Elgin convention bureau head enjoys working in vital industry

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Kimberly Bless

Updated: January 31, 2012 8:00AM

This is another in a series of stories on local people who made news in 2011.

ELGIN — In the hospitality business with the motto, “Heads in beds,” Kimberly Bless enjoys the challenges her job can bring, especially when weathering economic downturns.

“It’s a passion,” said Bless, president and CEO of the Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “And it’s a great industry. But it suffers its ups and downs like any other industry.”

And while the tourism business often can take some time to recover — “travel for business and leisure can be one of the last industries to pick back up again,” Bless said — she has been instrumental in bringing more visitors to the Fox Valley area.

Her position entails overseeing the tourism efforts for both group and leisure travel for the 13 communities in the northern Fox Valley including Bartlett, Carpentersville, East and West Dundee, Elgin, Gilberts, Hampshire, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Marengo, Sleepy Hollow, South Elgin and Union.

Bless began her career with the Hyatt corporation, working at several Chicago area hotels. From there she went on to head up the Greater Woodfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, and has served as director of marketing for Northbrook Court Shopping Center and president of the Northwest and Schaumburg Association of Commerce and Industry before coming to Elgin.

“I’ve been in the hospitality industry for pretty much my whole career,” she said.

Bless has been able to help make the Fox Valley area a popular draw for sporting events, including starting up the Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Sports Commission.

“We really do have a good number of strong sports venues here in our area,” she said.

Some of those venues include the Elgin Sports Complex, Elgin Community College and Judson University.

Bless also lauds area park departments and districts that partner with the Convention & Visitors Bureau to host sporting events and tournaments.

With Bless at the helm, the bureau also has helped to make the Fox Valley area a softball tournament destination.

“That’s one of our biggest coups in the time frame since I’ve been here,” Bless said. “It’s been a great success.”

The tournaments not only bring people as spectators but also has them booking hotel stays and dining in the area’s restaurants.

“What we see is that, especially in downtimes like we are still struggling with now, Mom and Dad are still going to make sure their kids get to their games,” Bless said. “Oftentimes, this means the tournament location becomes the family vacation.”

Tourism is a $29 billion industry in Illinois.

“It’s one of the largest in the state, and it has a huge impact,” Bless said. “It’s a vital economic engine.”

She enjoys the people she meets through her job, as well as her team at the Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s fun to come to work,” she said. “So many people don’t say that about their job every day.”

She also lauds tourism as “a fabulous industry” but more importantly “a vital part of the solution to communities’ economic struggles.”

“The nice thing about it is those dollars are generated from people coming from outside the community and providing a revenue source for the Elgin area,” Bless said. “It’s a great industry to be proud of.”