Anne Jenkins, a member of Medford’s Visitors and Convention Bureau staff for the past seven years, has been named senior vice president.

Jenkins, 34, will oversee the community’s tourism operation and its $475,000 budget. She succeeds Julie Petretto, who retired at the end of December.

"My dad worked his way up from being a lift operator to president at Mount Bachelor, so it was important for me to work my way up, too," Jenkins said.

The appointment was announced Wednesday by Brad Hicks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County, which contracts with the city to provide tourism services.

Jenkins joined the VCB as an administrative assistant in 1999 and became assistant vice president of marketing in 2003.

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Jenkins spent much of her youth rubbing shoulders with tourists on the slopes of Mount Bachelor. But it wasn’t until Jenkins interned at the chamber in 1993 that she discovered her passion for the tourism industry.

"From that point on, I knew that’s where I wanted to be," Jenkins said. "Tourism is very important to the economy, whether it is the president coming to town or people buying gas on the way to somewhere else."

Jenkins earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Southern Oregon University. She sits on the Medford Jazz Jubilee board and is VCB’s liaison to the Medford Cruise and has created brochures touting the town and golf opportunities.

The bureau is funded through the city’s transient tax, which rose to 9 percent Jan. 1. There are 34 motels with 2,231 rooms feeding into the system.

One of Jenkins’ chief goals is to find a more suitable site for the bureau’s visitor center, presently at Harry and David’s Country Village.

"It’s user-friendly, but hard to find," Jenkins said. "We might just open a second site."

She said the center’s wireless capabilities appeal to visitors preferring to navigate a Web site on their own.

She hopes to land the city more exposure in travel publications and newspaper travel sections.

"People do read travel articles and we want to showcase what we have here, she said. "We get a little amount of attention but not as much as Ashland. You are always competing with locals from Ashland and Grants Pass, but we have a good relationship working together in the Southern Oregon Visitors Association."

Jenkins said everyone in the community plays a part in tourism.

"One of the things I want to do is increase awareness of customer service here so that visitors feel very, very welcome," she said.

Reach reporter Greg Stilesat 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.