SANTA MONICA CONVENTION & VISITOR’S BUREAU PROUDLY ANNOUNCES NEW PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSISTANT

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (November 8, 2007)— Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) has announced the addition of Lara Tabor-Chanley as its new public relations assistant. Tabor-Chanley brings a rich background of public relations experience and television production to her new position, which focuses on supporting SMCVB’s public relations department in promoting the Santa Monica Brand as a premier travel destination.

“We are very excited to have Lara joining us. Her experience with both media and travel will make her a valuable resource for getting the buzz out and attracting tourists to Santa Monica,” said Misti Kerns, CEO of SMCVB.

As the new PR assistant at SMCVB, Tabor-Chanley will be working on SMCVB’s 25th anniversary celebration, coordinating PR related bureau events and collaborating with city and community leaders on various local environmental efforts. Recently, Tabor-Chanley helped coordinate the Second Annual Beach Summit, an open community forum focusing on the enhancement the Santa Monica beach experience. She will work directly with the public relations manager providing support on a multitude of bureau programs and day-to-day activities. Tabor-Chanley’s daily duties include hosting journalists on familiarization tours, pitching media and writing press releases.

Prior to coming to SMCVB, Tabor-Chanley worked her way up the ranks in the television industry, and was quickly promoted to the position of segment producer. In her three years as producer, she worked on such popular shows as the E! True Hollywood Story, The History Channel’s Modern Marvels and NBC’s Most Outrageous Moments. Most recently she worked as state field organizer for Environment California, where she lobbied members of the California State Assembly and organized major news conferences. While working at Environment California, she was regularly interviewed for regional and national news stories, including a piece on Carbon offsetting on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Tabor-Chanley was also interviewed for various environmental stories for the local KABC, CBS and KCAL news. She is very enthusiastic about Santa Monica’s “Green Business” certification title and is looking forward to practicing and promoting the city’s sustainable lifestyle.

Tabor-Chanley studied film and television at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She has traveled all over the world and lived in London, studying to obtain her BA with honors in Creative Arts and Communications at Richmond, The American International University. She is enthusiastic about foreign outreach, especially with the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and looks forward to working with travel journalists.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (SMCVB) is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, tourism revenues and local employment opportunities through the promotion of Santa Monica as a travel destination. For travel and accommodation information or a free copy of the Official Visitors Guide, the public can write to the Santa Monica Visitor Center, 1920 Main Street Suite B, Santa Monica, CA 90405; call (800) 544-5319 or (310) 393-7593; visit www.santamonica.com; or email info@santamonica.com.

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