All of us here at Sports ETA are thrilled to congratulate our first class of Sports Tourism Strategist (STS) graduates! We are excited to share your accomplishments with your industry peers and proud to recognize the commitment you've shown towards your professional education.

The Sports Tourism Strategist certification encompasses 32 credit hours of leading-edge sports events and tourism industry education from crisis communications, event management, innovation, sports business analytics, and more. The STS certification is a program of the Sports Tourism Learning Institute, offered by Sports ETA, and is the leading-edge education institute for the sports events and tourism industry offering topical content, in-depth, and industry-leading certification programs. To learn more visit, learn.sportseta.org/about.

“Sports ETA congratulates these 35 individuals who are actively advancing their knowledge and skills about the sports events and tourism industry with the Sports Tourism Strategist designation,” said Al Kidd, President & CEO of Sports ETA.

Click here to watch a special congratulations from Dr. Jennifer Stoll, Mike Price, STS, Brian Persky, STS, and myself.

Please help us congratulate these individuals on their accomplishments!

Meet the first class of STS Graduates:

• Josh Anderson - Visit Saint Paul
• Shannon Anglin - Yakima Valley Sports Commission
• Adam Ashton - Rentyl Resorts
• David Boyd - Columbus GA Sports Council 
• Shelby Connett - Visit Sarasota County 
• Cindy Cowart - Cowart Sports Events
• Courtney Fegter - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
• John Mark Freeze - Visit Charlotte 
• Lauren Hatton - Central Florida's Polk County Sports Marketing
• Drew Hays - Austin Sports Commission
• Torye Hurst - Visit Loudoun
• Angie Jepsen - Albuquerque Sports Commission, A division of Visit Albuquerque
• Joey Jewell - Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports
• Nikki King - Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Bryan Kunz - Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Jerrine Lee - Richmond Region Tourism
• Holly Leiker - Visit Hutch 
• Charlene Lennon - Visit Santa Rosa
• Teresa Lewis - Lake County, IL Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Kali Mork - Fargo-Moorhead Athletic Commission
• Michelle Naval - Augusta Sports Council
• Brian Persky - Discover Kalamazoo
• Caleb Peterson - St. Pete Clearwater Sports & Events
• Joseph Piotrowski - Tallahassee Sports Council
• J.C. Poma - Richmond Region Tourism
• Christy Raley - Foley Sports Tourism
• Tim Ramsberger - St. Pete Clearwater Sports & Events
• Erin Randall - Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Dana Randt - St. Cloud Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Chris Robinson - Visit Salt Lake
• Alden Rosner - Columbia County Sports Commission
• Marcia Rozell - Manhattan Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Cindy Smoak - SPORTyler - Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce
• Patrick Stewart - Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
• Ryan Strickland - Treasure Coast Sports Commission
• Tyler Weyant - Experience Kissimmee