Welcome to our special section — highlighting notable convention and visitors bureaus, as well as convention centers — containing essential information for association meeting planners.

Many of the highlighted CVBs and centers are also winners, by the vote of our readership, of our coveted Inner Circle Award for 2002 (see listing below). Readers of Association Meetings magazine chose the winners based on their high level of service, flexible function space, and the quality of food and beverage.

Check out pages 44 through 67 for an overview of what's happening with CVBs and convention centers across the country.

INNER CIRCLE 2002 Award Winners

• Convention and Visitors Bureaus

  Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association
  Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Jamaica Tourist Board
  Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
  New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau
  Portland Oregon Visitors Association
  San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau
  Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau
  St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission

• Convention Centers

  COBO Conference/Exhibition Center, Detroit
  George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston
  Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome, Indianapolis
  Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, Louisville
  Las Vegas Convention Center
  McCormick Place, Chicago
  Toronto Congress Centre, Ontario, Canada
  Oncenter Complex: Convention Center, War Memorial, Civic Center Theaters, Syracuse, New York
  Orange County Convention Center, Orlando
  Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.