The collection contains materials related to the tourism promotion activities of civic leader Miss Billy Riley.

Born in Erick, Oklahoma, Miss Billy Riley, as she prefers to be known, moved to San Diego in 1944. She became a civic leader in San Diego after becoming the first woman manager of a major hotel, the Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island, in the 1960s. She would later become part owner. In 1967 she was the first female president of the San Diego Hotel-Motel Association. She was also the first woman director of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce in 1968. Her civic contributions to San Diego ranged from fighting litter to forging a better relationship with Mexico to co-chairing the 1968 World Surfing Olympics. Miss Billy Riley moved back to Oklahoma in 1979 before returning to San Diego. In 1981, she then joined the restoration and renovation efforts at the Horton Grand Hotel. In 1985, she was the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. She also served on the Gaslamp Quarter Council and Old Town Chamber of Commerce. In the early 1990s she moved to Dallas, Texas where she remarried and lived for a few years before again returning to San Diego. Miss Billy Riley has six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

0.25 Linear feet (1 box)

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

This collection is open for research.