Rogers Hires Top Tourism Executive

J.R. Shaw has been hired as the new executive director of Visit Rogers, the convention and visitors bureau arm of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chambers of Commerce. His first day was Monday.

Shaw is replacing Allyson Twiggs Dyer, who announced in October she was leaving to launch her own marketing company, The Twiggs Group. Dyer had been executive director since October 2010.

“I am really glad to be here, and feel fortunate to follow in the footsteps of folks who have done such a good job before me,” Shaw said. “I’m glad to be part of the team. I think this is a great opportunity.”

Shaw, a Louisiana native, spent the last 15 years working in the travel and tourism industry in western Pennsylvania. Most recently, Shaw was senior vice president of tourism at the Washington County (Pennsylvania) Chamber of Commerce near Pittsburgh. He resigned that job, according to a published report, in October, less than a year after the chamber merged with the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency. Shaw was executive director of the WCTPA for six years before the merger.

Before that, he was a sales director for Visit Pittsburgh.

According to the Fayetteville Flyer, Shaw also was one of three finalists who interviewed late last year for the job of executive director of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission.

Visit Rogers, which receives funding from a 2-percent tax on hotel and motel rooms in the city, has an operating budget of $800,000. Its staff includes two full-time employees and one part-timer.