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Summer 2014 Newsletter Extended: Kelsea O'Lea

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KELSEA O'LEA: EMERGING LEADER IN TRAVEL

By Kevin Mould (RPTA '14), Editor

Kelsea poses with Dr. HendricksThe accolades keep rolling in for RPTA and its outstanding graduates, the latest of which is Kelsey O'Lea (RPTA '11, pictured below, immediate right of Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom) who received the California Travel Association's 2014 "Tourism Industry Emerging Leaders Award" at this year's Cal Travel Summit in Los Angeles.

The award, which was established at the 30th annual summit in 2012, is designed to recognize individuals under the age of 30 who have contributed to the support and promotion of travel, tourism and hospitality through their individual and/or organizational efforts. Businesses and individuals throughout the state were encouraged to nominate colleagues and connections who demonstrated outstanding degrees of skill and talent, and who were driven in their desire to develop the industry.

O'Lea was nominated by RPTA's own Department Head Bill Hendricks for her outstanding work as a marketing & events assistant for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest of its kind on the West Coast with more than 3,000 member businesses. O'Lea is personally involved in the coordination and marketing of more than 100 events every year, which include professional development workshops, networking events, military balls, golf tournaments, small business awards, large-scale banquets, and both national and international delegation trips.

In addition to helping create these events, O'Lea is also responsible for electronic and print marketing, corporate relations, market research, and trend analysis. Even with all of her hard work, O'Lea remains modest about her selection by noting, "It was a humbling experience to be nominated for this award...one that I never expected to win. I'm honored to receive such an accolade!"

O'Lea poses with friendsO'Lea has been with the Chamber for two and a half years and has played a significant role in the creation, marketing and implementation of a member retention program called "Chamber 101." Additionally, O'Lea is also part of a task force charged with creating a new, custom-built customer relationship management (CRM) system for the Chamber. She is also currently working with a web developer on the creation of a new mobile event management application for many of the Chamber's events, including delegation trips and board meetings.

When asked about her success, O'Lea is quick to acknowledge her colleagues and education. "My current position has allotted me great opportunity; my superiors trust my judgement and respect my work. I firmly believe that I can attribute my success to the solid education and experiential background that I received from the Cal Poly RPTA department." Her contributions are truly taking her industry to the next level through the integration of modern technologies, and it will be exciting to see where these developments lead in the development of the travel and tourism industry in the future.

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