The Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce has hired a full-time director of tourism development.

Anna Brostrom, a 10-year veteran of the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau, came aboard in late May.

"It’s great to be here," she said Thursday. "We have so much history and there’s so much to offer here."

According to a news release from the chamber, this is the first time in the organization’s history that it has had an experienced staff member who will focus on the development of tourism and the local hospitality industry.

Lindsey Nelson, spokeswoman for the chamber, said in a statement that the move will take "us light years ahead in the same way that having a full-time, experienced economic development professional on our team has done for other industry segments."

Brostrom’s duties will include attending trade shows and professional association events to promote the community for tourism purposes.

A county resident since 1999, Brostrom said she’ll also be working to draw more travel and leisure businesses to the area.

"I’ll basically be working to grow the tourism aspect of the county and city in different ways," she said.

Brostrom has worked closely the past several years with Cumming and Forsyth County parks and recreation departments to bring regional, state and national sports competitions to the area.

"When I worked in Alpharetta, we partnered with [those departments] a lot," she said. "I’ll be working on capitalizing on those tournaments even more now to get those teams to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and buy our gas."

Originally from Brewton, Ala., Brostrom is a graduate of the University of South Alabama.

She moved to Atlanta in 1992, having worked in the hospitality industry since then.

Brostrom has a 12-year-old daughter, Katherine, who attends South Forsyth Middle School.

She also stays involved with her church, daughter’s swim team and pets.