Spring 2007 Issue

• ACCC Art Gallery Hosts Alumni Exhibit
• State Higher Education Official to Speak at Graduation
• Restaurant Gala Raises Record-Breaking $245,000 for Scholarships
• Institute for Service Excellence Opens at Hamilton Mall; Offers One-Stop Retail Training
• Former Hospitality Major at Home in Marketing Role
• Alumni Updates
• Prof. Gerri Black Named Faculty Member of the Year
• Culinary Workshop Teaches Sushi Basics
• Register Now for Summer, Fall Courses at ACCC
• Rutgers to Hold Open House at ACCC
• Benefits of Membership

Past Issues

• Fall 2011
• Summer 2011
• Fall 2010
• Spring 2009
• Winter 2009
• Fall 2008
• Summer 2008
• Spring 2008
• Winter 2008
• Fall 2007
• Summer 2007
• Spring 2007
• Winter 2006
• Fall 2006
• Summer 2006
• Spring 2006

Alumni & Friends

• Alumni Association
• Atlantic Cape Foundation
• Sign Our Guest List
• Request a Transcript

Atlantic Cape salutes its sustaining sponsors

Former Hospitality Major at Home in Marketing Role

On the surface, hospitality management may not seem to have a lot in common with marketing a law firm, but for Donna Vecere there is a clear path joining the fields.

Vecere spent years working for a family business and earned her associate degree in hospitality management/travel and tourism from what was then Atlantic Community College in 1994.

After graduating with a 4.0 grade point average, Vecere landed a job as director of marketing for the Wildwood Convention Center. Her background and degree in hospitality and tourism made her the perfect choice for the position.

“The course work I did at ACC prepared me in ways probably not immediately apparent to people casually looking,” Vecere said. “The truth is every business, law firms included, has quite a lot of effort put forth to meetings, seminars and conventions.”

Connections from that job led to a move to central New Jersey and a new role as director of marketing for an architectural and construction firm. Along the way, Vecere earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Thomas Edison University.

A few years later, Vecere decided to return to her roots in Cape May County. Opportunity came with the opening of the director of marketing position at Cooper Levenson, Attorneys at Law, in Atlantic City in December.

Her first task involved much of the planning for the East Coast Gaming Conference, of which Cooper Levenson is presenting sponsor. “Things like set ups and drapes … might be foreign to people not exposed to that end of it are things I had in my background from ACC.”

In addition to working on large projects like the conference, Vecere is responsible for creating and implementing integrated marketing and public relations plans for each of the individual practice areas at Cooper Levenson. Commonly, that calls for planning seminars that allow the firm’s attorneys to forge relationships with professionals in other industries. Vecere is also adding RSS feeds and pod casts of these seminars to the firm’s Web site, www.cooperlevenson.com.

Even though she’s only been back in the area for a few months, Vecere has already reconnected with ACCC instructors and is finding ways to give real world experience to current hospitality majors.

Vecere called on Josette Katz, professor of business, and Donna Vassallo, assistant professor of hospitality management, for help staffing registration tables at the East Coast Gaming Conference.

“I thought it would be a great spot for students to get a first-hand look at the gaming industry and what is coming up for the future of Atlantic City. It was great to have the students’ assistance,” she said.