Mission
Unleash Council Bluffs (formerly the Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau) serves as a catalyst to grow Pottawattamie County’s visitor economy through collaborative sales and marketing, destination advocacy, and sustainable placemaking activities in order to enhance the region’s quality of life.
Funding & Benefits
Unleash Council Bluffs is funded by the City of Council Bluffs from a portion of the hotel/motel taxes generated by travelers. This support is much appreciated and allows the bureau to promote CB as a destination for visitors to enjoy the city’s hotels, restaurants, attractions, venues, and events. Visitors serve as new customers for local businesses and new taxpayers for local government benefiting all local residents.
Meet Our Staff
Craig Carlsen
Director of Marketing
Mark Eckman
Executive Director
(712) 256-2577 ext. 2
[email protected]
Mark leads the UNstoppable CBCVB team with responsibilities involving strategic planning, financial management, staff supervision, as well as local and regional partnership development. Not to mention, he educates area stakeholders on how much visitors contribute to local businesses and local government with more than $300 million in travel expenditures spent annually in Pottawattamie County.
Biography
Mark Eckman
Executive Director
Mark was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and eventually moved to the Okoboji, Iowa area. There he graduated with his high school diploma and was first introduced to working in the travel industry. Through that, he learned about the impact of tourism by working at businesses entirely dependent on travelers such as restaurants and local accommodations.
He received a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations with a minor in business from the University of Iowa. In his first post-college position, he led the Villages of Van Buren, Inc. which promoted rural Van Buren County as a travel destination. The organization launched Bike Van Buren and the Van Buren County Scenic Drive which continue to occur more than 30 years later. After three and a half years, he became the group travel manager for the Iowa Tourism Office. His position and responsibilities evolved over the next 16 years and involved ag tourism, international travel promotion, advertising creation/placement, partnership development, and event planning. Next, Mark returned to southeast Iowa to lead the Ottumwa Area Convention & Visitors Bureau for four and a half years and during that time landed the opportunity for Ottumwa to host the Iowa Tourism Conference for the first time. On December 1, 2014, he assumed the role of CBCVB executive director. During his tenure, the Council Bluffs CVB has been recognized for its website and social media efforts and was named outstanding community of the year by Iowa Tourism.
In his free time, Mark likes to travel to see friends and relatives, including his sister’s family in the Twin Cities and his brother’s son and daughter in North Carolina. As an Iowa grad, he is a big Hawkeye fan and gets to a home football game once a year. His favorite professional football team is the San Francisco 49ers, but he also roots for the Vikings, Chiefs, and Bears. Concerts and theater are other favorite past times along with reading biographies.
Sophie Kohler
Content Coordinator
(712) 256-2577 ext. 1
[email protected]
Sophie drives day-to-day marketing and digital content efforts for the UNleashCB team. Her responsibilities include writing weekly blogs, producing the Thursday email newsletters, working with local businesses to promote events and experiences, and tracking website analytics to measure performance and guide content decisions. She also manages social media content—creating posts, scheduling, and actively engaging with followers to build awareness and excitement around everything Council Bluffs has to offer.
Biography
Sophie Kohler
Content Coordinator
Sophie Kohler grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa and is a graduate of Lewis Central High School. She also earned a college degree majoring in Marketing with a minor in Tourism. During college, Sophie served as Director of Lifetime Membership for her sorority and was recognized on the Dean’s List for her academic achievements.
Outside of work, Sophie enjoys spending time with friends and family, staying active at the gym, reading, painting, and catching the latest movies. She values balance, connection, and finding inspiration both in and out of the workplace.
Kathy Rosene
Director of Sales
(712) 256-2577 ext. 0
[email protected]
To event planners, Kathy brings UNbeatable passion and experience in selling Council Bluffs as an ideal location for meetings and conventions. What’s more, she possesses UNmatched attention to detail and an UNequaled ability in building relationships that make CB the planner’s best choice.
Biography
Kathy Rosene
Director of Sales
Kathy Rosene was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and attended North High School. She got into the hospitality business at the Sioux City Hilton when she was offered the job of sales manager for the property. It was a career path that she knew was for her! She then migrated down to Omaha as the national sales manager for the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Omaha. There she traveled the country representing the entire hotel chain.
From the Red Lion Hotel, she moved to her "dream job" as national sales manager for the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau. She traveled all over the United States and Canada representing Omaha by making presentations to boards and making sales calls on Associations and corporations from Washington DC to cities on the West coast. After 22 years she "retired" and went back into hotel sales working with Hilton, Wyndham, and IHG properties. She has been active in several industry groups and was Supplier of the year for the Kansas City chapter of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. She was also a member of the Sertoma Club of Omaha for many years.
In her free time, Kathy loves to be with her family. Sioux City is still "home base" for her family and she has three younger sisters and three nieces and a nephew along with great-nieces and nephews. She loves to garden, golf, play Scrabble and is active in her church, and enjoys spending time with the many amazing friends she has met over the years in the tourism industry.
