* Woody King has formed his own company, Destination Management & Marketing, Ltd., based in Columbus, OH. A 30-year veteran of the hospitality and convention industry, King had most recently served as vice president of the Greater Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau.
* Sam Winterbottom has been promoted to interim president, franchise division, ITT Sheraton Corporation in Boston. He had been vice president, Sheraton Franchise Corporation, and director, sales and franchising.
* Pacific Agenda, a San Francisco-based DMC, has promoted Mary Carvotta to vice president of sales and marketing. She had been sales manager.
* The Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Tom Noonan to vice president, eastern region. He had been director of sales, and will remain based at the bureau's Washington, DC office.
* Gus Vonderheide has joined the Grand Hyatt Washington (DC) as director of sales and marketing. He had been director of sales with the Hyatt Regency Dearborn (MI).
* The Greater Columbus (OH) Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced two appointments. Joseph Marinelli has been named vice president of sales and marketing. Marinelli joins from Charlotte, NC, where he was director of sales and marketing at The Westin Hotel. Karri Cecil Schildmeyer has been promoted to national sales manager. She had been sales manager.
* Joe DiBenedetto has been named director of sales and marketing at the Grand Traverse Resort near Traverse City, MI. Most recently, he served as director of sales at the Ritz Carlton San Juan Hotel and Casino in Puerto Rico.
* The Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina has announced two staff changes. Larry Kaufman has been promoted to director of sales and marketing. He had been director of sales. Assuming his former position is John Dean. Dean joins from the Sheraton El Conquistador Resort and Country Club in Tucson, where he had been national sales manager.
* The Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, VA has appointed Laura Santoni-Pichardo director of marketing. She joins from the Residence Inn by Marriott Lake Buena Vista, FL, where she was director of marketing.
* Phil Anderson has been appointed director of sales and marketing for Abbey Group Resorts in Lake Geneva, WI. Anderson will handle The Abbey Resort & Fontana Spa, the Interlaken Resort and Country Spa, and The Inns of Geneva National. Most recently, he had served as director of sales and marketing for The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort in Longboat Key, FL.
* Euromic, the consortium of 25 DMCs in Europe and the Mediterranean, has named Ann Ertsas director of marketing, North America. Ertsas, who will be based in Chicago, had most recently served as account executive for AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, also based in Chicago.
* Liam Kelly has joined Euro-Asia Hotels in Sydney, Australia, as director of marketing. He had been director of sales--Australia for Rydges Hotels and Resorts.
* Hyatt Rickeys in Palo Alto, CA, has appointed Sidney Lovett Hunter director of sales. She joins from the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, where she served as associate director of sales, and national association and corporate accounts manager.
* The Holiday Inn * St. Louis Westport has appointed Linda S. Schuette director of sales. Most recently, she had been a feasibility analyst for Summerfield Hotel Corp. in St. Louis.
* The Hotel Sofitel Washington, DC has promoted Maria Brussescu to director of sales. She had been sales manager.
* Anne Urban has joined the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau in Florida as director of convention marketing. She had been general manager for Summerfield Suite Hotel Corporation in Atlanta.
* Ed Quigley, Jr. has been named director of corporate sales at the TradeWinds Resort on St. Pete Beach, FL. Previously, he served as director of national accounts with the Reed Hotel Marketing Group in Chicago.
* The Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau has announced several appointments. Michael D. Tarr has joined as director of national accounts. Tarr, who will be based in Chicago, was formerly national accounts manager with the national sales office of Westin Hotels & Resorts. Robb Huff has been named senior director of corporate and incentive accounts. Huff, who will specialize in incentives, and pharmaceutical and technology corporation accounts, had been senior director, corporate and incentive national accounts, with the San Diego Convention Center.
* The Hong Kong Renaissance has announced two staff changes. Helen Yu is the new assistant director of sales--commercial. She joins from the Grand Stanford Harbour View Hotel, also in Hong Kong, where she was senior sales manager. Stanley Lew has been promoted to sales manager--commercial. Lew, who will handle corporate accounts, had been assistant sales manager--commercial.
* Kelly Moore has joined the Mesa (AZ) Convention and Visitors Bureau as manager of convention sales. Most recently, she served as senior sales manager for the Arizona Golf Resort, also in Mesa.
* The Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas has appointed Tim Lafferty national sales manager. He had been director of sales and marketing with Classic Management.
* The Atlantic City (NJ) Convention & Visitors Authority has named Joseph C. DiGirolamo national sales manager. Formerly, he had been vice president of operations and sales with Accommodations Express, a national reservations center in Ocean City, NJ.
* Barbara Bogdanski has been named national sales manager for the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. Bogdanski, who will be based in the bureau's Washington, DC office, previously served as associate director of sales at the Holiday Inn on The Hill, also in Washington, DC.
* Jim Durbin has been named national sales manager at Bally's Las Vegas, responsible for the corporate market. He joins from the Luxor Hotel & Casino, also in Las Vegas, where as a member of the sales team, he handled convention sales.
* Starr Crist has been promoted to senior sales manager at the Marriott at Sawgrass Resort in Ponte Vedra, FL. She had been sales manager.
* Costa Cruises in Miami has announced three appointments. Gentry Dunham joins as regional sales manager. Based in Nashville, TN, she will cover Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. She had been a district sales manager, based in Nashville, for Royal Caribbean International. Larry Kleinman also has been named regional sales manager. Previously, he served with Premier Cruise Lines as a district sales manager. Based in Monmouth, NJ, he will handle New Jersey. Michael Ottenfeld has been appointed regional sales manager, responsible for Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Most recently, he was a regional sales manager for Dolphin and Majesty Cruise Lines.
* The Palm Springs (CA) Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Bureau has promoted Angela Boardman to convention services manager. She had served as administrative assistant to the vice president/sales.
* Sose Topalian has been promoted to group sales manager at the New York--New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. She had been sales associate.
* Angela Zanetis has been named sales manager at The Boulders, a Carefree Resort in Carefree, AZ. She joins from the Grand Heritage Hotel and Hilton Frontenac in St. Louis, where she was corporate sales manager.
* Denise Sarver has been promoted to sales manager at the Doubletree Hotel New Orleans. She had been catering coordinator.
* David C. Shrader has joined the Doubletree Hotel Anaheim/Orange County (CA) as convention services manager. He comes from the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center in Chesterfield, MO, where he had previously served as banquet manager.