By Gazette staff

STEVENS POINT – The Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (SPACVB) has experienced several changes this fall, including some staffing adjustments.

Jacob Adamski joined the SPACVB, as the new sales & event experience manager, while Taylor Greenheck was promoted to director of partnerships.

 “We’re excited to grow our team, welcoming Jacob and transitioning Taylor into their new roles,” said Sara Brish, executive director of the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We look forward to working with them both as they develop connections within our community and throughout the state.”

Adamski is a 2022 graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a degree in marketing. Originally from Mason City, IA, he brings a passion for travel and the Stevens Point Area to his role. During his time in central Wisconsin, he was a member of the UWSP swim team earning four conference championship titles and serving as a captain for three years.

“As sales & event experience manager for the SPACVB, he will be responsible for promoting the Stevens Point Area as an ideal place for meetings, conventions, and sports tournaments, building relationships with meeting and sports event planners,” a SPACVB release stated.

Taylor Greenheck began working with the SPACVB as an intern in June 2021, transitioning to a full-time role prior to graduation from UWSP. As a student, she was a member of the UWSP women’s basketball team.

“Originally from Sauk City, she brings enthusiasm and a hospitality background, working in customer service and sports prior to her time at the bureau. In her role, she will lead partner efforts within the Stevens Point Area hospitality community acting as the primary contact between the SPACVB and its tourism partners. As part of her role, she will also manage the Stevens Point Area Gift Shop,” the release added.

Plover partnership termination

The Village of Plover Tourism Commission recently terminated a 30-year partnership with the SPACVB, during their October 2022 meeting. The termination will be effective at the end of 2022.

“The termination of this partnership will create negative direct and tangible impacts throughout the region, including in the Village of Plover. Collaboration is powerful and necessary, even more so in a crowded tourism industry,” SPACVB Executive Director Sara Brish and SPACVB Board Chair Greg Diekroeger said in a joint release.

“Within Portage County, there are 27 municipalities. We exist as part of that larger community, with many who live in one community, while working, shopping, and doing business in others. The same is true for visitors, municipal boundaries do not matter.  

“For example, for six weekends a year, when the Village of Plover hosts tournaments at Woyak Park, visitors stay, dine, and explore well beyond the municipal borders of their municipality. The same is true for events across the county, from one of the state’s largest soccer tournaments in Stevens Point to the Energy Fair in Custer, and all the events driving visitor traffic within Portage County.  

“Upon the termination of the partnership with the Village of Plover tourism, businesses in the Village of Plover will immediately see a loss of brand awareness. Instead of collaborating on a shared pre-COVID nearly $750,000 budget, the Village of Plover will have limited reach and opportunity. In fact, their current investment is roughly 1/3 of the total budget. Our historic collaborative approach allows them to extend their limited reach well beyond what their investment can do on its own.”

The Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an “economic and community development organization whose purpose is to expand Portage County’s economy by attracting conventions, sporting events and leisure tourists to Portage County.”