Cassady New Head of Visitors Bureau

Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau officials announced this week that John Cassady, 51, will be the agency’s new executive director.

Cassady follows Rosalind Williams, the popular director who died in June of breast cancer.

“She left a very nice tradition at the bureau, and I recognize that,” Cassady said Monday.

Williams took the visitors bureau’s reins in 1994. In May, she presented the City Council with a facsimile check for $21 million--the amount of tax revenue generated by the city’s tourism industry during the previous fiscal year.

The agency didn’t have to go far to find Cassady, who has served on its board for more than three years. He has been an Orange County district sales manager for American Airlines for 26 years.

“He has a fantastic reputation in the community,” said Henry Schielein, chairman of the agency’s board.

The visitors bureau receives about $1 million a year from Newport Beach for personnel and marketing costs. The funds are a portion of the city’s bed tax on inns and hotels. The group works on attracting additional visitors to the city’s hotels, harbor and other attractions.