Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2020

www.CharlestonBrides.com | www.ChsWomenInBusiness.com | www.ReadCWomen.com 10 - CW I n Charleston, there is a Hill that draws visitors and tourists from all corners of the globe. No hills around Charleston, you say? Well, that’s mostly true, but there is a Helen Hill at the helm of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB), and it’s not only her job, but her passion to bring people to the Lowcountry – in turn, spinning the gears of the local job market and economy. After the blow to nearly every sector amidst the current global pandemic, rebuilding the impact that tourists have here will be a mountainous task, but Hill is optimistic about the uphill battle. She attributed her optimism to Charleston’s history of rebounding in the wake of other life-altering events. The Charleston native began her career with the CACVB in 1986, and was named CEO just two weeks before one of Charleston’s most notorious of devastations: Hurricane Hugo. “Forty percent of things were damaged. It was a really, really, really hard time, but people had spirit,” she explained. As time continued, she noticed that the hospitality industry had changed because the workers and business owners had weathered the storm’s aftermath together. Over the course of her CACVB tenure, she has seen the BY ANNE SHULER TOOLE Bringing Visitors Back to the Lowcountry Helen Hill