Tourism Department Names New Director Of Sales and Promotion

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Commissioner Bruce Hyde has announced that Rutland native Dave Hakins has joined the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing as Director of Sales and Promotion.
Hakins returns to Vermont from the New York area after two decades of selling and producing promotional events, conferences and incentive travel for Fortune 500 corporations, marketing agencies, television networks, and professional sports and entertainment organizations.
"We hope to draw heavily on Dave's experience and expertise to expand our network of private and public sector partnerships to more effectively market Vermont, Hyde said. His network of marketing, sports and entertainment contacts is also especially exciting as we seek new ways to promote the Vermont experience."
Hakins has been sales, marketing and creative director of his own event and conference planning agency since 1986. Previously, he was a Vice President of Chase Manhattan, directing the banks in-house communications agency, sponsorships and corporate promotions. Earlier, he was a corporate journalist in New York and a daily newspaper reporter and editor in Alaska and California. He began his career in Vermont as a reporter and editor at the Rutland Herald. Hakins is also a former member of the Vermont Air National Guard.
Hakins and his wife, the former Jane Wilbur of Rutland, are longtime weekend residents of Vermont and plan to relocate to the Burlington area from New Jersey. They have two sons and four grandchildren.