Anchorage, Alaska – Sept. 20, 2006 – It’s official, the year 2011 will be the year of the Lions in Anchorage. The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) received word this week that Anchorage has been chosen to host the USA-Canada Lions Leadership Forum in September 2011. Roughly 3,200 delegates are expected at the convention with an Estimated Economic Impact (EEI) of $3.1 million. The Lions Club convention, scheduled for Sept. 22 - 24, 2011, is the largest out-of-state delegate convention ever booked for Anchorage and will fill the Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center facilities and 10 hotels to capacity.

“The actual economic impact of this convention is probably closer to $10 million when factoring in people who will come early and stay after the convention, taking advantage of their stay in Anchorage to explore the surrounding area,” said Buster Hall, a past international director of the Lions, and the local Anchorage resident and Lions member who helped lead the bid to win the convention.

Anchorage beat out several worthy contenders to host the Lions convention including St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Raleigh (North Carolina) and Phoenix. It’s the first time the Lions board of directors voted unanimously when choosing its host city.

The win is a huge accolade for ACVB International Convention Sales Manager, Barbara Kremer, who will celebrate her 20th anniversary with ACVB in October. The Lions first worked with ACVB in 1995 to host the Lions Leadership Forum. Though there was great interest in holding the convention in Anchorage at that time, it was determined that the city’s current facilities couldn’t accommodate a group of this size, especially the event’s closing banquet. Kremer started working with Hall and the Lions more than two years ago again, in hopeful anticipation that voters might approve expanded convention facilities. A site committee from the Lions Club International visited Anchorage this June and confirmed that the civic and convention center expansion will allow the city to offer the 2,000 hotel rooms, numerous breakout rooms and one large dining venue required by this three-day convention.

Bringing the Lions Club International convention to Anchorage was a key message for proponents during the April 2005 campaign to convince voters to approve a new civic and convention center for Anchorage. “This was a collaborative team effort between local Lions members, Mayor Mark Begich, ACVB and the local hotels,” said Kremer. “The destination of ‘Alaska’ has its own unique selling point, but it would never have happened without the hard work of everyone involved. This will be a showcase event for Anchorage with a return on investment.”

A Forum Committee, chaired by Hall, will be developed to decide the workshop topics, speakers and other details of the convention. That work begins next month when Anchorage hosts the President of Lions International for his first visit.

The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage. ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by one-third of the bed tax collected by the lodging association. One-third goes to the Municipality’s general fund and one-third goes to the Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center construction project. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. For more information, explore www.Anchorage.net.

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Media Contacts:

Laura Tanis
Public Relations Manager
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
ltanis@anchorage.net
(907) 257-2331 direct
(907) 250-5285 cell
(907) 222-3752 fax

Nance Larsen, APR
Vice President, Communications & Marketing Programs
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
nlarsen@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118 direct