3504-21_CabCVB_AnnualReport_2021.indd

ME S S A G E F R OM T H E C E O

C O M M U N I T Y H A S A L W A Y S B E E N A D R I V I N G F O R C E I N C A B A R R U S C O U N T Y . AS THE AREA’S OFFICIAL DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION, it is the privilege of the Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau to share our home with visitors. 2020 began brimming with enthusiasm to do just that. From excitement for Charlotte Motor Speedway’s historic 60th anniversary season to anticipation surrounding a new baseball stadium and team identity in revitalized Downtown Kannapolis, our hospitality and tourism industry was poised for another record year. Instead, Cabarrus County and destinations across the globe faced unprecedented challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic halt- ed travel and transformed our lives. From that moment, community became more in focus than ever before. Our teammaintained constant communication with our Board of Directors, industry stakeholders and elected leaders to provide trusted sources of informa- tion for partners and visitors. Through our websites, virtual meetings, and email correspondence, updates were shared on federal and state health mandates, safety guidelines, support programs, opportunities for aid, and information on safe experiences. Though more than half of our organization’s funding and staff were lost, we rallied to effectively function from a distance and were nimble in turning at- tention inward to our partners. We asked ourselves: How can we help our hospitality industry survive? What can we do to keep doors open and cash registers ringing? Through frustration, helplessness and loss came determination, interdependence, and resiliency. Rethinking each of our core pillars—Business Development, Marketing, Partnership, and Finance & Operations—prompted the creative solutions and ad- vocacy efforts detailed in the following pages. While hurdles such as workforce development and other challenges of the pandemic endure, we will focus on the positives produced by 2020 and move into the next fiscal year with optimism. We will continue to work tirelessly to help tourism and its many benefits recover in Cabarrus County. In closing, I would like to thank our Board of Directors for their continuous support through such a trying time, our elected officials for weathering this year with grace, and our dedicated partners—without you, we would not exist. Even through great uncertainty, we are fortunate to find confidence in community and will move forward together.

YO U R S I N H O S P I TA L I T Y ,

Donna Carpenter President & CEO Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau