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The Wilmington NC Convention Center

Show Co-Host, Susan Eaton has lived in Wilmington for over 4 years and serves as General Manager of the Wilmington Convention Center of behalf of SMG, the world largest private management firm for public assembly facilities.

Susan oversees the day to day operations of the Center and the in-house food and beverage operation, along with the outdoor event space.

Meet The Chef, Scott Frazzetta

Chef Scott brings to the Wilmington Convention Center his attention to quality, presentation, abilities with volume cookery, and attention to detail that keeps our guests returning for their next event.

Our Award winning Chef Scott took home three 2013 Epicurean Evening awards for “Best in Show”, ”Best Taste”, and “Best Appetizer”, as voted by a panel of judges in a blind taste competition. In previous competitions, Scott’s awards included the “Peoples Choice Award” for two consecutive years in 2011 and 2012.  The Epicurean Evening, is an event benefiting the NC Methodist Homes for Children.

Chef Scott has had a variety of experiences to include working in his father’s Wilmington bakery until age 18 and then worked at the Cape Fear Country Club before attending culinary school in Charleston. Once certified, Frazzetta worked as a chef in several restaurants and taught Culinary Arts at Trident Technical College before returning to Wilmington as Executive Chef at Pine Valley Country Club and Corning, Inc

JDRF Hope Gala 2014 

JDRF  is a major charitable organization dedicated to funding type 1 diabetes research. JDRF’s stated goal is to “progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives until we achieve a world without T1D. JDRF uses over 80% of its expenditures to support research and research-related education.

Guests, Scott and Twyla Satterfield are the 2014 Hope Gala Honorees for the JDRF Coastal Carolina Branch. This year’s Hope Gala will be held at the Wilmington Convention Center on Saturday, May 17. For more information on the Gala and to purchase tickets, please visit the site: www.jdrfhopegala.org/.

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Chris Vargo, Assistant Director and Danielle Wallace, Programs Director of Battleship NC

Chris is a native to Erie, Pennsylvania and married to Christy Walker Vargo of Reidsville, NC. Together they have two children Jackson (12) and Luke (7). Chris attended the University of Phoenix and graduated with a BS – Management and a AA – Electronics Technology. On June 15, 2012 Chris assumed position as Assistant Director for the Battleship NC.
Coast Guard Career:
Enlisted – 11 September 1990
Obtained Rank of Chief Electricians Mate (E7) – 1999
Commissioning Source – Officer Candidate School – May 2000
Qualifications:
Aids to Navigation Officer
Prevention Officer

Danielle Wallace was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Because Honolulu is a huge tourist destination, it seems like Danielle was destined to work in the tourism/attraction profession.  Danielle graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and earned her Masters in History from UNC Wilmington.  Danielle worked at the North Carolina Aquarium at Ft. Fisher for 5 years as the registrar.  While there, she was given the opportunity to expand her skill set by decorating their Halloween event, Trick-or-Treat Under the Sea.  Due to that success, she was later charged with developing a haunted house for the event which resulted in The Pirates of Fish Hook Bay.  Danielle moved from the NC Aquarium at Ft. Fisher to the Battleship North Carolina as the Programs Director in October, 2007.  As the Programs Director, she is responsible for the Battleship’s rental program which includes corporate dinners, weddings & receptions, and paranormal investigations.  She also developed and directs select Battleship special events which include the Easter Egg Hunt Carnival, Batty Battleship’s Halloween Bash, and Ghost Ship.  Danielle’s master’s thesis was a visitor study of the Battleship entitled The Visitor’s Battleship.  Based on interviews and visitor observation, she determined that visitors personalize the Battleship based on their own history which results in meaningful experiences for them.  She is very happy and proud to be a member of the Battleship team.

Connect with the Battleship NC on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube

Bonnie Thayer Dubier- Thayer Consulting

Thayer Consulting LLC is a full service advertising agency that specializes in social media management, promotional campaigns, media placement, production, web development and anything advertising! We specialize in “out of the box” campaigns to increase your business presence in new media and perfect your campaigns to achieve the greatest ROI! No challenge is too big! Advertising does not have to be boring!

Connect with Thayer Consulting on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn

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The Wilmington NC Chamber of Commerce‘s first show featured Connie Majure-Rhett, Chamber President and CEO, as host. Connie welcomed into the studio Mayor Bill Saffo, Jana Jones Halls, and Rickey Godwin. The conversation was centered on the impact of youth violence on business in Wilmington and what the city is doing about it.

About The Blue Ribbon Commission:

The Blue Ribbon Commission Action Teams continue to work toward developing processes and programs that will reduce youth violence, reduce drop outs, increase graduation rates and increase community participation in the Commission’s efforts.

Mayor Bill Saffo- Blue Ribbon Commission Chair

A native of Wilmington, Saffo graduated from Hoggard High School in 1978 and went on to receive a bachelor of arts degree from UNC-Wilmington.  He is a real estate agent with Seacoast Realty in Wilmington.  Bill’s civic involvement includes the Community Boys and Girls Club and the Rotary West Club in Wilmington.  He is a member of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Bill’s parents are first generation Greek immigrants.  He loves to spend time with friends and family.  Bill finds it very satisfying to serve as Mayor of his hometown.

Executive Director- Jana Jones Halls

Jana Jones Halls has just been hired as the new Executive Director of the Blue Ribbon Commission. Mrs. Jones Halls received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.  She has been an integral part of the Cape Fear community for a number of years where she was an educator at the Friends School of Wilmington, and has taught at DREAMS of Wilmington.  Prior to accepting this position, Jones Halls was an Americorp HandsOnSchools VISTA volunteer and community outreach coordinator at D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy, Wilmington, where she restructured and created a volunteer, enrichment, mentoring and community outreach program.

As the Executive Director for the BRC, Jones Halls will provide leadership in the ongoing development and implementation of their strategic plan to address youth violence in the Youth Enrichment Zone.  She will serve as the liaison between the BRC and D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy and will educate and engage the community around the issues of youth violence.

Rickey Godwin

Godwin is a partner at McGladrey LLP, a provider of assurance, tax and consulting services with more than 6,700 employees in 75 cities nationwide. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from East Carolina University and has 25 years of experience providing tax compliance and advisory services to corporations, partnerships and LLCs. Godwin was a partner with a large regional firm prior to joining McGladrey and now serves as one of the leaders of tax services for the Wilmington location.

Godwin currently serves on the board of directors for the Landfall Foundation, New Hanover County Community Foundation, and Community Boys and Girls Club. In addition, he serves on the UNCW MSA/Accounting Advisory Board. His Chamber experience includes a term as the First Vice Chairman. He will also serve as a member of the Chamber Education Foundation Board and on the Wilmington Business Development Board of Directors as the Chamber’s representative.

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Alexis Hinds-Sea Coast Staffing Inc

Owner, Alexis Hinds, has been in the staffing industry for over twenty-five years.  Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Alexis relocated to Wilmington in 2004.  She has been networking in the greater Wilmington area for 10 years and has enjoyed building client and candidate relationships locally.  Alexis is passionate about recruiting and staffing and is committed to providing the highest level of service to both her candidates and her clients.  In her spare time she serves on the Board of Directors of the Good Shepherd House, enjoys spending time at the beach, plays a mean game of tennis and thoroughly enjoys celebrating life with family and friends!

Shari Porter-Sea Coast Staffing Inc

Shari Porter has had a number of careers to date, including human resources, corporate finance, marketing, recruiting and preschool teacher.  She and Alexis have been friends and volunteer colleagues  for ten years so Shari jumped at the opportunity to work with Sea Coast Staffing.  In addition to helping with the day to day operations of the firm, Shari focuses on marketing, social media and outreach programs.

Connect with Sea Coast Staffing on Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Gray- Tayloe Gray Kristof

As Founder and CTO of two real estate data management startups in the late 1990’s, Andrew managed technical teams and oversaw continuous software development. Today, Andrew’s energies are focused primarily on content management systems, email deliverability and software development while continuing to stay current on emerging technology and trends as a contributor to the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. Andrew was Co-Founder of TayloeGray from 2009 until 2013, when the company partnered with The Marketing Agent[c] to become TGK.

TGK evolved from combining forces of two existing agencies, TayloeGray and The Marketing Agent[c]. TayloeGray was founded in 2009 by founders Nathan Tayloe and Andrew Gray. TayloeGray established itself as one of the area’s leading technology and web development firms. The Marketing Agent[c] was founded by Bryan Kristof in 2009 and focused primarily on brand strategy. The two companies began collaborating on client projects from their inception and after dating for three years, they decided to move in together and officially blend operations, forming Tayloe Gray Kristof (TGK).

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Jordan Watson

National Speed is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina and operates state-of-the-art performance shops. They are venture backed, and will be setting the standard for the modern performance shop as they roll out additional locations over in the coming years.

Jordan is passionate about the performance industry. Not only is automotive performance his top priority, he is committed to others who love the automotive performance world. Jordan’s depth of automotive knowledge and understanding creates powerful, confident builds every time that always leave the customer satisfied (and wanting more!).

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Tom Looney

Education:
Mount St. Mary’s University, MD
Basketball Scholarship (’79-82)
Student-Athlete award ‘82
B.S. Business & Finance; (’81) MBA (’83)
Adjunct Faculty, Statistics (’83-’87)
Distinguished Alumni honoree (’92)
Athletic Hall-of-Fame induction (’08)
Brute’ Medal recipient (’12)

Work:
Oracle Corp 1897-1990
Next Inc. 1990-1996
Active Software 1996-2000
NextChannel Partners 2002-2005
Microsoft 2005-2008
Seahawk Innovation 2013-2014

Boards and Advisory Roles in Wilmington NC:
Cape Fear Academy
UNCW School of Business
UNCW Entrepreneurship Center
UNCW Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Coalition

Connect with Tom Looney on LinkedIn