As President, & CEO of Southeast Tourism Society, Mr. Hardman directs the organization’s efforts in promoting travel to the twelve Southeastern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. STS promotes the Southeast through cooperative marketing efforts, provides continuing education programs for its members and represents the legislative interests of the tourism industry in the southeast region.

Mr. Hardman began his tourism career in 1969 as Assistant Manager of Public Relations at Six Flags Over Georgia. He has held the positions of Director of Promotion for Atlanta’s Cumberland Mall; Director of Promotions and Public Relations for the Omni International Complex (now the CNN center in Atlanta); Director of Membership for the Georgia Hospitality & Travel Association; and, Director of Advertising and Membership for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Prior to being appointed President & CEO of Southeast Tourism Society, Mr. Hardman served as President & CEO of Atlanta’s DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau from 1987 to 1997.

Mr. Hardman currently serves on the Industry Advisory Board of Directors for the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality at Georgia State University. He was a member of the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus Board of Directors where he served as the first Chairman of the IACVB Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee for the Travel Industry Association (TIA). Mr. Hardman also served as chairman of the nationally acclaimed TIA tourism industry event, the Marketing Outlook Forum in 2003. During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he served as Chair of the Georgia Olympic Marketing Task Force. He was also appointed by Senator Sam Nunn as a delegate to the White House Conference on Travel & Tourism.

In November 2007, Mr. Hardman was appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Dempthorne, to serve a two-year term of the National Park System Advisory Board. The National Park System Advisory Board advises the secretary of the Interior and the director of the National Park Service on matters relating to the National Park Service, the National Park System and programs administered by the National Park Service.

Mr. Hardman has twice been selected as Georgia’s Travel Industry Leader of the Year.

Bill Hardman is able to speak on partnerships, alliance, non-profits and how to work with Washington D.C.