The Executive Director of the Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has been selected for a new statewide role.
Brittany Henry has been selected as the Chair of the Illinois Destinations Association for 2024-2025. Members of the IDA Board oversee its financial direction, the organization’s legislative advocacy policies, the educational makeup of its member meetings, and the creation/improvement of member services.
Henry says she’s served on the board in various capacities over the years: “They kind of moved me through the ranks. I’ve served on the board for quite some time. It’s actually been a pleasure to serve for Illinois Destinations Association. I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve our membership. It’s all about the members in IDA, and everyone has been very welcoming to me. I started off on the Board of Directors. I’ve served in many capacities as far as serving on the Education Committee, which helps educate to our members through our conferences that we host annually. I got to learn quite a bit that way. We used to have committees such as the Internal Relations committee. I used to serve on that. It was our counterpart in Alton’s Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau that brought me on many, many years ago – Brett Stawar who left for Texas in 2020 – who brought me on kind of as a voice for small convention & visitors bureaus. It was really nice to get me involved, and I’ve learned a lot. It actually has helped me grow in the career path that I’m in to this day. I think that the work that we do is vital to the State of Illinois, but it really couldn’t be done without the support of all of our members of the association.”
Henry says that IDA partners with the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Office of Tourism to link up IDA members to find more efficient ways to attract visitors to their communities. IDA also maintains a proactive legislative and advocacy effort on issues that affect tourism and business travel in Illinois to educate and lobby members of the Illinois General Assembly.
The newly elected board took over on July 1st with the term ending on June 30, 2025.