He also said the things being done by Oklahoma City help Norman also, just as being on Kansas City's doorstep helped Olathe.

"Oklahoma City is doing great things," Koranda said.

He said he was excited that Norman was named No. 6 on the CNN/Money magazine list of "Best Places to Live" among small cities.

"Anytime you can get the two words, 'Norman, Oklahoma' in a national publication, there's value," Koranda said.

Koranda most recently headed up Stephen Koranda and Associates, a marketing, advertising, organizational development and event management firm based in Gardner, Kan., since December 2007.

He has spent eight years in destination marketing and was vice president of the Olathe Convention and Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission from 2002 to 2007, as part of the Olathe Chamber of Commerce.

He is a Kansas Destination specialist for the Travel Industry Association of Kansas and a certified tourism ambassador for the Greater Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association.

He was a 2001 graduate of Leadership Olathe.

Koranda also spent about 10 years in radio broadcasting as an announcer, operations manager and program director in the Dodge City, Kan., and Topeka, Kan., markets.

He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Washburn University, where he was named the "Graduate of the Last Decade" in 2003 by the university's alumni association.

The NCVB budget for the 2009 fiscal year is $497,000, Koranda said. The City of Norman contributes 50 percent of its hotel/motel room tax to the NCVB, with 25 percent going to capital improvements in parks and 25 percent going to the Norman Arts and Humanities Council.

City Finance Director Anthony Francisco said the City of Norman budgeted $425,830 for the NCVB for the '09 fiscal year, which began June 30, 2008, and has paid the agency $212,945 year-to-date.

Norman's contribution to the NCVB was $307,508 in fiscal year 2004; $293,247, fiscal year 2005; $320,682, FY 2006; $357,137, FY 2007; and $392,154, FY 2008, Francisco said.

Koranda is also an avid bicyclist and runner and has participated in several duathalons. Koranda organized and directed the Olathe Marathon and the World Championship Qualifying Prairie Punisher Duathlon in Gardner, Kan.

"I'm looking forward to getting involved in the cycling and running communities," Koranda said.