PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2025

CVB Contact: Sheila Snow
Phone: 318.387.5691
E-mail: ssnow@monroe-westmonroe.org


Discover Monroe-West Monroe’s Claire Stapp Graduates from LTLA

MONROE, La. ― One of Discover Monroe-West Monroe’s (DMWM) staff members completed a grand milestone in the tourism industry.

The Louisiana Travel Association (LTA) celebrated DMWM’s Sales & Event Developer Claire Stapp on her graduation from the Louisiana Tourism Leadership Academy (LTLA) during the association’s 2025 annual meeting in Monroe at ULM Bayou Pointe Event Center.

Claire participated in LTLA’s year-long commitment with class meetings held every other month. Through this academy, she focused on several sessions in the areas of leadership, advocacy, product development, marketing, and management.

For her group project, she showcased her skills with other classmates by completing a pro-bono tourism project, which focused primarily on product development and marketing to give back to Louisiana’s travel industry.

In the final session, each team of students presented their project to the LTA Board of Directors.

“It has been an incredible year of learning and building connections in the tourism industry,” said Claire Stapp, Sales & Event Developer at DMWM. “I look forward to applying this knowledge to support the continued growth of Ouachita Parish’s tourism industry.”

For the last decade, LTLA has provided continuing education and a leadership training program for the state’s travel and tourism industry. Throughout the duration of the program, students gain the opportunity to meet and learn from season professionals, as well as up-and-coming professionals.

About Discover Monroe-West Monroe

Discover Monroe-West Monroe promotes Ouachita Parish as a destination for leisure travel, conventions, meetings and sporting events, creating a positive economic impact for our local community through increased visitor spending and sales tax collections. For more information about Discover Monroe-West Monroe, visit https://www.monroe-westmonroe.org/