HARLINGEN — Since May, Cassandra Cuellar had served as the interim executive director of the Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau.
According to city officials, she had done “an outstanding job” in that role during some of the city’s largest events.
That’s why she no longer is tagged with the “interim” title.
On July 7, Cuellar, who previously served as the CVB’s marketing and event manager since December 2016, was officially hired as the CVB director in charge of what many in the industry refer to as “putting heads in beds.”
Yesterday was her fifth day on the job and her youthful excitement was easy to detect, even over the phone.
“The best part of this job is to bring tourism to my hometown — to bring people to my city that I know best,” Cuellar said with enthusiasm and energy in her voice. “I want to bring back the ecotourism. Harlingen is the center of all that in the Valley. I want people to come to Harlingen to enjoy everything the Valley has to offer.”
The Harlingen native is charged with leading the efforts for tourism through marketing, public relations and promotions in an effort to increase the number of people who utilize overnight rooms, meeting spaces, local businesses and restaurants.
Although relatively new to the CVB industry, Cuellar, a finance major in college, has some experience working with government entities, specifically Harlingen.
“I am very comfortable,” she said. “I have gotten to know everyone at City Hall, including the commissioners and the people who I will be working with. You know, this department works with just about every department in the city.”
Most recently, her small team led the effort for a successful Freedom Fest, which Cuellar said drew 8,000 people. Vendors at the event sold out all their food and were pleased with the turnout, she added.
“I was pretty confident going in (to the application process for the executive director) because I had been working really hard since December putting on really good events,” Cuellar said. “And the department went on without hiccups despite being short-staffed.”
Cuellar will earn a $50,000 annual salary, a $250 monthly car allowance, and is expected to continue the momentum developing the marketing plans for the city and the soon-to-be convention center, according to City Manager Dan Serna.
Currently, Cuellar said the CVB is working on improving its online presence through an updated digital marketing campaign.
“We are giving things a new look,” she said. “We are revamping and rebranding with a whole new look.”
That will all be part of the effort to fill the future convention center with events and activities.
She says there has been interest in the convention center already and an aggressive marketing campaign will start soon in conjunction with the company that is building the facility, B.C. Lind.
Among those interested in using the convention center in the future included geocaching organizations, Comicon and cotillion groups. Cuellar hopes to also heavily target birding and ecotourism groups and individuals.
“The good thing about Harlingen is we can attract sporting, birding and geocaching,” she said. “We have a little bit of everything in Harlingen.”
City Human Resources Director Efren Fernandez said the city received 36 applications and interviewed eight separate candidates.
He said those who applied had a myriad of skills, most of them not specifically working for CVBs.
Cuellar fills the slot previously held by Melissa Landin, who was fired in February. She had served for a year in the position. Landin had been hired as the city’s public information officer before taking on the duties of the CVB director as well.
