism assets that many communities in the Mississippi Delta would love to have. I am looking forward to working with the CVB staff and with our tourism partners to recognize these assets, and to make sure that the rest of the world recognizes them as well. Travel is good for us as individuals – it makes us healthier and happier people in our daily lives. And I firmly believe in the power of travel to impact a community financially. I look forward to helping make that impact even greater here in Greenwood.”
Travel and Tourism is big business in Leflore County and Greenwood, Mississippi. $52.6 million was spent by visitors in Leflore County in 2013, with an estimated 750 jobs (5.5% of all jobs in Leflore County) due directly to the Travel & Tourism industry. Greenwood CVB is a non-profit organization with the goal of increasing Travel and Tourism in Greenwood, Mississippi.
For more information about the Greenwood CVB, call 662-453-9197 or visit