DestinationSouth Meetings & Events : Company

OUR TEAM :: CORE VALUES

Cynthia L. Alford, CTP
Managing Director
Cynthia L. Alford, CTP is a 23-year meeting and event industry veteran. Highlights of her successful career include:

• Executive producer for the ancillary events held in conjunction with the 2004, 2005 Microsoft Global Briefing and 2006 Microsoft Global Exchange.

• Producer with Don Mischer Productions for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

• ABC/Disney affiliate producer for the 2000 Super Bowl Halftime Show. and musicians from all over the world.

Destination South was founded by Cynthia Alford and colleague Julie Collingwood in 1995 to service the specific and unique needs of the international congress, incentive and corporate markets and to provide innovative and fresh events in Atlanta and throughout the South. Since becoming sole owner of Destination South, USA in 1997, Cynthia has concentrated on steering the company towards local excellence in the field of destination management. With the recent re- branding of Destination South Meetings & Events, she is leading her team to national prominence as a meeting planning, event production and incentive firm.

Cynthia was recently elected as President of the Georgia Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (GaMPI). This 900 member, premier industry association has been named the 2005 and 2006 MPI Chapter of the Year.

As a student in the days of Hershel Walker and UGA's rise to glory as National Football Champions, Cynthia is passionate in her support of the Georgia Bulldogs. She also enjoys her role as resident wine expert and the opportunity to assist clients in selecting the perfect wine for their events.

Kim Maling, CMP, DMCP
Director of Sales
Kim Maling is our New Orleans import and queen of hospitality with 15 years experience in the industry. She has a Bachelor degree from the University of New Orleans in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism. In 1992, Kim started her hospitality career working for the Fairmont Hotel New Orleans in various departments including Front Office, Food and Beverage and Convention Services. In 1994, she decided to leap into the world of event planning and destination management. She holds both Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP) designations, which recognizes a senior level of experience among her colleagues. Her background ranges from the implementation of large-scale global leadership meetings, such as S C Johnson, to intimate sales incentives and special events in a variety of industries. Throughout her event planning career, Kim has had the opportunity to produce events in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Kim is a member of Meeting Professionals International and enjoys volunteering with Girl Scouts of America.

Lorri McQueary
Creative Director
Lorri McQueary's background in advertising and the arts allows her to quickly conceive of creative solutions that are not only unique and visually exciting, but are right on target with the client's identity and meeting or special event goals.

She has worked closely with both entrepreneurs and international corporations to create successful brand and event identity through collateral design strategies, custom event concepts, award winning product launches, theatrical meeting openers and a wide variety of entertainment and break out sessions. She currently serves on the marketing committee for The Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME) as well as the Atlanta chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES).

In 2005, Lorri was honored with an ADME Rising Star Award. At her events, Lorri is most likely to be found hoping to ditch a headset backstage and join the performing artists.

Jane Jenkins
Tour and Travel Director
Jane Jenkins is truly the face of hospitality. Jane is a fount of information concerning tour design and execution, having worked since 1992 up through the ranks from tour guide to guide trainer, coordinator and program developer to her current position of tour director. She now offers extensive experience in itinerary planning for all age ranges and interest groups. Her skilled identification of guests' common interests enables her to create memorable excursions that make them feel special. Notable achievements include comprehensive multi-day tour programs for National 4H, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts of America, Coca-Cola USA, American Bar Association, NBC and more. When Jane is not organizing exceptional tours and social excursions for clients, she's most likely to be found entertaining and cooking for her family and friends -and when lucky- her coworkers!

Jessie Weintraub
Producer
Jessie Weintraub's experience in theater gives her a unique approach to creating and producing various types of unique events. Having been a stage manager as well as an actor, the theater was not only a place for learning creativity, but also organization and production skills.

As Destination South's Junior Producer, she has helped produce events for clientele such as Microsoft, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Boy Scouts of America, Southern Company, InComm, SunTrust and many more.

Jessie enjoys the education and never ending adventure of meeting and event production with the Destination South team. She also quite enjoys her reputation for "Most attractive in show black."

Terri Fleisher
Producer
Terri Fleisher brings expertise in communication and collaboration as well as attention to detail to every project she is part of. As an essential part of the Destination South Meetings & Events team, her skills and positive attitude have proved critical to the success of a variety of events for both corporate and non-profit clients. Terri also boasts a wealth of knowledge and experience as an Atlanta tour professional. This background enables her to supply clients with creative solutions to their program needs. Terri earned a B.A in Psychology from American University in Washington, DC. After many years as an Atlanta expert, she now pursues worldly adventures through travel whenever possible.

Benedict Alford
Chief of Security
Benedict Alford has served as Chief of Security for Destination South since its inception and continues today to guard his family of meeting & event planners with fierce loyalty. Some would call Benedict's career choice inspired, even serendipitous. It was learned some years into his position that St. Benedict, his namesake, was known as the patron saint of hospitality. When not patrolling the kitchen during lunch, or his bed the rest of the time, Benedict can be found sniffing out visitors with questionable intentions, or just a piece of candy in the pocket.