Chris O’Brien is the Director of Sports Tourism for Visit Panama City Beach Florida. As the Director of Sports Marketing & Special Events, he oversees the marketing, promotion and recruitment of sporting events. In addition to the sports market, his department develops and executes special events/ festivals/concerts that bring visitor spending and overnight stays to the region. From 2012 to 2014, he created and expanded the sports tourism department for Collier County Florida / Naples / Marco Island. Chris has also served as Director of Finance and Administration of the Tallahassee CVB and Assistant Director of the Tallahassee Sports Council. In Tallahassee, he developed and administered the grant program and successfully bid for and planned/ hosted regional, collegiate, state and national events. Chris is originally from Wellesley, Massachusetts; graduated from George Mason University with a history degree and he worked several years for Circuit City Stores, Inc. in Human Resources, Systems and Benefits at the headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. After moving to Tallahassee to obtain a masters in Sports Administration from Florida State University, he worked five years for Seminole Boosters Inc. , the fundraising arm of FSU athletics, where he started as an intern and moved up to the Director of Systems & Donor Records. His wife and two daughters are enjoying the “World’s Most Beautiful Beaches” and upcoming projects for Panama City Beach include planning, developing and opening a $39 million dollar multipurpose rectangle field venue and planning for a new indoor special event center.