Gordy Bunch Named Chairman of The Woodlands CVB

THE WOODLANDS, TX – The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, which promotes The Woodlands as a leisure and business travel destination, has announced Gordy Bunch has become its Chairman of the Board.

In this volunteer role, Chairman Bunch serves with six other individuals on The Woodlands CVB Board of Directors which include Fred Domenick, Peggy Hausman, Ed Robb, Karen Hoylman, Greg Parsons and Don Norrell. The Board sets policies and recommends budget for The Woodlands CVB activities and services.

Mr. Bunch is the founder and CEO of The Woodlands Financial Group which currently operates 307 retail branches in 20 states and has affiliations with 3,000 independent agents in 38 states. Mr. Domenick, who is the General Manager of The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, was named Vice Chairman and recently garnered “General Manager of the Year,” the highest award presented annually by the Greater Houston Hotel Association.

Mr. Bunch was named Chairman succeeding Nelda Blair, who served The Woodlands CVB for eight years before retiring from The Woodlands Township Board of Directors in November 2013. “We’re grateful for her dedication and thousands of hours of volunteer service to help make The Woodlands a great place for shopping, dining and entertainment.”

Mr. Bunch says The Woodlands is “on the map” from a destination point of view.

“The popularity of The Woodlands as a shopping, dining and special event destination provides a great entertainment venue for visitors and residents,” explains Bunch. “Residents enjoy a low property tax rate as a result of sales and hotel guest room taxes paid by visitors.”

Last year, The Woodlands Mall Information Center and the Concierge Desk at Market Street recorded 133,996 visitors from 100 different countries and all 50 states. The total visitor figure for 2013 is up slightly from 2012 when the two locations recorded 127,814 visitors.

As a result, The Woodlands Township has maintained service levels while reducing the property tax rate from 31.73 cents to 29.40 cents per $100 of valuation.

Several hotel projects in The Woodlands are expected to further encourage visits to The Woodlands by vacationing families and individual business travelers and business groups.

A new Hyatt Place The Woodlands, with 146 guest rooms and more than 6,100 square feet of meeting and event space, has opened at 1909 Research Forest Drive. A property-wide $60 million transformation of The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center soon will add 184 guest rooms, a 1,000-foot “lazy river,” 60,000 square feet of renovated meeting/event space, an updated spa and a new, 120-seat restaurant to the property. A new hotel is planned for The Woodlands Waterway and a high-end, limited-service hotel is planned for the 66-acre Hughes Landing on Lake Woodlands.

As part of promoting the area as a leisure and business travel destination, The Woodlands CVB plans signature events including Live at Night at Waterway Square, Red Hot & Blue Festival and Fireworks Extravaganza celebrating America’s Independence on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day Weekend Celebrations, Lighting of the Doves, International Winter On The Waterway (iWOW), The Woodlands Ice Rink and Donoho’s Jewellers Winter Wonderland. More than 504,000 people attended events produced and supported by The Woodlands CVB in 2013.

The Woodlands CVB also owns six (6) Waterway Cruisers which travel the 1.4 mile long Waterway in the heart of The Woodlands Town Center. In 2013, over 34,000 passengers rode the Waterway Cruisers which are funded directly by fare box, transportation grants and hotel occupancy tax. No residential property tax is used in this or any operation of The Woodlands CVB.

For more information on The Woodlands CVB, go to www.VisitTheWoodlands.com or call 281-363-2447. Also, “like” The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/VisitTheWoodlands, “follow” them on Twitter www.Twitter.com/TheWoodlandsCVB and “view” them on YouTube www.YouTube.com/TheWoodlandsCVB.