Paul Upchurch has been appointed   president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee.  Upchurch was most recently chief operating officer for the Chicago-based TCA Holdings, an operator of private sports clubs and resorts. His background also includes serving as vice-president of hotel operations for Marcus Hotels & Resorts, which is based in Milwaukee. Upchurch succeeds Doug Nielson, who left the bureau at year’s end.

The Fairbanks (Alaska) Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Helen Renfrew as its director of meetings and conventions. Renfrew spent the past eight years as sales manager for the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.

The Austin (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Val Mashaw  as executive meetings manager. She served most recently as corporate event director for the Fuddruckers, Inc., chain of restaurants.

Susanne Tunney has been named regional director of sales for the Midwest at Visit Baltimore. Tunney was most recently director of national sales for the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions at La Quinta Resort & Club in Southern California.

The San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau has opened a satellite office in Chicago, to be headed by National Convention Sales Manager Amy Brown. Brown has spent the past three years in the bureau’s San Antonio office selling the city and its Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center to the Chicago market.

The Curaçao Tourist Board in the Caribbean has promoted Andre Rojer to marketing manager for North America. Rojer, who will be based out of the organization’s Newark, New Jersey, office, has been with the board for more than five years, most recently as marketing coordinator.

Allison Cooksley Vasquez has been appointed national association sales manager at the Galveston Island (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Vasquez was previously state association sales manager for the Radisson Hotel & Suites in Austin, but she worked with the Galveston Island bureau from 2007 to 2008.

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association has appointed two new sales managers to its Washington, D.C., office: Jennifer Haire and Kenneth Hemsley Jr. Haire served most recently at Freeman Audio Visual Solutions as national sales manager for the greater Washington, D.C., area. She has also worked for the national event-planning company Experient. Hemsley served previously at Visit Baltimore, where he held several different positions including group tour and international sales manager, director of tourism development and national sales manager.

The Greater Louisville (Kentucky) Convention & Visitors Bureau has made two appointments: Katrina Gallagher has been named convention sales manager and Lauren McAlpin has been promoted to convention services manager. Gallagher spent the past six years as an account executive for Estes Public Relations in Louisville. McAlpin, who joined the bureau in 2008, was previously the visitors services coordinator at the bureau’s visitor information center.

•    The Association Forum of Chicagoland recently announced its new board of directors. Officers include H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, of the Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society, as chair; Elaine Weiss, of the Illinois CPA Society, as chair-elect; and Oliver Yandle, CAE, of the Commercial Law League of America, as secretary-treasurer.

Regular-member directors serving three-year terms include Mary Lynn Fayoumi, CAE, of the Management Association of Illinois, and Larry Robertson, CAE, of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Serving a one-year term as a regular-member director will be Dave Bergeson, CAE, of the Association Management Center; he is serving the unexpired term for Oliver Yandle. Supplier partner member directors include Regina Ward, of Harris Bank, and Brian Willard, CAE, of BK Solutions.

•    Richard Abernathy has been named executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA). Abernathy succeeds Tom Kimbrell, who left the organization to become commissioner of education for the state of Arkansas. Abernathy previously served as superintendent of schools for the Bryant (Arkansas) School District.

•    Also in Arkansas, Kay Durnett has retired as executive director of the Arkansas State Employees Association. Durnett has been with the organization since 1974, when she was hired by its previous executive director, L.D. Owen. Durnett took over as executive director upon Owen’s retirement in 1992.

•    The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) has reported that a record number of association executives—278—recently earned their Certified Association Executive designation as part of the winter 2010 class. News of this achievement comes as ASAE marks the 50th anniversary of the CAE program.

Executives earning CAE status from state or regional associations include:
Marc Abla, CAE, of the Illinois Chiropractic Society;
Jeanette Allison, CAE, of the Texas Society of Architects;
Steve Arnold, CAE, of the Kane County (Illinois) Farm Bureau;
Barbara Baldwin, CAE, of the California Society of Anesthesiologists;
Robert Barker, CAE, of the Mason County (Michigan) Growth Alliance;
Joanne Barry, CAE, of the New York State Society of CPAs;
Steve Blanton, CAE, of the Rogue Valley (Oregon) Association of Realtors;
Rick Bondurant, CAE, of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas;
Jody Boudreaux, CAE, of the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana;
Angela Brutsche, of the Austin (Texas) Board of Realtors;
Julie Courtney, CAE, of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas;
Lawrence Cummings, CAE, of the Central New York School Boards Association;
Michael Curren, CAE, of the Massachusetts Hospital Association;
Matthew DeWolf, CAE, of the Michigan Bankers Association;
Cynthia Durham, CAE, of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association;
Katherine Febraio, CAE, of the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Kathie Feldpausch, CAE, of the Michigan Association of Realtors;
Cindy Fletcher, CAE, of the Oregon Dental Association;
Peter Fox, CAE, of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association;
Sandra Giarde, CAE, of the California Association for the Education of Young Children; Buddy Gill, CAE, of the Texas Credit Union League;
Krista Gulbransen, CAE, of Western Independent Bankers;
Barbara Harrison, CAE, of the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects;
Devorah Jakubowski, CAE, of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association;
Annette Henkel, CAE, of the Minnesota Utility Investors Association;
Roberta Herman, CAE, of the Colorado Restaurant Association;
Mark Herzog, CAE, of the Virginia Biotechnology Association;
David Higgins, CAE, of the Florida Dental Association;
Angelique Hill, CAE, of the California Retired Teachers Association;
Debra Hurston, CAE, of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association;
Lisa Jones, CAE, of the Texas Retailers Association;
Laurie Kaiser, CAE, of the Madison Area (Wisconsin) Builders Association;
Daniel Kelsey, CAE, of the Indiana State Medical Association;
Megan Killian, CAE, of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs;
James Kistler, CAE, of the Associated Builders & Contractors Heart of America Chapter;
David Latimer III, CAE, of the South Carolina Troopers Association;
Yvonne McGhee, CAE, of the Fairfax (Virginia) Bar Association;
Deanna Menesses, CAE, of the Capital Area (Louisiana) Medical Society;
Scott Meske, CAE, of Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin;
Sue Millager, CAE, of the Chapel Hill (North Carolina) Board of Realtors;
Sonnia Montemayor, CAE, of the Texas Society of Association Executives;
Gary Moon, CAE, of the Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice;
Susan Motley, CAE, of the Virginia Nurses Association;
Kristen Myers, CAE, of the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging;
Hester Ndoja, CAE, of the Florida Society of Association Executives;
Judith Oiler, CAE, of the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey;
Karen Oshman, CAE, of the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association;
Sara Reynolds, CAE, of the Colorado Municipal League;
Sonia Riggs, CAE, of the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Architects;
Robert Rohrer, CAE, of the Cook County (Illinois) Farm Bureau;
Nancy Schleuter, CAE, of the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis;
Emily Speight, CAE, of the Texas Architectural Foundation;
David Stone, CAE, of Florida Hospices & Palliative Care;
Michele Straw, CAE, of the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects;
Suzanna Stribling, CAE, of the Southeastern Council of Foundations;
Albert Suguitan, CAE, of the Greater Gateway (Illinois) Association of Realtors;
William Sheridan, CAE, of the Maryland Association of CPAs;
Robert Talley, CAE, of the Nevada Dental Association;
Marcia Tetterton, CAE, of the Virginia Association for Home Care & Hospice;
Michael Theo, CAE, of the Wisconsin Realtors Association;
Robert Thieman Jr., CAE, of the Illinois Manufactured Housing Association; Rose Trader, CAE, of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Illinois;
Jennifer Thuma, CAE, of the Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West;
Kyle Allen Ulrich, CAE, of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents;
Dianne Verbonitz, CAE, of the Arizona Psychological Association;
Lisa Veregge, CAE, of the Maine Insurance Agents Association;
Allan Voorhees, CAE, of the Iowa Automotive Dealers Association;
Jill Watson, CAE, of the Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City;
Cherie Williams, CAE, of the Reno/Sparks (Nevada) Association of Realtors;
Murray Williams, CAE, of the Iowa Credit Union League;
Aaron Wolowiec, CAE, of the Health Care Association of Michigan;
and Jay Young, CAE, of the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. 

•    The New England Society of Association Executives is scheduled to hold its first Technology Conference on March 26 at the Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, call (978) 250-9847 or visit www.nesae.org.

•    Ellen Kushman has been named executive director of the Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Kushman’s appointment comes as part of the organization’s selection of the New York City office of the Kellen Company for its association management.

•    The Arkansas Society of Association Executives is slated to hold its Associate Trade Show on May 11 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock starting at 1 p.m. New this year: A virtual trade show and state agencies will be among the exhibitors. For information, call (501) 223-9188 or visit www.arksae.net.

Oregon’s Travel Lane County plans to celebrate the grand opening of its Adventure Center this month, in addition to launching its new slogan: “Real Adventures. Real Close.”

Located in the Eugene–Springfield metro area, the center will provide visitors with assistance in navigating area accommodations, restaurants, shopping districts, wineries, events, nature trails and other attractions.

The center’s interactive features, including a display with a McKenzie River drift boat and topographic tabletop maps for trip planning, incorporate the area’s landscapes and recreational offerings.