TAKE FIVE “This is perhaps the most fun job of my career.” By John Sprecher
Bud Nocera is a Florida tourism professional with a resume that few can rival. Following a three- year stint as Director of Sales for the Greater Jacksonville Convention & Visitors Bureau to launch his career, Nocera was chosen in 1983 to be the first Executive Director of the Lee County Tourism Development Council and the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. Some 13 years later, Nocera became part of an executive team of travel and tourism marketing leaders who created VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official destination marketing organization, where he served as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer for the next 11 years. Today, Bud Nocera is Executive Director of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, a position he’s held since 2012 and one that he obviously enjoys greatly. Each issue, “Take Five” poses five questions to a community leader or personality that have not been shared in advance. Here, Bud Nocera discusses the joys of travel, tourism and hospitality marketing in the State of Florida — on a macro scale, and one-on-one with visitors.
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