At its 2013 Annual Conference in Los Angeles, the Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (WACVB) presented Brad Burlingame, president & CEO of Visit West Hollywood, with the Association’s Spirit of Leadership award.

The award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the Association by individuals. Burlingame, a past president of WACVB and a past president of the WACVB Education & Research Foundation, was honored for his remarkable leadership and enduring support of the Association and Foundation, as well as his passion for and advocacy leadership of the travel industry.

The WACVB Board of Directors established the Spirit of Leadership Award to recognize individuals who have been exceptional contributors to the organization. The award celebrates above-and-beyond leadership by individuals who are willing to assist their industry colleagues and promote the profession of destination marketing.

Burlingame served six years on the WACVB Board of Directors, including service as its Board President. He is also a Past President of the Board of Trustees of the WACVB Education and Research Foundation, and currently serves as a Foundation Trustee. 

He is a Past Chair of the California Travel Association and is the current Chair of the CalTravel PAC. He has also served on the Marketing Advisory Committee of Visit California.

In addition, Burlingame was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Destination & Travel Foundation.

Burlingame was appointed president & CEO of Visit West Hollywood in 1997. Since that time, he has led the organization’s extraordinary influence on the growth of the travel and tourism in the destination. The annual visitor economic impact in West Hollywood has grown to more than 750 million dollars with projections in the next five years to reach $1.4 billion. 

He has initiated development of overseas markets in the United Kingdom and Australia, helped leverage the city’s annual Halloween celebration into a festival now attended by more the 500,000 guests, led the establishment of a film-marketing program for the city and spearheaded development of the Sunset Strip Music Festival. 

Burlingame also administrates the West Hollywood Design District – a business improvement district of luxury fashion, design, art galleries and showrooms. Prior to joining Visit West Hollywood, he was vice president of marketing & sales for the Japanese Assistance Network (JAN), a Los Angeles and Tokyo-based marketing and service firm specializing  in the Japan market for travelers and US travel companies.

He is active in the Los Angeles community and serves on the boards of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the West Hollywood Design District BID and the Sunset Strip Business Association. 

Brad is also a Past Chair and continues to serve on the Board of Governors of LA Stage, an organization promoting and representing more than 300 theatrical-producing companies throughout Greater Los Angeles.

Past recipients of the WACVB Spirit of Leadership award include:

2003 – Rick Davis 

2005 – Carol Lentz

2007 – Cami Mattson

2008 – Jonathan Walker

2009 – Kari Westlund

The Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus is a regional professional association serving more than 135 member bureaus in the western United States and the western provinces of Canada.