From rockets and space to mountains and lakes, Tami Reist is North Alabama’s champion

By: Lenore Vickrey / Alabama Living

If there was a cheerleading squad for all things North Alabama, Tami Reist would be the leader. In a way, she already is, in her capacity as president and CEO of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourism Association, which represents 16 counties in the northern half of the state and generates more than $4.3 billion in travel spending annually.

The Decatur native has 40 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry. She began her career in 1984 at the Executive Inn Hotel in Madison and then with Yedla Management Company in Huntsville. As general manager for the Amberley Suite Hotel in Decatur she helped with new hotel developments, including the Hampton Inn, Courtyard Inn and Residence Inn in Decatur, and Hampton Inns in Huntsville and Florence.

In 2000, Reist was named president of the Decatur-Morgan County Convention & Visitors Bureau. There, she worked with the Decatur Morgan County Hospitality Association to set up a $2 self-imposed fee on hotels to help fund tourism developments including Ingalls Harbor Pavilion and, later, a $9 million Home 2 Suites. The funding continues to be used for tourism projects in Decatur, and Reist uses it as a model for helping other communities in North Alabama. She is a member of several tourism, travel and civic organizations and the recipient of many awards in the tourism industry.

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