* People in the News Jeffrey W. Poole has been appointed national sales director at Rosen Hotels & Resorts. He will be based in Washington, D.C., and will be responsible for both association and corporate accounts in the Washington, D.C., metro area for Orlando's Rosen Centre and Rosen Plaza (both located adjacent to Orlando's convention center), and an as yet unnamed resort property in Orlando. Poole formerly was national director of sales for Omni Hotels.

Association News At Alexandria, Va. - based NATSO Inc., the association representing the travel plaza and truck stop industry, Denise Stone has joined as director, conventions and expositions. Stone has spent 10 years as director of meetings for the Irrigation Association, and most recently served as director of exhibits for the Electronic Retailing Association.

Ann Wittner, CMP, the director of administration for the American Osteopathic Association, has been appointed vice chair to the Convention Industry Council's Certified Meeting Professional program. In her new position, Wittner will promote the importance of the CMP credentials to professionals in the meeting planning industry. Wittner was among the first group to sit for the exam, in 1985.

Moorestown, N.J. - based Association Headquarters Inc., which provides trade show management, public relations, membership development, executive management and administrative support for trade associations and professional societies, has made several staff changes: Michele Biordi has been appointed executive director of the Unfinished Furniture Association, and Ann Marie Smith has been appointed executive director of the National Trailer Dealers Association. Clare Rife has been promoted to trade show manager, as a liaison between Association Headquarters and its client partners. Among the associations for which she is responsible are Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association, the Unfinished Furniture Association, and the Writing Instruments Manufacturers Association.

Hotels, Resorts, and Conference Centers At the Elliott hotel, scheduled to open in the spring in Seattle as a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Audrey Fan has been named director of group sales. She had been senior convention sales manager at the East King County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Steve Heitzner has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing for Marriott Lodging, Western Region. Heitzner formerly was market director of resort strategy for the Marriott and Renaissance Southwest Desert Resorts.

Tracy Ward is the new national sales manager for The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Los Angeles. She will be responsible for association business in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. She had been with Leisure Management Inc., Palm Springs, Calif. Also at the Westin Bonaventure, Linda Lawson has been named convention services manager. Lawson comes from the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Well, Calif., where she was director of convention services.

Kristine Stocker has been appointed sales manager in charge of association groups from west of the Mississippi at the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas. Prior to joining Wyndham, Stocker was a corporate sales manager at Adam's Mark Hotel in Dallas.

At the Chattanoogan, a Benchmark Hospitality conference center slated to open in April in Chattanooga, Tenn., Jody Hermann has been named sales manager. Hermann will work with Nashville's corporate and state association meeting markets.

CVBs The Washington, D.C. - based International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus has selected Michael Gehrisch as its new president and CEO. Gehrisch, who replaced Ed Nielsen as the organization's top executive on February 1, was previously vice president of hotel sales for WorldRes.com.

Jorge Pesquera has been appointed executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, overseeing all aspects of the tourism marketing and development for Puerto Rico worldwide. Prior to this appointment, Pesquera was the executive director of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau for eight years.

Brian McCartin has been hired at the Portland Oregon Visitors Association as executive vice president of sales and marketing. McCartin had been general manager of both the Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center in Portland and Doubletree Portland Downtown.

Nicole Perry has been named convention sales manager for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. She will focus on the mid-size association market for Washington, D.C., and the South-east. Perry was most recently sales manager for the Indianapolis Marriott East.