You can?t take the Dallas out of Tom Noonan. But you can sure put the Baltimore in him.
Donning a purple-and-black Ravens jersey, the new president and chief executive officer of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association will be putting his new allegiance on display when he travels to Ontario for his own convention this weekend.
“We have to let people know where I?m at,” said Noonan, a 42-year-old former Cowboys fan. “[This] is the first opportunity people will see me in the industry in my new role.”
Before changing his favorite color to purple, Noonan worked for the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau for the past 18 years, gaining contacts that he hopes will help him to continue Baltimore?s evolution as a top destination.
“Tom brings great energy to Baltimore. He brings a huge Rolodex to Baltimore and extensive experience in the industry,” said Nancy Hinds, vice president of public affairs for BACVA. “The last four years in Dallas he spent training to be a CEO, and it has been very evident.”
Competing with other convention centers to bring in groups will be nothing new for Noonan, who besides cutting his teeth in Dallas grew up with 11 other siblings in Rochester, Minn. Helping to care for his family, Noonan learned life skills and how to survive in a competitive environment early. Surviving is something that Noonan still does today, as he will be living out of a room at the Hyatt Regency for the next two months until he can secure a permanent local residence. However, Noonan joked that getting his bed made for him every day is something he could get used to.
“I do feel like I am a little bit in limbo,” Noonan said. “It gives me great perspective.”
Wearing his silver crab cuff links and joking about his 18-handicap golf score or the 5,000 songs he has loaded on his iPod, Noonan?s amicable sense of humor came through when he was asked if he would have a big transition going from Texas to Baltimore: “Maryland is still the South, right?”
Tom Noonan
» First job: Laying sod for Mitchell Sod Company in Minnesota.
» Education/ credentials: Graduated in 1988 from Luther College with a dual major in business administration and public communication.
» Best job perk: Experiencing the best that the city has to offer.
» Essential Web sites: Any local news Web site
» Career Objective: Running a convention visitors bureau.
» Favorite gadget: His iPod.
» Hometown: Rochester, Minn.
» Birth date: Dec. 28, 1964
» Original aspiration: Have a job working with people.
» Sports/hobbies: Golfing, reading, working out.
