Trina Flack, Catch Des Moines’ vice president of sales, will be the convention and visitors bureau’s next CEO and president.
Bureau officials announced that after conducting a nationwide search, they would promote Flack, who has worked at Catch Des Moines for 17 years, according to a news release. Flack replaces Greg Edwards, who announced in March that he would retire from the organization after 25 years as CEO.
Edwards will leave Catch Des Moines at the end of July, and Flack’s first day is Aug. 1.
Trina Flack is announced CEO and president of Catch Des Moines
In a statement, Flack said she was grateful for the chance to lead an organization that “has meant so much to me over the past 17 years. Catch Des Moines has built incredible momentum, and I’m excited to carry that forward with a team and community I deeply believe in.”
More: Longtime head of Catch Des Moines convention and visitors bureau to retire
“Greg’s leadership not only elevated Greater Des Moines as a visitor destination, it inspired those of us lucky enough to work alongside him,” she said of her predecessor. “I’m honored to continue that work and help shape what’s next for our region.”
Flack has played an important role in Catch Des Moines’ success, helping to secure major events that have brought millions of dollars and elevated the region’s national profile, according to the news release.
During her tenure, Flack has helped bring in events such as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2016, 2018 2023, and the upcoming tournament in 2028. She’s also helped bring the Dew Tour, the IRONMAN North American Championships, and the National Speech and Debate Tournament, and led local planning efforts for the Iowa Caucus Consortium, which hosted more than 2,000 international members of the media.
“After an extensive nationwide search, it became clear that Trina Flack was the ideal choice to lead the organization into its next chapter,” Brian Mulcahy, chair of the Catch Des Moines Board of Directors, said in the release. “Her deep-rooted passion for promoting central Iowa’s venues and visitor experiences will be a tremendous asset to all of our partner communities.”
Flack steps into the role during a time of growth and momentum for the metro’s tourism economy, the release said, continuing the legacy of Edwards, who championed projects like construction of Wells Fargo Arena, the downtown Hilton convention hotel, the MidAmerican Energy Co. RecPlex in West Des Moines, Lauridsen Skatepark and the ICON Water Trails.
But Flack has her work cut out for her. In an effort to be budget-conscious, Des Moines metro cities have begun cutting their contributions to regional partnerships for art and tourism in light of state limitations on local property tax collection. Catch Des Moines is facing cuts from its member cities, which are reducing contributions from about 28.6% of their hotel/motel tax revenues down to 25%.
Catch Des Moines has a $7.5 million budget, and generated $150 million in economic impact by bringing meetings, conventions, sporting events, and leisure travelers to the Des Moines area, Edwards told Polk County supervisors in a meeting Wednesday morning.
More: Ankeny, other Des Moines area cities begin to cut back on funding to regional art, tourism
Edwards said the cuts to the budget are a “slap in the face,” especially when Catch Des Moines is an organization that boosts the hotel/motel tax. Meanwhile, other Midwest cities’ tourism organizations’ budgets are growing, he said.
“Quite frankly, we hate it,” Edwards said. “We just totally disagree with it. We understand that property tax has been an issue for cities. … It will cut our budget by roughly $800,000.”
Flack echoed Edwards, telling supervisors, “We’re fighting an uphill battle as we look at funding.” With the work the organization has done to bring future events, the organization may not see the impacts of the $800,000 loss right away.
“We’re going to see it in that three years, five years to come on what we have to say ‘no’ to, what we can’t bid on, and just kind of see that trickle-down effect,” Flack said.
Flack said the team also will have to get creative to find additional funding, such as lobbying the state Legislature to pass the Tourism Improvement District, a funding source for marketing efforts to increase occupancy and room rates for hotels.
“But we’ll work hard, and I believe in this team and in this community to rally together and figure it all out as a whole, too,” she said.
Flack also has been a leading advocate for legislative initiatives and has volunteered on regional boards and commissions, including Ankeny’s Plan and Zoning Commission and the Capital Crossroads Regional Council.
She holds a bachelor’s and a Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on X at @vbarreda2.
This story was updated to add more information.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Catch Des Moines announces new CEO Trina Flack
