Jeff Knight Alabama Hammers Owner HOMETOWN: Huntsville, AL EDUCATION: Athens State University CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Jeff is the Managing Director of Southern Sports and Entertainment, LLC. SSE owns and operates two arena football teams in Huntsville, AL and Knoxville, TN respectively. SEE also promotes various other entertainment events to include entertainment acts and youth sports events. SSE is entering its third season with the Alabama Hammers and its second year with the Knoxville Nighthawks. Jeff considers both Alabama and Tennessee his home, as his family comes from the two states. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ John Hargrove Columbus Lions Owner HOMETOWN: Columbus, GA EDUCATION: University of Georgia CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: For the past seven years, John Hargrove has headed a group that has been a part of the 100% local ownership of the Columbus Lions. In that time, the organization has amassed six straight playoff appearances, three division titles, and in 2010 the clubs lone championship. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Hargrove is a principal with H & H Consulting Group. He has over 30 years of Healthcare experience primarily in sales, marketing and corporate account management. The majority of his healthcare career was spent with Johnson and Johnson in the operating companies of Ethicon, Ethicon Endo-Surgery and Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems. During these 24 years, Mr. Hargrove held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and corporate account management. His final position with Johnson and Johnson was Vice President of Corporate Accounts where he was responsible for the development of one of the first and most effective corporate sales programs in the healthcare industry. Following Johnson and Johnson, as President, Corporate Account Management of Ohmeda, Inc., he was responsible for the development and implementation of a multi-divisional corporate sales program. PERSONAL: Mr. Hargrove lives in Columbus GA with his wife, Sis. They have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mike Fraizer Richmond Raiders Owner Along with his wife Elizabeth Fraizer, The Fraizers joined the ownership group of the Richmond Raiders in 2009 through a personal investment in the team and assumed control the following year. The Fraizers are active in the Richmond community and see the team as an opportunity to contribute to the vibrancy of downtown Richmo nd, helping bring economical family entertainment to the metro area, provide players a professional platform from which to excel and grow, and add to the community’s volunteer efforts through the involvement of the players, Lady Raiders dance team and the staff. Together they founded the Mary & Frances Youth Center on the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus in partnership with the University and support youth development and sports programs in Richmond including the Quick Start tennis program and the IMPACT player youth mentoring program with the Richmond Public Schools. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rod Chappell Albany Panthers Owner HOMETOWN: Chattanooga, TN EDUCATION: Morehouse College (B.A.)/ Duke University (M.B.A.) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: For the past three years, Rod Chappell has owned the Albany Panthers football franchise. During that short time, the organization has amassed three straight playoff appearances, two division titles, one conference title and back-to-back league championships including the 2012 inaugural PIFL Championship Cup. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Chappell has been a sports, entertainment and event marketer for 15+ years. In 1996, he started his post-MBA career with Procter & Gamble's Pert Plus brand division handling sports marketing initiatives. While there, Chappell worked with athletes including Steve Young, Andre Agassi, Mike Piazza and Mia Hamm. In 1999, he joined Host Communications where he worked on sporting events including NBA Hoop-It-Up, NFL Air-It-Out and NCAA March Madness. Chappell was promoted to Senior Vice-President and took over operations of several Historically Black College and University (HBCU) sporting events including the State Farm Bayou Classic. In 2001, he formed Grassroots Promotions (GP), an event marketing company focused on targeting multicultural consumers. GP has produced the BET Black College Tour for the past 10 years along with other entertainment ventures featuring artists like Queen Latifah, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco and many others. PERSONAL: Mr. Chappell is a true sports fanatic and plays basketball regularly. He lives in an Atlanta, GA suburb with his wife and two children. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chris Meaux Louisiana Swashbucklers President/GM/Co-Owner As President and General Manager of the Louisiana Swashbucklers Professional Indoor Football team, Chris is responsible for the day to day business operations of the team. In addition to the operation of the professional team Chris also oversees the Bucs Youth Sports programs including youth indoor football, outdoor football, and indoor youth soccer. Chris has been involved in youth sports for over 10 years and has held various board positions with youth organizations including President of Bucs Youth Sports, Vice President of Dragon Youth Football, Southlake Texas and Football Coach at St. Margaret’s School in Lake Charles. Prior to joining the Swashbucklers Chris was a consultant with Vaughan Commercial Real Estate in the Dallas area where he worked on various real estate ventures in the Dallas market. Prior to joining Vaughan Commercial Chris’ career included 16 years in Technology including real estate mortgage and lending as well as internet security technology. Over the span of his career Chris has been responsible for both large and small organizations across three continents. As Director of European Distribution with McAfee Software Chris lead a team of individuals responsible for a software portfolio of over $100 Million annually. Chris is a resident of Lake Charles and a Native of Louisiana. Michael Clark Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Executive VP/GM Michael Clark serves as the Executive Vice President for the Lehigh Valley Steekhawks after recently serving as the Operations Manager for Eventuality-US, an insurance facility for Event Cancellation Coverage located in Wilmington, DE. He oversees the day to day operations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for the team. His career in sports has taken him to many different opportunities. He had previously served as the Director of Communications for the Kent Predators and La Crosse Spartans of the Indoor Football League in addition to his position with Eventuality. His duties included creating all press content, game-day programs, maintaining the team websites, and developing marketing materials. He first joined the IFL as the Director of Communications at the league level, at the league office in Richmond, VA for the 2009 season. There he was responsible for all media/public relations efforts for the 19-team league that spanned from Alaska to Washington, DC. Mr. Clark also has spent time with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League in their Communications Department as a Communications Assistant and also served as a Sales Associate for the Philadelphia Sports Group. |
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