Orange County’s tourism industry lost a key player last month when Rosalind Williams, the 55-year-old president and chief executive of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, died from complications resulting from breast cancer.
Williams, who led the bureau for six years, helped position the city as a top Southern California destination by helping to attract events like the Toshiba Senior PGA Golf Tournament, the Davis Cup Tennis Tournament and the Olympic Torch Relay to Newport Beach. Williams also worked closely with Big Ten alumni associations to entice them to stay in Newport Beach when visiting for the Rose Bowl.
Last year, Williams was among a group of people,along with the Irvine Co.’s Bill Mitchell and Tustin Ranch General Manager Mike Lichty,who created a consortium of golf courses and area hotels to promote Orange County as the “Golf Coast.”
More recently, the bureau under Williams launched a program called Extras,hotel packages that include a choice of other activities,targeted to the Los Angeles and Arizona markets. Print ads debuted in May and a direct mail promotion in partnership with American Express debuted in June. Williams said in May that the bureau had received 2,000 inquiries just from the print ads. She also said she was looking forward to the additional meeting space that the proposed new hotel at Newport Dunes would bring to the city, saying it would be a boon to Newport’s efforts to lure more conventions.
Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, called Williams a “bright, hard-working” individual who was an ally to all.
“She saw the big picture (of regional tourism),” Ahlers said. “She will be sorely missed.”
Gail Ossipoff of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau said the organization’s board of directors, which is chaired by Henry Schielein from the Balboa Bay Club, will immediately begin a search for Williams’ replacement.
“We don’t expect it to be a fast process,” Ossipoff said.
Williams is survived by her husband, Rick John, and two grown sons, Jeff and Gregg Williams. n
