Visit KC Promotes Two to Director Positions

Brandy Burch, Derek Klaus assume expanded roles with non-profit entity

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Visit KC, Kansas City’s leading hospitality and tourism organization, continues the strategic growth of its management team by announcing two recent staff promotions to its 45-member team. Brandy Burch assumes the role of Director of Finance & Administration, and Derek Klaus has been appointed Director of Communications, effective immediately. They bring more than 18 and 12 years of experience to their roles, respectively.

Brandy Burch joined the destination marketing organization in December 2016 as an accounting manager within the Finance & Administration department. As of March 23, her expanded responsibilities include the leadership of Visit KC’s human resources, finance and accounting practices, as well as general administration oversight. A graduate of both Emporia State University and the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan., she is also a May 2017 candidate for Master of Business Administration in accounting and finance from Saint Mary’s. Burch is active within the Society for Human Resource Management and the National Association of Professional Women.  

“In her short time with us, Brandy has already demonstrated her tremendous value to our organization and leadership team,” Visit KC President & CEO Ronnie Burt said. “Her collaborative, high-impact approach and administrative experience are extremely well-suited to help lead what I consider the best and brightest team in the tourism industry.”

Previously senior communications manager, Derek Klaus joined Visit KC in 2006 as a communications specialist. Klaus now oversees the communications team, responsible for positioning KC as a top-of-mind business and leisure destination through media relations, social media and content marketing. Since joining Visit KC, he has garnered significant publicity for the destination, including coverage by Vogue, New York Times and Travel + Leisure in the last year. He sits on the national board for the Public Relations Society of America's Travel & Tourism Section and is active locally with KC Restaurant Week, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Lead to Read and the Big 12/NCAA Host Committee. In 2016, he was recognized by Successful Meetings as one of the top 40 minds in the travel industry under 40.

“Kansas City is one of the most talked-about destinations in the country,” Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications Traci Moon said, “and one of the key architects behind that PR success has been Derek Klaus. His 11 years of loyalty to our organization have resulted in unprecedented strides for KC in terms of national publicity, social awareness and compelling, word-of-mouth marketing.”   

About Visit KC

Headquartered in one of “America’s Best Downtowns” (Forbes), Visit KC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ignite global passion for visiting Kansas City. Through marketing, sales and service of the convention and tourism industries, Visit KC supports a vital and growing component of the local economy—generating more than 46,000 jobs and $5.1 billion in economic impact annually. For more information about the organization or Kansas City, go to VisitKC.com.

 

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Media Contacts

Devin Aaron
Devin Aaron 
(National/International Media)
Visit KC
816-691-3805
daaron@visitkc.com
Makenzie Wolters
Makenzie Wolters 
(Kansas City/Regional Media)
Visit KC
816-691-3811
mwolters@visitkc.com

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