Visit Jacksonville has hired Ron Whittington as corporate communications manager, a newly created position at the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Whittington will be responsible for managing media relations and online marketing personnel and the development and implementation of strategic communications plans for the organization.
He brings more than 20 years of public relations and marketing experience to Visit Jacksonville. Most recently, he was an independent public relations consultant and served as a senior account executive with Mulberry Marketing Communications, a global public relations agency.
He also was media spokesman for JEA, Olympic Information Officer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority during the Olympic Games in Atlanta and managed a communications department and served as primary media spokesman for Dallas Area Rapid Transit during design and construction of its regional rail and bus system.
Before he entered the public relations field, Whittington was a reporter with the Dallas Business Journal and WCNN Radio in Atlanta.
“We’re glad to have someone with Ron’s extensive communications and marketing expertise join our team,” said Visit Jacksonville President and CEO Paul Astleford. “I believe his experience will be a tremendous asset to us in promoting our destination to the visitor world.”