Speaker Biographies
2012 Winter Meeting
Shining Brightly by the Sea
February 15 – 17, 2012
Sea Palms Resort
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Speaker Biographies
Ed Helton has been a student of leadership development and communication throughout his career. He joined Columbus State University as Adjunct Professor of 
Philosophy in 2002. In 2004, in addition to his teaching duties, he began serving as a consultant with the CSU Leadership Institute, where he became instrumental in promoting the Institute. In May, 2005, he assumed his current position as Director of the Leadership Institute at the Cunningham Center for Leadership Development. He has served on a number of Boards and Committees in Columbus including The American Cancer Society, The United Way, and Partners In Education. Presently he serves on the Institutional Review Board of the Columbus Regional Healthcare System. Ed is also an alumnus of Leadership Columbus.
Ed is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership to facilitate the following CCL® assessment for development tools: Benchmarks®, SKILLSCOPE®, Prospector®, 360 BY DESIGN®, Executive Dimensions®, and KEYS®. He is also certified to administer the DISC and Values profile assessments along with certification from the Center for Psychological Types for the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator). He has been trained and certified by Lominger to administer 360°Voices, a personal leadership development instrument.
Kevin Langston is deputy commissioner for the tourism division at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the state’s lead governmental organization for promoting, marketing and supporting economic growth. Working with Commissioner Chris Cummiskey, Kevin leads the tourism division. His responsibilities include working with GDEcD staff and their partners to establish Georgia as a premier tourism destination.
Kevin returned to the tourism division, after having served as director of GDEcD’s international operations and director of projects managing the state’s offices in ten locations around the world, including overseeing their work in business recruitment, export development and tourism promotion. He has a diverse background encompassing many aspects of economic development, tourism and marketing.
Originally from northeast Missouri, Mr. Langston graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Kansas State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University. Kevin is an active member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association and is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional (CEDFP).
Scott McQuade joined the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau in January of 2011
with over 16 years of marketing and sales experience Scott McQuade. His prime responsibility as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau is to handle all marketing for the resort destination and to create a unified effort to promote the region and establish a long-term vision of tourism in the Golden Isles.
Prior to joining the Golden Isles CVB, Scott acted as the Chief Executive Officer for the Telluride Tourism Board for the last 5 years in Telluride, Colorado. In his tenure at that position Scott rebranded the entire resort destination which had achieved 3 record years in tourism and also weathered the recent recession better than any other Colorado resort in 2010. Prior to Telluride, Scott severed as vice president of sales and marketing for Sugarloaf Resort in Carrabassett Valley, Maine where he managed all the marketing and sales efforts for the resort and was responsible for over $36 million dollars in revenue. Scott spent much of his early career as a Vice President for a global advertising firm based in London and serviced such clients as Hewlett Packard, BMW, Price Waterhouse Coopers and other fortune 500 companies.
Robert Skrob, CPA, CAE has served as the Executive Director of FACVB since January 2001. Under his leadership, FACVB’s membership has grown to represent over 99% of Florida’s tourism industry. Robert launched two annual events on behalf of the association; in the Fall the Annual Conference dedicated to CEOs while the Destination Marketing Summit provides education to all levels of county tourism promotion agencies in the Spring. Robert is the owner of Membership Services, Inc., an association management company specializing in membership marketing, recruitment and retention. In 1999 he was tested and certified by the American Society of Association Executives as a Certified Association Executive, a designation he has maintained in the years since. He’s the author of 3 books on marketing and is a frequent presenter, coach and consultant in the marketing field. Although he hasn’t practiced public accounting since 2003 he maintains his license and fulfills its continuing education requirements for his mother, who wants him to keep his license so he has something to fall back on if this association management and marketing consultant thing doesn’t work out.
Most noted for remarkable achievements in the urban context of Greenville, South Carolina, Chris Stone’s ambitious work creates high quality destinations by merging design, architecture, and authentic experiences. His extraordinary visions have teamed him alongside the world’s leading architects, planners, and designers. Currently he is helping to shape Greenville’s next opportunity to create new extraordinary experiences, particularly along South Carolina’s Blue Wall.
Chris has twenty years of destination experience, serving in lead sales and marketing roles in Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to coming to Greenville he was with the Destination Marketing Association International, headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Stone was born and raised in the Midwest and holds degrees from Indiana University and Ohio University. He is a frequent speaker and has consulted with a variety of destinations on visitor product development and experience related topics.
Shana Young is the Assistant Director of the Leadership Institute at Columbus State University. She joined CSU as an Assistant Professor of Communication in 2004. Prior to returning to academia full time she worked as a Corporate Trainer for Vital Processing Services now known as TSYS Acquiring. Her background includes broad knowledge in the field of communication, public speaking, training and development and instruction through different mediums. Shana is a member of National, Southern States and Georgia Communication Associations, American Association of University Women, Leadership Columbus, Greater Columbus Georgia Young Professionals and the Junior Service League of Columbus. She is pleased to be a part of the Leadership Institute as its Assistant Director. Shana holds an M.A. Communication, Auburn University, and a B.F.A. Media Studies, Valdosta State University