January Education Luncheon

Janet Roach
Visit Tallahassee, Meetings, Conventions, and Group Sales Director

Janet Roach has 24 years of experience in the tourism industry, specializing in facilitating successful meetings and events. Her career began in visitor center management and spans roles in customer service, training, and hotel sales. Janet’s has a love for Florida’s Capital City and uses her extensive knowledge to serve as a destination expert and event liaison between professional meeting planners and hospitality partners to ensure all components of meetings, conferences, or festivals are achieved.

Michael Corrigan
Visit Jacksonville

 Michael Corrigan is the President and CEO of Visit Jacksonville, the City’s Destination Marketing Organization. As a lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Michael’s passion for the city shines as he helps carry out Visit Jacksonville’s mission of increasing awareness of the area as a premiere destination for vacations, meetings and tourism-related businesses.  

 Prior to his current role, Michael was the Duval County Tax Collector and before that he was a member of Jacksonville City Council. In 2006-07, Michael was City Council President and Tourist Development Council (TDC) chair where he had the opportunity to oversee tourist development funding and witness the impact of tourism on the city of Jacksonville.

 Through this, he became an advocate for increasing advertising and marketing funds to further spread the word about the opportunities the Jacksonville area offers for tourists and meeting/convention groups. His efforts helped the TDC better understand the value of investing in tourism as an economic force and he was recognized with the Visit Jacksonville Tourism Advocate Award in 2009.

 Michael is currently a volunteer member of the Florida State College of Jacksonville Foundation Board, LifeSouth Blood Bank Board of Directors, Florida First Coast of Golf Board of Directors, St. Mathews Catholic Church Leadership Committee, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Northeast Chapter Board of Directors and the Activating Jacksonville Riverfront Task Force.

Karen Morris, CMP, CDME
Walton County Tourism Department 

Karen has lived and worked in Walton County for 20 years after relocating from Asheville, North Carolina in 2000. Prior to joining the Walton County Tourism Department, Karen was National Sales Manager at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and held sales manager positions with Salamander and Radisson Hotels. She started her hospitality career at historic Biltmore Estate as Catering Sales Manager after attending the University of North Carolina-Asheville where she majored in Business Management. Karen’s love of Walton County combined with a strong knowledge of the destination and years of sales experience allow her to direct the team’s sales efforts and educate meeting planners and potential travelers from around the country about all the wonderful reasons to choose Walton County as their meeting destination. When not working, Karen enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, playing trivia games, watching sunsets and cheering on the UNC Tar Heels.

Susan Phillips
St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB

Susan Phillips has nearly 40 years of experience in the travel and hospitality, aviation, legal, and financial services industries with expertise in large-scale management of marketing, media, public relations, and business strategy.

 Ms. Phillips joined the St. Johns County Visitors & Convention Bureau (VCB) in January 2018 as Director of Tourism Promotion & Strategic Alliances, where she successfully worked to enhance Florida’s Historic Coast as a popular tourism and meetings destination through promotion and strategic partnerships with corporate, media, and governmental projects to bring TV production, film, and other promotional opportunities to the destination.   She has been responsible for the VCB’s strategic planning; involved in brand development; and provided marketing agency supervision and oversight of the VCB’s advertising agency, interactive website marketing agency, Hispanic PR media agency, and fulfillment and distribution agency.  In January 2023 Ms. Phillips was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau, filling the role following Richard Goldman’s retirement.

 Prior to joining the VCB, Ms. Phillips served as Senior Vice President of Operations for 73 Deville, a creative marketing, advertising and public relations agency specializing in the tourism, hospitality, and real estate development industries.  She also spent several years as the Director of Marketing for Visit Myrtle Beach (Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce / Convention & Visitors Bureau) and as the Director of Marketing and Executive Committee team member at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, NC.

 She also served in key executive leadership and marketing roles at North Carolina’s HomeTrust Bank and with the Asheville (NC) Regional Airport Authority. Before moving to Asheville, Ms. Phillips spent nearly 15 years of her career at Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, Georgia, overseeing the strategic development, pricing, marketing, and overall management of the Delta Vacations worldwide tour product, representing $350 million in annual gross revenue.

Ms. Phillips is a member of VISIT FLORIDA®, SKÅL International, the Florida Attractions Association, the St. Augustine Attractions Association, and the Women’s Food Alliance and is on the Board of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, Florida’s First Coast of Golf, and Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. She is also a past member and secretary of the South Carolina Association of Tourism Regions (SCATR), as well as a graduate of the Leadership South Carolina Class of 2014. Prior to that, she was a member of Historic Hotels of America, the North Carolina Bankers Association, the North Carolina Airports Council, the American Association of Airport Executives, and the Public Relations Association of Western North Carolina, in addition to serving on various tourism, public relations, transportation, and economic development committees with the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Ms. Phillips earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. She resides in St. Augustine, Florida. Her four adult children (which includes a set of 25-year-old triplets) live in D.C., North Carolina, and Florida.

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