Visit Bend CEO Kevney Dugan moving on to new ‘destination stewardship’ role with Travel Oregon
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Visit Bend President and CEO Kevney Dugan announced Saturday that he has taken a new position with the statewide tourism organization Travel Oregon as their vice president of Destination Stewardship, beginning in February.
Dugan began as CEO of Visit Bend in 2008 after a career with Orvis that took him over much of the West. Under his leadership, Visit Bend focused on rethinking what a Destination Management Organization could and should be, including a focus on sustainability, workforce solutions and resident sentiment.
During that time, the Bend Sustainability Fund was founded, including the hiring of a Sustainability Director, Serena Bishop Gordon. Since its beginning in 2021, the fund has given nearly $3 million in taxes generated by tourism spending to organizations that aim to protect, steward or create sustainable experiences in Bend and the surrounding community.
Visit Bend also hired Jamie Eder, Director of Workforce Development and Community Engagement in a position shared with Visit Central Oregon.
“We thank Kevney for his years of dedication to Visit Bend, and are truly excited to work with the remaining team,” said Todd Montgomery, Visit Bend Board Chair. “We are optimistic that this well-tenured organization will offer excellent support to the industry and community during this transition.”
The announcement of Dugan's departure comes just after Friday's news that Visit Bend has won the 2023 Leave No Trace Destination of the Year Award, which recognizes a tourism entity that embodies what it means to lead, promote, educate and advocate for responsible recreation and visitation practices.
The Visit Bend staff is made up of a total of 12 employees who have collectively been with the organization for 80 years. The Visit Bend Board of Directors will be undertaking a national search for a new CEO that will continue the organization’s legacy of stewardship, with confidence in the high performing staff and their commitment to supporting the organization and the community.
“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time at Visit Bend, and this team has been a big part of what I feel has been a successful run in the way a DMO can shape the tourism landscape for the better,” said Dugan. “This new role is a perfect refinement to the subject matter that I’m most interested in in my current job. I’m looking forward to helping communities throughout Oregon on a path to developing resources, analyzing and understanding stewardship opportunities.”
“We’ve been watching the extraordinary work happening in Bend that Kevney has led over the last seven years and it gets us excited about his abilities to lead our Destination Stewardship team, driving positive impacts on additional areas of the state,” said Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon.
Dugan and his family will remain in Bend.
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ABOUT VISIT BEND: Visit Bend is a non-membership, non-profit economic development organization dedicated to promoting tourism responsibly on behalf of the City of Bend. We’re a leading provider of information on Bend, Oregon hotels, restaurants, activities, and Oregon vacation planning. To learn more or to order a complimentary Official Visitor Guide to Bend, contact Visit Bend at 1-800-949-6086 or visit visitbend.com
