North Alabama native Tina Morrison new executive director of Greater Gadsden Area Tourism
Tina Morrison is the new executive director of Greater Gadsden Area Tourism.
Morrison took over those duties on Aug. 14, replacing Interim Director Tynette Lynch, who was appointed by the Etowah County Tourism Board in March after it dismissed Executive Director Hugh Stump.
Lynch told the Gadsden City Council on Aug. 15, in introducing Morrison, that she was hired after “an extensive search.”
Morrison told the council that she is “excited about what I can do to help Etowah County promote tourism.”
In a subsequent email to The Times, she said her immediate plans are to familiarize herself with what the county has to offer and to meet with key stakeholders — such as hoteliers, mayors and tourism board members — not just in Gadsden but across the county.
A native of Limestone County, Morrison worked and lived across the U.S. and abroad (Australia, England and Mexico), before entering the tourism field with a seven-year stint (2008 to 2015) as director of the Perdido Key, Florida, Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center.
While there, she secured a $1 million tourism promotional grant to help bring visitors back after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast. She staged multiple major events and festivals, and spearheaded the installation of a 450-gallon pirate ship fish tank at the Vistors Center (which was featured on Animal Planet’s “Tanked.”)
Tourism to the area increased by 10% annually during her tenure, and advertising and fundraising revenue also showed growth.
Morrison also has worked as events coordinator at the Florida Agricultural Museum in Palm Coast, Florida. She returned to North Alabama to be closer to her family (parents, three children and three granddaughters).
She enjoys camping, gardening, hiking, kayaking and music festivals in her spare time.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: North Ala. native Tina Morrison head of Greater Gadsden Area Tourism
