THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 15, 1996 TAG: 9610150237
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 42 lines
A Virginia Beach woman with more than 20 years' experience in organizing and marketing business associations has been hired by the Olde Towne Portsmouth Association to organize and promote the downtown waterfront.
Florence McGregor McDaniel worked more than eight years as executive director of the Virginia Beach Hotel and Motel Association and most recently was associated with a Beach company, Reservations Plus.
McDaniel was selected from more than 100 applicants.
``She has the unique experience of building associations, and we are an important association at this time in Portsmouth,'' said Morton V. ``Mo'' Whitlow, president of the Olde Towne group. ``We want to build our group to promote and market what we have and to recruit new companies and expand existing ones to give us a larger mix of business and make Olde Towne a proper commercial destination.''
Whitlow, a former Portsmouth City Council member, is a lawyer with offices in Olde Towne.
Whitlow said he expects Portsmouth to attract more of Norfolk's downtown visitors across the Elizabeth River.
``We want them to get on the ferry boat and come to Portsmouth,'' he said. ``That's one of the main reasons for creating the ferry dock at the foot of High Street.''
Whitlow said Norfolk and Portsmouth must tear down some of the walls between them. He sees Olde Towne as a bonus to Norfolk's attractions, ``which are assets to the whole area.''
``Now is a unique time to promote and develop Olde Towne and bringing Flo (McDaniel) on board will help us do that,'' he said.
McDaniel said her experience in destination marketing is important to Olde Towne.
``I like the product over here,'' she said. ``I like the people, and I like the feel of it.''
Portsmouth, she said, is on the verge of a breakthrough in concert with a national ``resurgence of people coming back to the urban environment.''
``Olde Towne is a unique product,'' she said. ``When the time is right, things happen. I think the time is here.'' by CNB