MOVE OF THE MONTH
SMG appointed Taylor Traversari general manager of Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., a suburb of Raleigh. Most recently he served as the Raleigh Convention Center assistant director and general manager at Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown Raleigh. He has also been responsible for producing the critically acclaimed Wide Open Bluegrass Festival and July 4th Festival in downtown Raleigh. Traversari replaces Liz McDonald.
Laura Alexander has been made the permanent general manager at Owensboro (Ky.) Convention Center after a six-month stint leading the staff as interim general manager. Alexander held dual roles of assistant general manager and director of sales before becoming interim general manager. She started with the venue in 2012 as director of sales for the Spectra-managed building. Alexander is a 2016 recipient of the Venues Today Generation Next Award.
The convention center and Owensboro (Ky.) Sportscenter added executive chef Matthew Dewalt, who comes over from another Spectra venue, Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. In addition, Natalie Russell was promoted to sales manager.
ENCO appointed broadcast industry veteran John Casey director of sales. He spent the last 20 years with NewBay Media (recently acquired by Future PLC), where he spent the majority of his time leading Radio World Newspaper. He was subsequently named group publisher of the media, entertainment and technology sector at Future PLC.
Cindy Collins is the new general manager of SMG-managed Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, W.Va. Collins has served as general manager of Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center in Pikeville since 2014. She spent 14 years as chief operations officer of the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Ky.
Centerplate promoted Diana Evans to senior vice president of marketing and Kay Towner to senior vice president of sales and new business development. Evans was most recently vice president of the division, and Towner is an 11-year veteran at the hospitality company.
Samantha Faley is joining the finance team at SMG-managed Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. Faley worked in accounts receivable at Wickham Industries. Jaime Tamsin was named event manager. Tamsin comes to the venue from Spirit Communications Park in Columbia, S.C.
Christine Pileckas was promoted to director of booking and marketing. Pileckas has been the arena’s director of sales and marketing since 2012 and had previously been marketing manager since 2010.
BSE Global and AEG Facilities selected Matt Felker and Joe Zino as the general managers of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and NYCB Live: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, respectively. Felker is general manager of NYCB Live, where Zino is the assistant general manager.
Louisville Tourism named Neil Hibbert director of Southeast sales. Hibbert most recently was director of sales at Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau in Atlanta. He previously was director of sales and marketing at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter.
Ware Malcomb named Patrick Gunn engineering manager for the Denver civil engineering office. Gunn has spent the last 10 years as project manager for numerous commercial civil land development projects in Denver.
KAI Design & Build promoted Todd Jacobs to director of design. Jacobs started with the firm is 2016 as vice president and senior project manager. He replaces Marcus Moomey, who is moving to the new position of director of design-build.
Steve Lind was named director of operations at The Broadmoor World Arena, Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts and World Arena Ice Hall, all in Colorado Springs, Colo. Lind worked at Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo.; Value City Arena at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio; and most recently Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.
Vistacom Inc. appointed Paris Orrison as engineering manager and Lianna Russell was promoted to marketing manager. Russell joined Vistacom in April 2017 as business process coordinator.
Florida Orchestra President and CEO Michael Pastreich is leaving his position in October after 11 years at the helm. Sherry Powell is stepping in as interim president. Powell has been chief marketing officer for the orchestra for the past 12 years.
VenueNext named Anthony Perez, former chief marketing officer of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, as its new CEO. The firm’s current CEO and founder, John Paul, will take the role of vice chairman and adviser.
Freddie Peterson was named general manager of Miami Beach Convention Center. Peterson has been the contract administrator for the MassMutual Center and the Greater Springfield (Mass.) Convention & Visitors Bureau for the past 2 1/2 years.
Visit Baltimore selected Sarah L. Schaffer to be its chief marketing officer. Schaffer began her career in journalism reporting for newspapers including The Baltimore Sun. She was executive editor for numerous glossy lifestyle publications and president and publisher for Niche Media’s Capitol File magazine before becoming chief of marketing and communications for the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.