Schneider named Convention and Visitors Bureau director

City Manager Mike Matthes has named Amy Schneider director of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), effective Nov. 28. Schneider will be paid $80,000 annually and receive the standard city employee benefit package.
Matthes said that Schneider has a strong relationship with Columbia’s hospitality community and a vision for creating an even warmer welcome for guests and visitors.
“Amy wants to establish a certified tourism ambassador program to unleash our community’s potential for great service and hospitality,” Matthes said. “Everyone a visitor encounters…whether it’s a taxi driver, a reservation agent, restaurant server, merchant or citizen who provides directions…is part of Columbia’s welcoming committee.”
Schneider said she is excited for the opportunity to guide the CVB into the future. “The local hospitality community has accomplished some great things in the past few months, and I look forward to working with them toward even greater excellence,” Schneider said.
Schneider’s experience includes more than 16 years in the hospitality business, primarily with major hotels. She joined the Columbia Bureau in June 2007 as sales manager and has served as the agency’s interim director since last February, upon the retirement of former CVB director Lorah Steiner.
Schneider holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Missouri and belongs to several local, regional and statewide organizations. She lives in Columbia with her family.
She was one of two finalists who emerged from a field of 71 applicants. Both Schneider and finalist William Lennon, vice president of marketing and public relations, Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, met citizens at a public reception on Nov. 21.