Van Lanen Sr. Elected Chairman of the Board
GREEN BAY, Wis.
August 7, 2003

GREEN BAY, Wis. (Aug. 7, 2003) – James E. Van Lanen, Sr., was elected Chairman of Packer Country Regional Tourism Office (RTO), July 29. Officers are elected annually.

Van Lanen has 30 years experience in hotel ownership and management and is the President of the Lighthouse Inn Inc., a full-service hotel on the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan.

“ We are so lucky to have Jim serving as our Chairman. He has made the hospitality industry his family business, and he has been a catalyst for opening four museums in Two Rivers,” said Kari Sliva, President/CEO of the Packer Country Regional Tourism Office. “We look forward to his leadership in the coming year.”

The Packer Country Regional Tourism Office is a non-profit organization promoting tourism in the ten communities of Green Bay, Ashwaubenon, De Pere, Howard, Allouez, Oneida Nation, Algoma, Kewaunee, Mishicot and Two Rivers.

“ I was honored to take the chairmanship,” said Van Lanen. “Tourists spend more than $600 million in our three-county region. The more we work together to promote everything our communities offer, the longer travelers will stay in the area. Our staff at the RTO has more than 80 years of tourism experience, promoting and marketing our attractions, hotels, shops and restaurants. That makes the organization a tremendous resource to grow tourism in Green Bay area and along the lakeshore, too.”

Among Two Rivers’ many tourism features are the Rogers Street Fishing Village, miles of sandy shoreline at Neshotah Beach, and the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. In addition, the city is known as the home of the Ice Cream Sundae. Families enjoyed Berners’ Ice Cream Parlor at Historic Washington House.

Van Lanen replaces two-term Chairman, Jerry Lintz, Managing Partner of the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Green Bay. Lintz served as the first Chairman of a reorganized Packer Country Regional Tourism Office, formerly known as the Green Bay Area Visitor and Convention Bureau. Under Lintz’s leadership, the Bureau became a regional organization, adding four lakeshore communities, which pay a portion of room tax to the RTO.

Other newly elected officers of the board include Tim Quigley, President of Bon Vivant Group, who will serve as Vice Chairman; Jeff Mirkes, Executive Director of Downtown Green Bay, Inc., elected Treasurer; and Dave Pflieger, President of Svoboda Industries, Inc. of Kewaunee, as Secretary.