October 24, 2007

Many people will remember Rep. Paul Crowley for various reasons. This is not surprising for a man who was passionate about so many civic and cultural pursuits. For those of us employed by the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCCVB), Paul will always be remembered as our founding father.

In the 1980's Paul had a vision for developing the future of tourism in both Newport County and the state of Rhode Island. He worked hard to create the state legislation that gave birth to the NCCVB. As chairman of the board for 18 years Paul's leadership, enthusiasm, creativity, and stewardship helped make the NCCVB a role model of destination marketing companies regionally and nationally. Paul was always proud of the strong economic development that travel and tourism related companies contributed to our economy.

As a business person and restaurateur, Paul understood the importance of a unified and interconnected hospitality industry. Knowing that the corporate profile of Newport County ranged from multi-national chains to small entrepreneurial businesses, he always encouraged working together as a team' regardless of size. As a supervisor and coach he helped us all understand that using our resources collectively allowed us to compete with the top destinations in the United States today.

Paul Crowley had an impressive public service record and his accomplishments were many. While his wisdom and wit will be greatly missed, his numerous contributions to our hospitality industry will always be remembered as part of his remarkable legacy.

Evan Smith
President & CEO
Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau