CHAMPAIGN – Jayne DeLuce thinks her new job as executive director of the Champaign County Convention & Visitors Bureau should fit her well.

DeLuce, who is scheduled to start Nov. 16, said she has a "passion" for the community, a marketing background and a career tied to tourism.

Since 1999, she has been associate director of Campus Recreation at the University of Illinois. Some of her earlier jobs included working in parks and recreation in south Florida and four years helping to organize the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

DeLuce has firsthand exposure to the convention bureau. Until recently, she served on the Champaign County Sports Commission and was the commission's representative on the bureau's board of directors.

"I knew the challenge I had," the 45-year-old mother of two said of the new job.

DeLuce's family is also tied to sports and recreation. Her husband, Joe, is director of recreation for the Champaign Park District, and her father, Jim Turpin, is co-host of "Saturday Sportsline" on WDWS-AM, as well as the host of "Penny for Your Thoughts."

Teri Legner, who chairs the bureau's 27-member board of directors, said the breadth and depth of DeLuce's experience impressed the board.

"Jayne brought a lot to the table with her past experience related to tourism," Legner said, citing her role in the Olympics.

"She also has really strong connections in the community. She knows everybody, and that's important for us," Legner added.

Some of DeLuce's early time on the job will be devoted to the Illinois High School Association football championships, to be held in late November in Champaign.

Another key task will be "getting out in the community and in some cases initiating new relationships or strengthening existing relationships," Legner said.

DeLuce's salary has been set at $84,000, Legner added.

In her new job, DeLuce sees three major tasks:

– Examining the bureau's organizational structure, including staffing and where the office should be.

– Figuring out how to stabilize bureau revenues, which come largely from hotel-motel taxes and state grants.

– "Re-inventing" what the bureau can do for Champaign County. That includes not only working to make the county a travel destination, but also familiarizing local residents with the Champaign County "brand."

DeLuce said she believes Champaign-Urbana needs to market itself as a "university town" – not as cities separate from the university.

She said she considers "relationship building" one of her strengths.

"What I bring to the table are a lot of outstanding relationships on campus and off campus," she said. "I'm a person who works very hard to achieve goals through teams. It's got to be a team effort."

A native of Springfield, DeLuce moved to Champaign-Urbana just before her senior year in high school. She received two degrees from the University of Illinois, both related to recreation.

Five years after taking a job at Broward County Parks and Recreation in south Florida, she went to Atlanta as a planning manager for several Olympic events, including boxing, swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo and cycling.

DeLuce eventually became director of aquatics for the games.

In 1996, she and Joe moved to Champaign, and she took at job at the UI Alumni Association. Three years later, she moved to the Division of Campus Recreation. As associate director, she supervises seven full-time employees and 250 to 300 student employees. Her last day there is Friday.

"I'll miss the staff a lot," she said.

DeLuce will replace Scott Hockman, who resigned as bureau director in mid-June.

The bureau, which has an annual budget of about $650,000, shares space at 1817 S. Neil St., C, with the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce and the Champaign County Economic Development Corp.