By MATT PIKE
As current Executive Director Marci Bennett retires this fall from her role at the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, a familiar face will take over the position after a national search.
The Buchanan County Tourism Board have selected Christian Mengel, the current Director of Communications and Marketing at the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, as the new Executive Director. Mengel joined the CVB in 2022 after working for NPG in marketing and advertising as well as at FOX4 in Kansas City. He has secured several marketing grants totaling 0ver $800,000 for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, expanded the Show Me St. Jo! Experience, and was awarded the 2025 Film Industry Champion by the Missouri Division of Tourism.
“Working alongside our staff, board, visitor industry partners, and community leaders as director of communications and marketing has been one of the great joys in my life, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue and expand that experience as executive director,” Mengel says in a news release. “Tourism is an economic tool that directly influences quality of life and how we feel about our community. The things we enjoy the most as residents are often the things we tell friends and family about when they visit, and that can make all the difference in the world on what direction a city moves.”
Mengel will begin his new duties on October 1st, 2026.
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