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College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

  • headshots of Tyler Catton, Richard Fortune, Meghan Keeler, Tom Mullikin

December 2024 HRSM student, faculty, staff and alumni notes

Posted on: December 5, 2024; Updated on: December 4, 2024
By Allen Wallace, awallace@sc.edu

In the News

Faculty and Staff Notes

  • Tom Mullikin was appointed to serve as the next director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
  • Sid Kenyon, a Department of Sport and Entertainment Management adjunct since 1992, announced his retirement as general manager of Colonial Life Arena. He will continue to teach classes.
  • Thanks to the McCutchen House staff for their hard work in making Pie Day 2024 a success.
  • The College of HRSM sponsored the trumpet section in helping the Carolina Band raise funds for its trip to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
  • The Department of Retailing teamed up with Kendra Scott Columbia for a fundraiser supporting Delivering Good.
  • Miyoung Jeong's HTMT 564 class planned and carried out a successful Fiesta of Love event at McCutchen House, and collected canned food for those in need this holiday season.

Student Notes

  • Congratulations to all the students who accepted offers to work the 2025 Masters Tournament in April and the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in May!
  • Landon Beirne (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position as a student equipment manager with Gamecock Football for spring semester.
  • Jamie Bender (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a marketing internship with the Delmarva Shorebirds for the 2025 season.
  • Tyler Catton (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a full-time position as an account executive with the Atlanta Gladiators beginning in May 2025.
  • Christian Emenecker (Hospitality Management) accepted a pool snack bar supervisor position at Cherokee Town and Country Club for his summer 2025 internship.
  • Sydney Herz (Sport and Entertainment Management) attended the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings as part of the MLB Diversity and Inclusion Take the Field program.
  • Erin Lewantowicz (Sport and Entertainment Management) officially accepted an offer to join the Cleveland Cavaliers as an account executive on The Foundation Ticket Sales Team starting in June 2025.
  • Tanner Lewis (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position as a tournament coordinator with the Texas Golf Association to begin in January.
  • Sydney Lynch (Tourism Management) earned the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award in recognition of her commitment to serving the community and the completion of 250+ service hours over the course of the past year. She received a certificate, a pin, and a letter signed by President Joe Biden.
  • Jarad Plyler (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position with Gamecock Football as an equipment manager beginning in January.
  • Damla Sönmez (Hospitality Management Ph.D.) participated in USC’s 2024 Three-Minute Thesis Competition.
  • Paige Tucci (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a spring 2025 Internship with College World Series of Omaha, Inc.

Alumni Notes

  • Drea Braxmeier (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘05), now a senior vice president with Edelman, and her team were featured in a New York Times Cooking story for their work with the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line.
  • Emma Cohen-Dumani (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) was promoted to manager, group sales at D.C. United.
  • Lauren Copeland (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘21) started a new position as buying coordinator, women’s sweaters at Stitch Fix.
  • Amy Craig (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘07) accepted a new position as director, account management - theaters and residencies with AXS.
  • Sophia Dudley (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘24) accepted a position with the FARM Rio team as the company prepares to open a new store in the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
  • Richard Fortune (Retailing, ‘05) started a new position as senior director - Go to Market Delivery Operations, South Division at PepsiCo.
  • Sharmequa Franklin (Integrated Information Technology, '99) was featured in Statesboro Moments magazine with a story on her work as The Artsy Girl.
  • Jon Frost (B.S. Sport and Entertainment Management '04, Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, '06) and his DeSoto County Tourism team were recognized as Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) of the year at the recent Mississippi Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
  • Brendan Herrfeldt (Sport and Entertainment Management, '20) started a new position as Senior Associate at CAA ICON.
  • Georgia Johnson (Sport and Entertainment Management, '24) started a new position as an account executive with Adams Outdoor in Charleston, SC.
  • Meghan Keeler (Tourism Management, '23) accepted a new position as a travel experience coordinator for smarTours.
  • Topper Korb (Sport and Entertainment Management, '18) started a new position as athletic manager with Anne Arundel County Public Schools at Annapolis Middle School.
  • Nicholas Logue (Sport and Entertainment Management, '24) accepted a position with the Maryland State Golf Association as a tournament manager.
  • Madelyn Miller (Sport and Entertainment Management, '24) accepted a new position as a team services and engagement seasonal assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
  • Jared Mundie (Sport and Entertainment Management, '22) started a new position as senior operations coordinator, refereeing with the U.S. Soccer Federation.
  • Sara Piper (Hospitality Management, '07) was recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Las Vegas by thewomenweadmire.com and was a featured speaker at the Inspire Luxury Hospitality Conference.
  • Ashley Plott (Interdisciplinary Studies, '23) started a new position as assistant store manager at Little Words Project.
  • Barbie (Bufford) Porter (Sport and Entertainment Management, '11) started a new position as content developer at Applied Systems.
  • Samantha Shavitz (Hospitality Management, '22) completed and passed the Level 1 Introductory Sommelier Exam through the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas.
  • Morgan Stout (Hospitality Management, '22) completed and passed the requirements to become a Certified Sommelier.
  • Brandon Vereen (Sport and Entertainment Management, '24) accepted an offer to be a part of the 2025 Winter Class of the Major League Baseball On Deck Sales Program, starting in January 2025.

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