Mark Calitri | Leadership, Performance & Destination Marketing

Kentucky Native Hannah Durbin: From Richmond to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds One of the best parts of my work with Visit Owensboro is meeting people whose stories are bigger than the event that brought them here. Capt. Hannah Durbin is one of those people. Hannah is a Richmond, Kentucky native and serves as the Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. She returns to Kentucky this week as the Thunderbirds headline the Owensboro Air Show. I recently had the chance to interview Hannah through my work as President of Visit Owensboro. What stood out was how unlikely this path once seemed. Hannah first learned about the U.S. Air Force Academy during her junior year of high school. She had no military background and leaving Kentucky was a big step. “I didn’t have any military members in my life at the time, and I was scared,” Hannah told me. “Luckily, I had some phenomenal mentors who saw before I did that it was a great fit for me.” That decision opened doors she could ...

  Owensboro Hotels Are Full. This Is What Winning Looks Like. Sometimes the best measure of tourism success is simple: Are people coming, and are they spending the night? This weekend in Owensboro, the answer is clear. The Messenger-Inquirer reports that Owensboro hotels are nearly sold out as two major events come together: the Owensboro Air Show , featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and the Special Olympics Kentucky State Softball Tournament . Downtown hotels have been sold out for months. Hotels across Owensboro are filling up, and some Special Olympics teams are having to look outside the community for rooms. “We are trying to get the Special Olympics a few more rooms,” Mark Calitri, President & CEO of Visit Owensboro , told the Messenger-Inquirer . “We are running out of rooms at the Courtyard at Kentucky 54,” Calitri added. That tells you something. An estimated 55,000 to 60,000 people are expected along Owensboro’s riverfront for the Air Show. At the same time, ...

 Nearly 20 years after Nicky Hayden became MotoGP World Champion, his impact is still being felt in Owensboro. Owensboro Living recently featured Nicky’s championship legacy and included comments from Mark Calitri, President and CEO of Visit Owensboro, about what that legacy still means to the community. Mark Calitri told the magazine, “Everywhere he raced, people knew exactly where he was from, and he proudly carried the name Owensboro with him.” That connection is still real today. Visit Owensboro regularly hears from visitors looking for the Nicky Hayden statue, the Hayden brothers’ Walk of Fame plaque and information about the annual memorial ride. As Mark Calitri explained, some visitors come to Owensboro specifically because of Nicky. Others discover his story while they are here for a tournament, convention, festival or river cruise. One story in the article says a lot about Nicky. The morning after winning the world championship, he got up early and went running. He had rea...

  What Strong Destination Management Looks Like in Owensboro Tourism doesn’t operate by itself. In Owensboro, one of our priorities this year has been rebuilding and strengthening the relationship between Visit Owensboro, the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and GO EDC. Each organization has a different job, but we’re all working for the same community. “A strong community works better when the organizations helping shape it know what each other is working on and where they can help,” said Visit Owensboro President Mark Calitri. For destination management organizations, that matters. Success isn’t just measured by the events you book, visitors you bring in or hotel rooms you fill. It also shows up in the relationships you build at home. We’ve made a point this year to communicate more, show up for each other and better understand what each organization is working on. Our next step is bringing the boards and staffs of all three organizations together to share priorities and bui...

  Messenger-Inquirer: Tourism Means Big Business in Owensboro Don’t take our word for it. The Messenger-Inquirer recently took a closer look at the growing impact of tourism in Owensboro-Daviess County, and the numbers tell the story. Daviess County’s tourism economy reached $262.9 million , an increase of $13.2 million in one year and the largest one-year increase in more than 20 years. The article also highlighted Owensboro’s record hotel occupancy, more than 2,000 tourism-supported jobs , and the impact of bluegrass, bourbon and major events like ROMP and BBQ & Barrels. Visit Owensboro President Mark Calitri told the Messenger-Inquirer, “These numbers don’t just set a new record. They represent the largest year-over-year increase in tourism impact in the history of Owensboro-Daviess County.” The Messenger-Inquirer says it best: tourism has become big business in the Owensboro area. Read the full Messenger-Inquirer story   https://www.hometownregister.com/from-bluegras...

  Saying No Is Easy. Finding a Way Takes Leadership. Someone brings you a great idea. What happens next? Too many leaders immediately start looking for everything that could go wrong. Why it costs too much. Why the timing is bad. Why it’s been tried before. Saying no is easy. Not every idea will work. That’s reality. But the best leaders don’t look for a reason to kill an idea before they’ve worked through it. They listen. They collaborate. They get the right people involved and ask: “What needs to change for this to work?” That one question changes the conversation from why we can’t to how we might . You may still end up at no. But don’t start there. Work with your people. Work the problem. Find a way to make the good ideas work. — Mark Calitri Winning Leadership P.S. Before you say no, find out what it would take to say yes.

  What Are You Working So Hard For? Most of us spend a lot of our lives chasing something. A better job. More money. The next promotion. A bigger win. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to succeed. I’m competitive. I like to win. I believe in working hard and holding yourself to a high standard. But at some point, you have to ask a bigger question: What am I working this hard for? Maybe the scoreboard isn't just what you accomplish. Maybe it also includes the people around you. Who did you help? Who did you encourage? Who got an opportunity because you opened a door? Who is better because you showed up? That’s where service comes in. It doesn't mean lowering your goals or losing your competitive edge. It means realizing that your success can be bigger than you. That’s a scoreboard worth paying attention to. — Mark Calitri Winning Leadership Watch & Follow Winning Leadership YouTube:  https://youtube.com/shorts/A13D9PibjCY  Instagram:    http...