Jacqueline Johnson CTC, Chairman, Caribbean Wedding Association & MarryCaribbean.com

Jacqueline Johnson is the President of Jacqueline Johnson & Associates, and Chairman of Caribbean Wedding Association and Marry Caribbean.com.

A frequent lecturer on the Wedding & Honeymoon market, she has the distinction of being one of the most knowledgeable speakers in the bridal industry.

She has worked tirelessly to educate destinations, hotels and suppliers about the power of this market.

She represented the Conde Nast Bridal Media, which includes Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Destination Weddings, Brides Local Media, Brides Reception, Brides.com, for over a decade as the Executive Travel Director and also worked with Bridal Guide as their VP/Associate Publisher.

She is a Certified Travel Counselor: a certification process acknowledging professional recognition through the Travel Institute’s Educational Program. Jacqueline now joins the rank of selected corporate travel executives who qualified for the CTC by completing a rigorous executive educational program of more than two hundred hours of casework and exams focusing on Business Development and Contemporary issues.

As a seasoned veteran of the travel industry, her 20+-year career has spanned the full spectrum of all phases. from the advertising agency where she oversaw and implemented marketing/media strategies for various travel accounts (cruise, destinations and hotels) to the field of consumer and trade magazines where she further honed her skills. The vast knowledge that she has garnered in the understanding of travel agents, wholesalers and tour operators forms the crucial element in the marketing of her chosen specialty …Travel Marketing.

For her involvement in the industry, she was given the NOAH Award for distinguished service in the travel industry from the Academy of Tourism Organization. An award that honors role models and mentors in each of the travel disciplines within the expanding field of MACROTOURISM. She was given the Outstanding Service Award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization in recognition of dedicated service and professional excellence in the development and promotion of tourism to the Caribbean. She was also acknowledged at the 50th Anniversary of the Caribbean Tourism Organization with the Tourism Medal of Excellence: and was again acknowledged at this years Caribbean Ball with the CTO Award of Excellence for her tireless dedication and exceptional support in the region.
Was recently honored by both the United States Virgin Islands and the Jamaica Tourist Board in recognition and appreciation for staging successful and innovative marketing initiatives in support of the development of Caribbean Tourism

Ms. Johnson is an active member of several organizations:

- The Association of Travel Marketing Executives where she hosts a monthly
Travel marketing luncheon in New York and is a member of the Board of Directors.

- Caribbean Tourism Organization where she is a member of the Executive Committee.

- Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Foundation - The organization raises funds to further the education of outstanding young Caribbean citizens who have demonstrated a career commitment to tourism and are in financial need

- American Society of Travel Agents

- Pacific Asia Travel Association

- Africa Travel Association

- Travel Industry Association

Jacqueline’s travel expertise is often called upon, and is a regular and featured speaker on Luxury Travel, Bridal and Honeymoon markets.

Email: JJohnsonCTC@aol.com

Myrtle Dwyer, Director of Sales and Marketing Half Moon Hotel & Resort

Myrtle Dwyer has been engaged in the hospitality industry for the past 30 years, twenty-eight (28) of which have been spent at the luxurious Half Moon in various managerial positions. Her current position is Director of Sales & Marketing for the resort. She is also one of the five senior executives at Half Moon. During her tenure as Director of Sales & Marketing, Ms. Dwyer re-organized the sales & marketing department to promote various segments including families, incentive groups, golfers, honey-mooners, tennis, beach, lovers and others. During this period of expansion, the Destinations Weddings department was launched. To date this department provides multi-million United States dollars to half moon’s coffers. Many partnerships have been formed, which now support this endeavor. Half moon continues to be a trendsetter in this area.

She has worked on various contracts including groups, weddings, tour operators, planned visits for heads of state, celebrities and many persons of note, for which Half Moon is renowned. She has arranged a full marketing plan focusing on the various marketing segments. Travel to many trade shows and personal vacations have enabled her to do benchmarking, collect data, and review trends.

Academically she holds a Master of Science (Hospitality and Tourism Management), with distinction and is a fellow of the International Management Centers Association. She has also studied hotel management and tourism with distinction in Munich Germany, and of course she speaks fluent German and Spanish.

She continues to upgrade herself through in-house training, memberships to various industry related organizations, seminars, and has participated on a number of forums.

She is the proud mother of a 22 year-old daughter, an active person in the community as a justice of the peace and lay magistrate of the Parish of St. James. She also plays a leading role as deaconess and lay preacher at the Calvary Baptist church; she is honorary consulate for Spain representing Montego Bay, and is currently the Chairman of the Board for the Montego Bay High School (her alma mater), among many other community efforts.



Wanda Fisher, President Wellness Escape

Wanda Fisher is a walking wellness billboard. She has coined the phrase “common sense wellness”. In an age of new healthy living inventions and disputed research over who is right and who is wrong the demand for basic natural healing has increased. Fisher has researched and studied wellness techniques to include advanced breathing, vegetarian nutrition, herbal remedies, intuitive feng sui, mental conditioning, energy work, and other healing practices that contributed to her self healing of a kidney condition resulting from multiple kidneys tangled up on both sides.

She is committed to a campaign focusing on branding wellness travel in the Caribbean where she lived for a significant number of years. Her speaking tour presentation on Wellness travel is no longer a luxury but a necessity has provided an opportunity for her to meet with tourism destinations globally. The campaign features three on going programs to include, Wellness Marketing News, My Wellness Escape and Wellness Event Network.

Her wellness clients and wellness business associates, past and present include; Business Women & Entrepreneurs Association (BWE), Black Entertainment Television (BET), Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Hospitality and Design Exposition & Conference (HD Boutique), Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Dominica Hotel Association (DHA), Prince George’s County Department of Health & Education (OGCHE), Diageo Distributors to include Crown Royal, Sustainable Tourism Conference, CTO Travel Agents & Presidents Conference, National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment (NABFEME), and individual corporate executives and celebrities.

She has amassed a team of experts with the knowledge and licensed in the area of massage therapy, clinical psychology, spa management, wellness travel specialist wellness product manufacturing and design, and many others. Her 2007 marketing campaign focuses on the promotion of “romance and wellness travel” programs created especially for the Caribbean.

Visit: www.mywellnessescape.com
Email: info@mywellnessescape.com

Rebecca Grinnals, Founder

Rebecca Grinnals is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on Destination Weddings and Honeymoons. She is also the Founder and President of wedding and honeymoon consulting firm, Engaging Concepts, Inc. Rebecca is a sought after wedding & honeymoon industry consultant and trend expert. She has been a featured guest on CBS’ “The Early Show,” CNN, Entertainment Tonight, “Weddings of a LIFETIME,” CNBC and hundreds of other national and international television & radio programs.

She has been quoted in scores of wedding & honeymoon related articles including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, BRIDE’S & Modern Bride to name just a few. She has directly produced wedding events and remotes for, among others, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The TODAY Show,” and “LIVE with Regis & Kathie Lee.”

Visit: www.EngagingConcepts.com
Email: Rebecca@CaribbeanWeddingAssociation.com