For Immediate Release:
April 2, 2023
Media Contact:
Brigette Cook Jones, Executive Director
Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center
317-477-8687
bjones@visitinhancock.org
Hancock County Tourism Executive Director Graduates
ELKHART–(March 27, 2023) – The Indiana Tourism Association announced the graduation of its Inaugural Indiana Tourism Academy participants at their Annual Conference in Elkhart, Indiana on March 27, 2023. The mission for the academy is to provide education, resources and networks needed to develop tourism professionals for the state of Indiana. Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center Executive Director, Brigette Cook Jones, was a member of this inaugural academy class. She is now a “Certified Indiana Tourism Professional.”
ITA Academy Certified Professionals studied a variety of topics over the previous year including: leadership style; executive operations; hospitality assets, community development/quality of place/economic development; tourism research and tourism advocacy. Each graduate had to present a project to complete the certification.
The 2022 Indiana Tourism Academy Graduates are:
· Amber Caccamo, Executive Director, Dekalb County Visitors Bureau
· Brigette Cook Jones, Executive Director, Hancock County Tourism
· Corey Murphy, President, Henry County Destination Development
· Cori Humes, Executive Director, Visit Marshall County
· Dustin Ritchea, Production and Promotion Director, Indiana Dunes
· Jessa Campbell, Marketing and Communication Manager, Visit Fort Wayne
· Jessica Lindauer, Sales and Marketing Director, Visit Dubois County, Inc.
· Mark Thacker, Executive Director, Anderson Madison County Visitors Bureau
· Mikel Beck, Executive Director, Experience Franklin County
· Philip Deiwert, Executive Director, Decatur County Visitors Commission
· Sarah Ferguson, Director of Marketing, Visit Hendricks County
· Teal Strabbing, Visitor Services Manager, Visit Bloomington
Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center is located at 119 W. North St., Greenfield, IN. It is a Destination Marketing Organization with a mission to bring regional, national, and international business and leisure visitors to Hancock County, Indiana for the economic benefit of the county and our tourism partners. For more information, please contact the Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center office at 317-477-8687 or visit our website at
www.visitinhancock.org 
