Session I

Jack Berry

President, Richmond Region Tourism

Jack Berry was raised outside of Chicago. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1974, and in 1975, moved to Salisbury, Maryland to work for the Independent Players Association. Its Executive Director, the late Bill Riordan, managed Jimmy Connors, and Ilie Nastase, and promoted an indoor men's professional tennis circuit.

In 1979, Norfolk SCOPE hired Berry as the Promotion and Sales Manager of the multi-purpose facility. He moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1988 to become Director of Marketing & Sales for the Richmond Centre for Conventions & Exhibitions. The City promoted him to General Manager in 1990. In December 1992 he was named President & CEO of the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau – today known as Richmond Region Tourism.

Berry is a member of the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club Board of Directors, James River Advisory Committee, Virginia Capital Trail Foundation Board of Directors (Treasurer), Virginia Green Board of Directors (Chairman), Henricus Foundation Board of Directors, Metropolitan Richmond Crime Stoppers Board of Directors, St. John’s Church Foundation Leadership Council and Venture Richmond Service District Committee

His wife, Lynn, is a Norfolk native. They have three adult children, John, III, Elizabeth and Rachel. Jack retires this year following 31 years of dedicated service to the Richmond Region and is the recipient of several local and regional awards for his commitment to the community.

Dan Roberts

Vice President Research, VA Tourism Corp

Dan Roberts is the Vice President of Research and Strategy for the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). In his role, Dan leads VTC’s market research, industry analytics, and overall planning and goal setting processes using data to help identify, set, and measure the organization’s overall priorities. Prior to joining VTC in early 2021, Dan spent four years with Choice Hotels International in Rockville, MD, leading performance analytics for the company’s Business Intelligence Group.

He first became passionate about the hospitality and tourism industries by consulting with Fortune-500 global hospitality companies in an accounting and audit capacity, which kicked off a long journey through the industry that led him to VTC. Dan’s hotel data experience includes industry and competitive analysis, data-driven site selection based on demographics and local points of interest, loyalty program fraud prevention, and overall brand opportunity identification and sizing. He has a degree in Economics from American University in Washington, DC.

Session II

Brandon Hinton 

Deputy County Administrator, Henrico County VA

Mr. W. Brandon Hinton began his career with Henrico County as an entry-level budget analyst in 2003 within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He received progressive promotions to Budget Supervisor and was named Director of the OMB in May 2012. In July 2016, Mr. Hinton was appointed Deputy County Manager for Community Services. In February 2018, he was named Deputy County Manager for Administration. Currently, Hinton has direct responsibilities over the Departments of General Services, Information Technology, Mental Health & Developmental Services and the County Manager’s Office support staff.

Mr. Hinton earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from East Carolina University and his Master of Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. His professional affiliations include the Virginia Government Finance Officers’ Association and the Virginia Local Government Management Association.

Megan Hazzard

Manager of Business Development and Event Operations, Henrico Sports and Entertainment Center

Megan is a graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management specializing in Events and Business Administration. Following graduation, Megan started her sales career as a Sales Manager at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in 2007. After gaining valuable experience downtown, Megan moved on to work at Richmond Raceway where she was responsible for booking and promoting events for more than 100,000 square feet of indoor space and 1,100 acres. During her tenure, Megan managed the Complex Events team who was instrumental in preparing the site for the bi-annual NASCAR event weekends. Over the course of 13 years with Richmond Raceway, Megan grew the multi-purpose property to host more than 200 indoor and outdoor events annually. She also helped bring back to life the 6000-seat amphitheater, growing the concert season to 18 shows in her last year with multiple sold out events at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! In 2022, Megan made a career move to the newly formed Henrico Sports and Entertainment Authority. This new authority oversees sports tourism for Henrico County in addition to facility growth and development which included opening the Henrico Sports & Events Center in late 2023.

Lunch: Keynote

Parney Parnell, Richmond Squirrels

A veteran of more than 30 years in Minor League Baseball, Todd "Parney" Parnell is one of the most recognizable names and faces in the baseball industry. Due to his exuberant nature and wealth of experience in professional sports, Parney has also become one of the most popular speakers and guest lecturers in the region.

In addition to his role as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, Parney also currently oversees operations of the Montgomery (AL) Biscuits, serving as the team's President.

Under Parney's guidance, the Flying Squirrels have consistently been at the top of the Eastern League in both average and overall attendance during all 10 years of existence. The Squirrels' sustained success has been repeatedly acknowledged by the industry, recently by being nominated for Minor League Baseball's prestigious John H. Johnson President's Award in 2017 and 2019. The Squirrels were also nominated for the 2016 John Henry Moss Community Service Award and received Baseball America's annual Bob Freitas Award - presented to the best organization at every classification of Minor League Baseball - in 2015.

Thanks to the organization's continued passion and dedication to the Richmond area, the Flying Squirrels brand has become synonymous with community involvement. As a result, Parney was named the Eastern League "Executive of the Year" in 2013 and 2019, after previously winning the award in 2004 while serving as the General Manager of the Altoona (PA) Curve.

Prior to joining the effort to return baseball to Richmond, Parney served as the President of the Greenberg Sports Group (GSG), which included stints as President of the State College (PA) Spikes and Myrtle Beach (SC) Pelicans. In addition to his roles with both the State College and Myrtle Beach franchises, he spent seven seasons (2002-08) as the General

Manager of the Curve. Prior to joining the Curve, the Locust, North Carolina native was the Vice President and GM of the Kannapolis (NC) Intimidators (formerly the Piedmont Boll Weevils) in the from 1997 to 2001 and was named the 1999 South Atlantic League "General Manager of the Year."

Parney is a graduate of Messiah College ('88) with a degree in physical education and a minor in business. He has two daughters, Lindsay (26) and Samantha (23).

Session III

Jon Lugbill

Executive Director, Richmond Sportsbackers

As Executive Director, Jon inspires and motivates Sportbackers staff, volunteers, and donors to promote active living on a daily basis. He doesn’t just come up with ideas - Jon helps execute even when that entails getting a little dirty. As a kid Jon wanted to be a park ranger, which isn’t too far off since he knows almost everything about the great outdoors of Richmond. In his off-time (and sometimes his on-time) you’ll see him enjoying the perks of the James River Park Trails, paddling RVA’s rapids, biking around town, and supporting his beloved UVA Wahoos. He’s on the Board of Directors at SwimRVA and Richmond Region Tourism and serves on the Executives Roundtable at Chamber RVA.

Steve Schoenfeld

Executive Director, Dominion Energy Charity Classic

PGA TOUR Championship Management

Steve Schoenfeld has served as the Executive Director of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic since the tournament’s inception in 2016. The event takes place annually in October in Richmond, VA at The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course. Schoenfeld oversees business development, sponsorship sales, marketing, operational planning, professional player communications, media relations, managing the P&L as well as day-to-day management of the full-time staff and 1,000 volunteers.

Steve’s tenure in professional golf began in 2001 when he was named the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Travelers Championship PGA TOUR event in Hartford, CT. 

He then served as Executive Director of the Senior Players Championship from 2006 through 2012 at Baltimore Country Club (2007-09), TPC Potomac (2010), Westchester Country Club (2011) and Fox Chapel Golf Club (2012). He spent 2013 through 2015 as the Tournament Director of the LPGA Tour’s International Crown biennial match play event at Caves Valley Golf Club. The tournaments Steve has managed have collectively generated more than $16 million for charities in the communities where the events took place.

Prior to his time managing professional golf events, Steve was the Assistant General Manager for the Bridgeport (CT) Bluefish Professional Baseball Club, a minor-league team in the independent Atlantic League. He has also been on staff in the Communications department at the United States Tennis Association and in the Public and Media Relations department of the NBA’s Boston Celtics.

Steve earned a B.A. in Economics and Geography from Clark University in Worcester, MA, where he was a member of the school’s Division III golf team. He enjoyed being a youth hockey coach and referee as well as a little league baseball coach.

Originally from White Plains, NY and now residing in Richmond, VA, Steve is married to Susan Long Schoenfeld and the couple has a college age son, Jacob. 

Greg Hawkins

Founder, Kinetic Multisports

Greg Hawkins is the founder of Kinetic Multisports, following a transition in 2005 from the medicinal chemistry lab to small business owner, and formed the Virginia Triathlon Series with nine (9) inaugural races. In 2010 he launched the Maryland Triathlon Series and followed that up in 2017 with the acquisition of Piranha-Sports and their family of races. In early 2018 Hawkins launched Kinetic Multisports to unify 50 races throughout a five-state area. Since 2005 the Kinetic Multisports team has hosted more than 200,000 athletes, multiple State and National Championships, and generated more than $1,000,000 for charity.

Hawkins holds a BS in Chemistry from UNC-Wilmington and an MBA from Duke University. He currently lives in Durham, NC with his wife, three (3 )children and labradoodle. In his spare time, you can find him outside trail running, surfing, and spending time with his family.

Session IV

Jay Richardson

Senior Sports Sales Manager

Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau

Jay Richardson, Senior Sports Sales Manager with the City of Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau, is a native of the Virginia Peninsula and a sports industry veteran with 30-years of sports management experience. He is also a member of the Sports Events & Tourism Association.

A graduate of Radford University’s College of Business and Economics, Jay began his professional career with the Houston Astros Major League Baseball team and spent the next 13 years in minor league baseball front offices, including the Norfolk Tides and Potomac Nationals. He managed sports and 

grant programs with the National Recreation and Park Association, including partnerships with the U.S. Tennis Association, the NBA, Major League Baseball, USA Football and NFL Youth Football Fund, and U.S. Olympic Committee.

Jay moved into his current position in 2023 after serving as Sports & Event Services Manager since 2021. He promotes the coastal City of Hampton as a viable sports tourism and convention destination, working to attract youth, amateur, collegiate and professional sporting events to the city. Notable facilities in Hampton include the Boo Williams Sportsplex, Hampton Roads Convention Center and the new Hampton Virginia Aquaplex, a state-of-the-art competitive aquatics facility that opened in 2022.

Hampton hosts a wide range of sports events each year including basketball and volleyball tournaments, gymnastics and wrestling competitions, competitive swimming, diving and aquatics events, and boating and sailing regattas along the city's beaches and waterways. 

Carey Harveycutter

Director of Tourism

City of Salem VA

Carey has been responsible for Tourism in the City of Salem for the past nine years following his service as the Director of Civic Facilities. He also serves as Tournament Director/Game Manager for all Salem Hosted NCAA National Championship events. Their next event, DIII Women’s Lacrosse, will be the 103rd event in which he has managed or directed. Carey serves as the local liaison for CIAA football, cross country and bowling championships, as well as Manager of the Salem Fair, Virginia’s largest and one of the top 100 Fairs in the US. He serves as the 

Treasurer of Salem Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce and the Salem Area Ecumenical Ministries and Western Virginia EMS Council. 

Carey is married and has three daughters, and is a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salem.

Awards and recognitions include:

• Life member of the Salem Rescue Squad and Virginia Association of Rescue Squads
• Selected as Salem’s Citizen of the Year in 1995 by the Rotary Club of Salem
• Member of the Inaugural Class of the Salem Alumni Hall of Fame in 1996
• Member of the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame
• Recipient of the “Tourism Ambassador Award” in 1996 and “Presidents Tourism Excellence Award” in 2006 by Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge
• Recipient of the Virginia High School League “Torch of Honor” and the “Distinguished Service Award” by the Virginia High School Coaches Association
• Awarded the “Cliff Wells Appreciation Award” by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2014 for work on NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament and Reese’s All Star Game joining the likes of Bob Knight, Billy Packer, Myles Brand and Dick Vitale
• Recipient of the Charles Brown award presented by Roanoke College to an outstanding Salem resident
• Awarded the Dan Dutcher Meritorious Service Award by the NCAA Division III Commissioners Association
• Game Changers Award 2017 presented by Connect Sports
• Distinguished Service Award presented by NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball
• Virginia High School League, Hall of Fame 2022

JC Poma

Executive Director Sports, Visitation & Entertainment

Chesterfield County VA

Poma comes to Chesterfield from Richmond Region Tourism, where he worked for seven years with sports tourism. He currently serves as vice president of community relations for the region’s official destination marketing and tourism organization. As a member of its senior leadership team, Poma developed deep connections within the U.S. tourism industry and built effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders across the Richmond region.

Poma, who holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Georgetown University, began working for Richmond Region Tourism in 2016 as a sports development manager. He was promoted to director of sports relations in 2019, then assumed his current position in Chesterfield County in 2021.

Honored in Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40 last year, Poma currently is an advisory board member for the United States Sports Congress and serves on the board of directors for the Sportable Paralympic Sports Club.

Alan Dressler

City Manager

City of Covington VA

Allen Dressler is a native of Covington, Virginia. For nearly 30 years, Dressler, a 1980 graduate of Covington High School where he lettered in baseball, basketball and football, has worked with area youth and developed recreational sports programs, improving and adding recreational facilities.

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resource Management at VPI (renamed Virginia Tech) in 1984, and went to work in Salem, Virginia for LawnMark,  a national professional lawn maintenance company that 

specializes in lawn care and fertilizers.

Allen was employed by the City of Covington on March 1, 1993, when he was hired as Director of Parks. The position of Director of Parks and Recreation requires the Director to manage parks, playgrounds, travel 

sports tournaments and City beautification projects. He has been instrumental in the resurgence of the City's vibrant park system as well as focusing on aesthetic improvements throughout the City of Covington.

Mr. Dressler was recognized as a life member of the 2000 National Registry of Who's Who as well as a member of the 2000 International Who's Who of Public Service. He serves as a director on the Mountain Soil and Water Conservation District for the City of Covington, is a member of the YMCA Board of Directors (2002-2003), serves in Alleghany Highlands Extension Character Counts Program and a is member of the Virginia Turfgrass Council and the Virginia Sports Turf Managers Association.

He has played a vital role in developing Covington’s recreational facilities, organizing tournaments and events at the Jackson River Sports Complex and River Rock Amphitheatre that draw thousands to Covington and creating recreational opportunities for youth in the Alleghany Highlands.

Allen has served on four occasions as Interim City Manager and has also served as Interim Director of the Public Works Department, then later was hired as Director of Public Works all while continuing to maintain his position as Director of Parks and Recreation. He was hired as City Manager of Covington on November 8, 2022.

Allen is married to Machelle Watts Dressler, and he has two stepchildren, Beth Woodson and Kenny Farren. He is an avid Green Bay Packer fan, and his favorite country music star is George Strait.

Session V

Cat Anthony

Executive Director

VA Capital Trail Foundation

Cat Anthony has been the Executive Director of the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation since October of 2017. She is from the great City of Richmond and has loved seeing the transformation of Richmond over the years.

Cat graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a double major in Psychology and Religious Studies. After graduating from VCU, she worked in outdoor recreation and wilderness therapy throughout the United States. She has had many adventures in her work experience, from guiding seven-week expeditions in Alaska to leading rock climbing trips in New Mexico. Cat 

has also worked in Richmond based nonprofits like Blue Sky Fund taking youth into the outdoors and also Sportable, a Paralympic Sports Club, in both operations and fundraising.

She has more than thirteen years of experience in nonprofit management and is excited to be the Executive Director of the Capital Trail. When she is not playing on the Capital Trail, she loves traveling to exotic places, drinking too much coffee, and cooking up a storm.

Joseph Petty

Director of Economic Development

Warren County VA

Petty coordinates with the Board of Supervisors, county staff, the EDA, state agencies, the town of Front Royal and Discover Front Royal to promote tourism and economic development in Warren County VA. He served as the Director of Planning prior to his appointment in Economic Development.

Petty holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from George Mason University and has more than 10 years of experience working in community development. Petty started working for the county Department of Planning and Zoning in January 2018 as a zoning officer. Petty was promoted to zoning administrator in July 2019 and to planning director in April 2021. Petty worked with the county Department of Parks and Recreation from 2000-2005 before he began college.

Session VI

Kellie Seaton

Grants Coordinator

VA Department of Conservation and Recreation

Kellie Seaton is a Grants Coordinator for the Department of Conservation and Recreation where she administers the Recreational Trails, Trail Access, and American Battlefield Protection grant programs and assists with Land and Water Conservation Fund and Virginia Land Conservation Foundation grants.

Previously, she provided training and technical assistance on accessibility in outdoor recreation and built and maintained hiking trails. Kellie has degrees in landscape architecture and park and public land management. Outside of meeting with grant applicants or processing payments, she can usually be found running or hiking on nearby trails.

Emily Nelson White 

Conservation Grant Program Manager

Virginia Outdoors Foundation

Emily joined the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) in 2018 to expand VOF’s grant programming, which now includes the Forest CORE Fund, the Preservation Trust Fund, and the Get Outdoors Fund. Her work includes the development of grant programs, the evaluation of review criteria, outreach to communities, non-profits, and localities, as well as the management of grant-funded projects. Across all programs, Emily works to protect the natural and cultural resources found in Virginia and to connect people with the outdoors.

Prior to joining VOF, Emily’s career centered on administering state-funded agricultural conservation programs in Virginia through work with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation as well as the Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

A native Virginian, Emily earned her degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia. She lives on a farm with her husband, step-kids, dogs, and many cows. When not working on grants, she enjoys running, gardening, cooking, and reading.