Three new employees have joined the Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) team of destination marketing and sales professionals.

Robert Cox, Jacob Rudolph and Joel Smith were welcomed by the team and Kim Hufham, president and CEO of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority, according to the release.

“The CVB is pleased to welcome Robert Cox, Jacob Rudolph and Joel Smith to our team of marketing and sales professionals. We believe that their combined experience and talent will be assets to our destination marketing efforts,” Hufham said in the release.
 
Cox recently joined the Wilmington and Beaches CVB as director of sports development. He has been employed in the hospitality industry since 1995, including working in several tour companies and convention and visitor bureaus.

He has extensive experience in the sports tourism field and has served on the North Carolina Sports Association Board and Executive Committee, serving as chairman of the association from 2013-2015.

Rudolph (right) has been hired as the director of marketing for the Wilmington and Beaches CVB to manage online and digital content, social media, promotions, and print collateral as well as to develop strategic partnerships to support and enhance the CVB’s marketing efforts.

A native of Yadkinville, Rudolph is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, University of North Carolina Wilmington and Appalachian State University. He has extensive experience planning and executing integrated marketing and public relations programs, officials said.

Prior to returning to Wilmington in November 2017, Rudolph spent six years at the University of Tennessee, where he served as marketing director and held an interim appointment as vice chancellor for communications. He has previously worked at Cape Fear Museum and N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
 
Smith (left) has joined the Wilmington and Beaches CVB as a sales manager, covering the corporate, government, social and religious group markets. His background includes experience working for nonprofit organizations. He was most recently employed as the site director for the Easter Seals UCP Wilmington office. 

Smith has held previous positions with the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina Inc. in Lake Waccamaw and with the city of Durham Parks and Recreation.