After college & culinary school I spent many years working in the restaurant industry. I started at TGIFriday's & came up through the ranks from busboy to Kitchen Manager with everything in between. I worked for many national chains including Applebee's & California Pizza Kitchen. I also spent some time with smaller local chains including Bill Bateman's, DuClaw, & Silver Spring Mining Company. In those years I learned the skills necessary for hiring & training the best employees, as well as, professional development.As my time in restaurants was coming to an end I made the jump from hospitality to sales with Payce Payroll, Inc. I learned "traditional" sales techniques & also gained experience in managing relationships through our partnership with Provident Bank & I learned about the power of networking.An opportunity to sell more complex business services (401k plans, HR servcies, etc.) with Paychex emerged & I accepted the challenge. However, my commitment to community & hospitality background needed to be fulfilled.As a result of good, old fashioned networking I discovered that Hess Hotels Group (a locally owned & operated company )was looking for a new Director of Sales & Marketing. They have been in business since 1966 & in that time they have left an indelible mark on their communities. As the Director of Sales & Marketing my goal was to ensure the continued success of Hess Hotels Group in a time where the competition was growing rapidly through traditional & new media channels, as well as, strategic partnerships.Due to the challenging economy in 2009 my position was eliminated in November. Once again, the power of networking prevailed & I was able to secure my current position as the Executive Director at the Bel Air Downtown Alliance. As the Alliance's ED I am charged with marketing Main Street as a brand, working with the local merchants, business development, & event planning.