Contacts:    Nancy Hamilton or Lee Rose
                    Visitor & Convention Bureau 338-3500

Fort Myers hotelier appointed to Lee County Tourist Development Council

June 12, 2001 LEE COUNTY, FL -- Jack Copeland, an 11-year resident of Lee County and 16-year hotelier, was appointed today to the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC). The Lee County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) named Copeland to replace Dana McGrath on the TDC.

Copeland moved from Warren, Ohio, in 1990 to become director of sales and marketing for the Harborside Convention Center. He has worked on Fort Myers Beach and Captiva Island for the South Seas Resort Company and most recently he opened the new Winyah Hotel on West First Street in Fort Myers.

He attended Kent State University, where he majored in labor relations. He held a position on the Ohio Division of Tourism Executive Board prior to moving to Fort Myers.

The first president of the Lee County Sports Organizing Committee, he was instrumental in bringing in the first Roy Hobbs Baseball World Series to Fort Myers. While with Holiday Inn, Copeland earned the Torchbearer Award from Holiday Inns Worldwide.

Copeland has served on the executive board of the Lee County Hotel/Motel Association and has been involved with the Lee Island Coast Tourism Careers Awareness Program (TCAP).

The nine-member TDC was established by the BOCC in 1983 to increase off-season tourism.