Monday business brief: New hires, staff changes at Aspen Chamber Resort Association
ACRA makes staff changes
The Aspen Chamber Resort Association last week announced new hires and a reorganization of its membership department.
Sarah Reynolds Lasser Sr., director of Business Development, will expand her focus to the broader business community overseeing membership initiatives and group sales. Alycin Bektesh has been hired as communications manager, and Mackenzie Sexton has been hired as program assistant.
Lasser has worked at ACRA for 10 years, selling Aspen as a meeting and event destination. She managed special projects for ACRA including the Aspen Snowmass Arts & Culture Impact Study and ACRA’s ongoing relationship with Aspen Sister Cities. In 2020, she was recognized by Smart Meetings as a “Smart Women in Meetings Stellar Performer” and received special recognition on behalf of ACRA as the Destination Colorado Member of the Year.
Bektesh is now responsible for managing ACRA’s communications and local advertising, e-newsletters, social media, website and blog content. Among other initiatives, Bektesh will manage the 7908 Spend Local Campaign and the Public Affairs committee.
Bektesh is an award-winning multimedia journalist recognized for her public affairs reporting and newsroom leadership, most recently working at the Aspen Daily News where she oversaw local government coverage and launched and produced their “The Upload” podcast. She moved to the valley to join Aspen Public Radio as news director in 2017, where she received two Colorado Broadcasters Awards.
In her new role, Sexton is responsible for administrative support and coordination of ACRA’s membership, sales and operational initiatives. This position engages with members of the business community, and she is responsible for supporting quality membership programs and enhancing member benefits.
Sexton has lived in the Aspen area for five-and-a-half years, and she calls herself one of those people who “came for the winter and stayed for the summer.” She has worked at the Wheeler Opera House, and she also worked in hospitality at Top of the Village and the Hotel Jerome.
