The "Visit Salt Lake" cycling team, comprised primarily of Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau (SLCVB) employees, recently completed its third annual trek to Moab, Utah, for the Skinny Tire Festival. Held in Utah's scenic Red Rock region of Southern Utah, the three-day event is a fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and its fight against cancer.

The fight against cancer is omnipresent for the SLCVB, having lost its President and CEO, Dianne Nelson Binger, to the disease five years ago this month. "Dianne was an incredible person; her spirit, her elegance and her hard work created a lasting impact on our community," said Scott Beck, President and CEO of the SLCVB. "It also touches my life personally. My mother is a cancer survivor, now in her ninth year post-diagnosis, and I lost my father-in-law to liver cancer 11 years ago."

A special addition to the Visit Salt Lake Team is Terry McGinnis, who's currently battling cancer himself and in treatment. "Not only is Terry's commitment to fighting his disease inspirational, he still rides incredibly strong," added Mark White VP of Sales for the SLCVB.

Joining Beck, White and SLCVB staff members Chris Peterson (Convention Sales Director), Eric Thompson (Dir. of Marketing) and Shawn Stinson (Dir. of Communications), were other members of Utah's hospitality community: Thomas Cooke (Dir. of Marketing, Deer Valley Lodging), Bill Cutting (Partner, TWIO Brand), Ryan Patano (President, Hop Sing Enterprises) and McGinnis (Executive Director, Tour of Utah).

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. Over its 25 years, the SLCVB has increased convention revenue from $11 million to $326 million, fulfilling its mission of improving the area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, leisure travelers and visitors. Salt Lake is a unique fusion of metropolitan city and quaint mountain town; the towering Wasatch Mountains that embrace Salt Lake offer a dramatic backdrop to the vibrancy and activities of downtown. Having completed a $58 million expansion in 2006, the Salt Palace Convention Center now boasts 675,000 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, go to www.VisitSaltLake.com.

Photo caption (attached): SLCVB Cycling Team members at the scenic Dead Horse Point, the turnaround point of day 2 of the Skinny Tire Festival. The team's efforts help raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation's fight against cancer.