During the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau's annual meeting, Beth Belt, Director of Convention Sales, CMP, was presented the Dianne Nelson Binger Sales Leadership Award, an award bestowed upon the top sales performer of the Bureau's sales team and is named in honor of the organization's former president.

The CVB's sales team booked over 574,000 room nights in 2006. Belt exceeded her annual booking goal by 44 percent, confirming 90 meetings and conventions that will attract nearly 86,000 attendees who will occupy more than 85,000 hotel room nights in Salt Lake County. According to the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic & Business research, these visitors will spend more than $75 million while in our community.

Scott Beck, SLCVB President and CEO, praised Belt's efforts, saying, "Beth epitomizes our entire sales staff of well-seasoned professionals. She's a top booker for Salt Lake, is a team player, and gets the job done with style, passion and grace."

Belt receives similar accolades from meeting planners with which she has worked over the years, including Marilee Chisholm, USANA Health Sciences Director of Recognition and Event Planning. Chisholm added, "As USANA has grown from 3,000 attendees to over 9,000 over the years, managing space for USANA's International Convention is an awesome task. Beth has been a true partner for us, coordinating with the city and the multiple venues we use. Her superior service level and knowledge gives me confidence that she is working for USANA every step of the way."

Belt joined the Bureau in 1993 as a Director of Convention Sales for the western corporate market after leaving a position at the Little America Hotel as a top sales executive. Prior to Little America, she worked in the travel industry in Salt Lake with Morris Murdoch Travel.

Belt was instrumental in confirming the World Education Congress of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) to Salt Lake in 2009. This convention will have a tremendous economic impact on Salt Lake, delivering over 3,500 industry professionals and corporate meeting planners capable of bringing abundant additional meetings and conventions in the short and long term. She is active in the Utah Business Travel Association, the National Business Travel Association and is a member of Executive Women International and MPI.

The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. Salt Lake is a unique fushion of metropolitan city and mountain town; the towering Wasatch Mountains that embrace Salt Lake offer a dramatic backdrop to the vibrancy of downtown. Having recently undergone a $58 million expansion, the Salt Palace Convention Center now boasts 679,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space, ideal for groups of all sizes and needs. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, visit www.VisitSaltLake.com.