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Kelly Blecke has been appointed as Senior Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic Corporate & Association Markets at Hilton Anatole

Blecke recently joined the Hilton Anatole from the Marriott global sales team where she served as an association global account executive. Blecke spent more than 10 years in various corporate sales roles at Marriott properties such as the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront and Anaheim Marriott in addition to her global sales role. Prior to Marriott, Blecke served as a senior sales manager at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. She is a member of the Capital Chapter for the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Maryland Chapter of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Laura Weldon has been appointed as Director of Food & Beverage at Hotel ICON, a Marriott Autograph Collection

Prior to joining Hotel ICON, Weldon spent the majority of her career with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Most recently, she was the Assistant Director of Food & Beverage for the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch, ranked among the top 20 in food and beverage companywide. During this time, Weldon was responsible for the coaching and training of managers and department heads and earned Manager of the Quarter recognition in 2013.

Jeff Fuller has been appointed as General Manager at Royal Sonesta Houston

Industry veteran Jeffrey Fuller has joined the Royal Sonesta Houston as General Manager. In this capacity, he now helms one of the Bayou City’s most exciting, new upscale hotel products. Fresh off a nearly $30-million renovation, the landmark, 485- room property features the largest meeting and event offering – 50,000 square feet – in the Galleria/Uptown area, a premier destination for group, leisure and business travel.

Stephen Bilby has joined Hotel Valencia Riverwalk as Director of Sales and Marketing

Prior to joining Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, Bilby started his hospitality career at the Hilton Hotel San Antonio as the Business Travel Manager. He went from there to the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau where he led Corporate Sales efforts for the city into the vital Northeast area of the United States with a focus on New York/New Jersey and became the Associate Director of Sales. Bilby soon became the Director of Sales for The RK Group, the caterer at the San Antonio Convention Center. In that position he lead a catering sales team that tripled the revenue in three years. After opening the RK office in Phoenix, Bilby came back to San Antonio where he re-entered on the Hotel side with HEI Hotels and Resorts at the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk Hotel and then moved over as Senior Sales Manager at the Omni La Mansión del Rio/Mokara Hotel.Bilby holds a Bachelor of Science in Tourism, Parks and Marketing from Texas A&M University.

Melanie Brockway has been promoted to Catering Sales Manager at The Westin Galleria Dallas

Melanie joined the Westin Galleria Dallas team in 2013 as Meeting and Event Coordinator, where she managed internal functions, coordinated guest amenities and communicated with clients. She came to the Westin Galleria Dallas from the World Trade Center Arkansas. Melanie has a degree from the University of Arkansas in Hospitality and Restaurant Management, with a minor in Marketing.

Tanda East has been promoted to Director of Group Sales at The Westin Galleria Dallas

Tanda has been a member of the Westin Galleria Dallas team for more than 15 years. She started as the Senior Convention Services Manager in 1998 and has played a vital role ever since, most recently as the Director of Catering and Event Management. Tanda has greatly developed her leadership skills and hospitality industry knowledge during her time at the Westin Galleria Dallas. She is an accomplished Certified Meeting Professional and Certified Meeting Manager.

Heather Anderson has been appointed as Director of Catering and Convention Services at The Westin Galleria Dallas

Heather Anderson joins The Westin Galleria Dallas after nearly ten years at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, where she most recently served as the Assistant Director of Convention Services. At the Gaylord, Anderson executed numerous complex conventions annually and led the Convention Services Team. Anderson also boasts hospitality experience at the Fairmont Hotel and Bristol Hotels & Resorts.

Sarai Braziel has been appointed as General Manager at Residence Inn Round Rock

Sarai Braziel has been promoted as the general manager of the Residence Inn Round Rock. Braziel started with White Lodging as a front desk supervisor at the Residence Inn Parmer Lane in 2010. In 2011, she was promoted to the operation manager at the same hotel, before being named the operations manager at the Courtyard Austin Airport in 2012. Most recently, Braziel was the general manager at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Austin University. In 2012, Brazeil was named the Rookie Operations Manager of the Year.

Grace Nungesser has been appointed as Director of Sales at NYLO Las Colinas

Prior to becoming Director of Group Sales for the Las Colinas boutique hotel, Nungesser was Sales Manager at the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas and the Corporate and Association Catering Manager at the Crowne Plaza Dallas Near the Galleria-Addison Hotel. Grace boasts more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, and excels at establishing long-term relationships with clients.

Caleb DuBose has been appointed as General Manager at NYLO Las Colinas

Caleb DuBose brings with him more than 23 years of sales and management experience in the hotel industry. DuBose first joined the NYLO Las Colinas team in December as the Director of Sales and Marketing, and he previously served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for both the Omni Dallas Park West and the Omni Corpus Christi. DuBose aims to raise the excellent level of quality service that the NYLO Las Colinas is known for.

Robert Fagen has been appointed as General Manager at Éilan Hotel, Resort and Spa

Fagen brings six years of experience in the San Antonio market, most recently as General Manager of the new Wyndham Hotel Riverwalk Downtown. Fagen has served with the San Antonio Hotel Association and was a founding board member of the Convention and Visitors Bureau in Frisco, TX. Fagen has a proven track record of driving results and improving guest satisfaction scores throughout his career.

Melanie Koscelnak has been appointed as Director of Sales and Marketing at Éilan Hotel, Resort and Spa

As Director of Sales and Marketing, Koscelnak brings experience from two outstanding Marriott properties the Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel and the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel. During her time with Sage Hospitality, she has created a proven track record in meeting and exceeding revenue goals with new and existing accounts in profitable selling approaches. Before joining Sage in 2000, she held sales leadership positions in Pittsburgh, including the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center and the Harrisburg Marriott. She looks forward to beginning a new adventure, relocating to the San Antonio area.

Jon Legalos has been promoted to General Manager at Courtyard Austin Airport

Previously, Legalos was the general manager at the Courtyard San Antonio airport/Northstar. Legalos brings 12 years of experience as executive director/owner of House at Cedar Ridge, Inc., an Alzheimer's Care Facility, in Leander, Texas. Prior to this business, Jon was general manager at a La Quinta Inn and Suites in Austin. Jon also worked for White Lodging from 1997-1998 as the operations manager at the Courtyard Midway. From 1993-1997, Jon gained hospitality experience at properties such as Marriott's Lincolnshire Resort in Illinois and Marriott's Tar Tar A Resort in Missouri.

Kirk Anderson has been appointed as General Manager at Courtyard San Antonio Airport/North Star Mall

Anderson joined the company from his position as assistant general manager at the Hartford/Windsor Marriott Airport. Anderson has worked for companies such as Winegardener & Hammons, Inc., HEI Hotels and Resorts and Strategic Hotels and Resorts, Inc. Across these companies, he's held positions such as assistant general manager, food and beverage department head and food and beverage outlets manager.