Ed
PulsiferDirector of Sales
La Fonda on the Plaza
Joanie
GriffinCEO
Sunny505
Dr. Richard
HolcombCEO
CliffDweller Digital
The New Mexico Hospitality Association has announced Ed Pulsifer, Joanie Griffin and Dr. Richard Holcomb as the 2019 inductee class for the New Mexico Tourism Hall of Fame.
Pulsifer, Director of Sales for La Fonda on the Plaza; Griffin, CEO of Sunny505 (formerly Griffin & Associates); and Dr. Holcomb, CEO of CliffDweller Digital, will be inducted into the New Mexico Tourism Hall of Fame on Tuesday, April 30, 5:30 p.m., at the 2019 New Mexico Tourism Hall of Fame Dinner presented by New Mexico Hospitality Association. The Hall of Fame Dinner will be hosted at the La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM.
A selection committee of hospitality and tourism representatives from across the state evaluates the finalists and selects inductees based on at least a 10-year career of service to growing the tourism industry of New Mexico.
“We’re incredibly happy to announce the induction of Ed Pulsifer, Joanie Griffin and Dr. Richard Holcomb to the New Mexico Tourism Hall of Fame,” said NMHA CEO Kathy Komoll. “All three of these individuals have dedicated their careers to showcasing the best of New Mexico to visitors across the globe and have helped build New Mexico tourism into the thriving industry it is today.”
Pulsifer’s professional career spans across both the lodging and tourism sectors when he started as a Regional Sales Manager for the Albuquerque Hilton Hotel in 1985. Since then, Pulsifer has served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Old Town Hotel (currently Hotel Albuquerque), VP of Convention Sales and Marketing for the Albuquerque Convention Center, and VP of Sales and Marketing for Heritage Hotels and Resorts. Pulsifer will be inducted into the New Mexico Tourism Hall of Fame with an extensive list of community involvement to his name. He has served as a Board Member for NMHA since 2015, and served on the Board for the Tourism Association of New Mexico for 10 years before it merged with the New Mexico Lodger’s Association to form NMHA in 2015. Pulsifer has also served on the North Central Region Board for the New Mexico Tourism Department, and has served on Advisory Committees for Santa Fe Community College and Central New Mexico Community College.
Griffin began working in tourism marketing in 2003 when Griffin’s marketing and public relations firm at the time, Griffin & Associates, secured its first tourism client in Los Alamos County. Since then, Griffin acquired an assortment of tourism-related accounts throughout New Mexico and the greater Southwest. Griffin has dedicated her professional career to community service and philanthropy, serving on a variety of boards and earning recognition for community giving. Griffin is a current Board Member for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Economic Development, and Day of the Tread. Griffin has previously served on the Board for the New Mexico Jazz Workshop, the American Advertising Federation, the Public Relations Society of America, the Breast Cancer Resource Center, the American Heart Association, and the Advisory Board for the UNM Communication s& Journalism Department. Most recently, Griffin merged Griffin & Associates with HK Advertising to co-found Sunny505, and just launched the Sunny505 Scholarship for the Department of Communications & Journalism at the University of New Mexico.
Through his marketing and video production agency CliffDweller Digital, Holcomb has assisted the state of New Mexico and many of its communities in marketing and promoting their travel assets to visitors for years. Holcomb helped create and produce New Mexico True Television, a weekly 30-minute television segment that aired in throughout New Mexico, as well as El Paso and Lubbock, Texas. New Mexico True Television earned three Regional EMMY Awards for Outstanding Magazine Program – Program/Special. Holcomb’s contributions to New Mexico tourism through community service are extensive. Holcomb served on the Board of Directors for NMHA and the Tourism Association of New Mexico before it merged with the New Mexico Lodgers’ Association to form NMHA in 2015. Holcomb’s community service is also highlighted by service on the Executive Committee for Visit Albuquerque and Ambassadors for Spaceport America, and service on the Board of Directors for the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, the Rio Rancho Foundation, and New Mexico Workforce Connection.
Those who wish to attend the 2019 Hall of Fame Dinner on April 30 must register for the event at www.newmexicohospitality.org/2019-hall-fame-dinner. The Hall of Fame Dinner will conclude the 2019 New Mexico True Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism, hosted in Santa Fe. The 2019 Hall of Fame Dinner will be hosted at the La Fonda on the Plaza.