WCTE’s annual dinner to feature tourism commissioner

COOKEVILLE – WCTE will hold its annual dinner on Thursday, April 24, at the Leslie Town Centre in Cookeville, and Susan Whitaker, commissioner of tourist development for the state of Tennessee, will serve as the keynote speaker.

Appointed commissioner in January 2011 by Gov. Bill Haslam, Whitaker held the same position in Gov. Phil Bredesen’s cabinet for the previous eight years. Whitaker oversees the state’s marketing and publicity with the ultimate goal of promoting Tennessee tourism.

Among Whitaker’s many achievements, she has helped launch the Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways program, Tennessee’s sustainable tourism initiative, the Tennessee Civil War Trails program, and co-chairs Tennessee’s Civil War sesquicentennial commission.

“We at WCTE are so pleased to have Commissioner Whitaker as our guest speaker this year,” WCTE Membership Manager Sonja Higgenbotham said. “I look forward to her speaking on behalf of WCTE regarding our contributions to the Upper Cumberland and Tennessee tourism though the national exposure that our programming provides.”

WCTE members are invited for a reception at 5 p.m., while the general reception begins at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is scheduled from 6-8 p.m.

Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. Table sponsorship is also available for $400 per eight-person reserved table. Tickets can be purchased at wcte.org/dinner4.

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