Speakers

Kay Ivey, 54th Governor of the State of Alabama

Governor Kay Ivey, who became the 54th Governor of Alabama in 2017, is committed to raising the quality of life for all Alabamians. A native of Camden in Wilcox County, she embarked on a career of public service to benefit her fellow Alabamians. During her time as governor, Alabama has seen record high employment and its lowest jobless rate. Her focus on economic development has attracted over $32 billion in capital investment and 65,000 new jobs. She is committed to offering economic development opportunities to rural Alabama and the metro regions alike. With the same level of passion, she is leading Alabama toward a more prosperous future through infrastructure investments and an improved education system.

Lee Sentell, Director, Alabama Tourism Department

Lee has overseen tourism revenue growth in the state from $6 billion in 2003 to almost $ 20 billion in 2021. This is his fifth term in the Alabama Governor’s Cabinet.

Under his leadership, the department has pioneered yearly campaigns spotlighting such diverse themes as small towns, the arts, barbecue, natural wonders and the Alabama Bicentennial celebration, winning the national industry’s coveted Mercury award six times in 12 years. Most recently, their U.S. Civil Rights Trail campaign received the International Travel and Tourism Award for best regional promotion at the World Travel Market in London, becoming the first U.S. state tourism agency to be honored.

Previously, he was the first director of marketing at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville and recruited the first 100,000 students to Space Camp. The journalism graduate from Auburn University was city editor at The Decatur Daily before becoming founding director of the Decatur Tourism Bureau.

In related projects, Sentell assisted Monroeville novelist Harper Lee in the launch of her second novel, reopened the closed Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and sponsored the London premiere of the motion picture “Selma.” The Alabama tourism office is working with the National Park Service to nominate a number of civil rights landmarks as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Sentell has served as a board member at the Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Humanities Foundation, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Rosa Parks Museum and the space museum in Huntsville.

A native of Ashland, he launched his book The Official U.S. Civil Rights Trail: What Happened Here Changed the World on June 23, 2021 at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta.

Pete Blohme, Chef, Restaurateur, Author

Chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur Pete Blohme’s hospitality empire features the opening of creative restaurants, non-profit organizations, real estate, television shows, podcasts, and published book, Spatula Success.  Bolstering a career spanning more than 40 years, his passion for putting “real food in his food” has created four restaurants under the PP Hospitality umbrella, including his popular nickname namesake and first restaurant, Panini Pete’s Café & Market.   Also located in Fairhope is Gulf to table restaurant Sunset Pointe at Fly Creek Marina, Ed’s Seafood Shed in Spanish Fort, and gastropub Squid Ink Eclectic Eats & Drinks in downtown Mobile.  Latest new concept opened is Fairhope Squeeze Juice Bar + Fruteria.  Next up opening in 2023 will be The Waterfront in Daphne and Parc Le Tralour Food Hall & Event Center in downtown Mobile. Pete and his food have been regularly featured on a variety of Food Network shows including Diners Drive-ins & Dives, the “Best of” Diners Drive-ins & Dives, Guy’s Big Bite, Guy’s Grocery Games, and as a guest judge on Food Truck Wars with Tyler Florence. Pete has also performed in more than 25 live shows while touring with the Guy Fieri Road Show. Pete is a proud founding member of The Messlords, a non-profit organization of celebrity chefs dedicated to boosting morale of United States military servicemen and women through culinary training and of course, eating. He’s also a co-founder of The PR Foundation, an organization focusing on helping military charities, special needs organizations and no-kill animal shelters. Pete is an active board member of the Alabama Restaurant Hospitality Association and the Culinary Institute of America.  He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Grey Brennan, Deputy Director, Alabama Tourism Department

Grey Brennan joined the Alabama Tourism Department in 2001. He serves as the department’s Deputy Director and head of the marketing department. Under Brennan’s leadership, Alabama’s international marketing program has grown from just one country to multiple international markets. In addition, Alabama had the #1 growth rate in the nation for international visitors between 2008 and 2018. Brennan established a program to showcase the state’s step-on guides at select tourism trade shows to continuously grow the domestic group tour market. Brennon holds both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Alabama in marketing and communications. Prior to joining the Alabama Tourism Department, Brennan worked in the broadcasting industry in the state.

Nick Dimario, Operating Partner / Owner / Chief of Operations for PP Hospitality

Nick Dimario was born in Overbrook, PA in 1967. He started his career in the restaurant industry at the ripe age of 13. In the late 80’s, he moved to attend college at the University of Alabama where he studied hotel and restaurant management. While attending The U of A, Nick was a walk-on their football team. Not long after this, he began working as a general manager for Alabama Legend, Bob Baumhower. In the 20+ years he spent working for Aloha Hospitality, he climbed through the ranks from General Manager to Director of Operations. In September of 2013, two old friends, Nick and Pete Blohme, a.k.a Panini Pete, partnered and ran Panini Pete’s & Sunset Pointe brands. Since partnering with Pete, they have opened a multitude of concepts, including Squid Ink, Ed’s Seafood Shed, Mob Town Proper (barber shop), Fairhope Squeeze, The Waterfront and coming soon, The Food Hall (Parc De Tralour). Over the span of Nick’s career, he has opened 30+ restaurants. He specializes in operational scaling of restaurants concepts and development of systems, operations and creating infrastructure. He has been affiliated with multiple restaurant concepts, ranging from sports, Caribbean, seafood, and fast casual dining. Nick continues to grow the Mobile and Baldwin Counties by investing and growing multiple different concepts. In 2022, at the “Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association’s” (ARHA) annual awards dinner, Nick was awarded Alabama restauranter of the year, with no plans of slowing down. Along with his operational talent and passions, he has a burning passion to lead and develop young professionals into leaders in the mix of his business operations and growth.

Concepts: Panini Pete’s, Sunset Pointe, Ed’s Seafood Shed, Squid Ink, The Waterfront, Daphne, Fairhope Squeeze, Mob Town Proper, The Food Hall a.k.a Parc De Tralour.

Ed Douglas, Director, Gulf Shore Campus, Coastal Alabama Community College

A native of Alabama, Ed Douglas currently lives in Magnolia Springs with his wife, Jan Pruitt. He earned a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Alabama, a M.S. from the University of Washington, and an A.A.S. from Faulkner State. Ed has been on the faculty of what is now Coastal Alabama Community College for 16 years, the last 10 as director of the Gulf Shores Campus and chair of the Hospitality Division. He served on the state-wide committee for the Alabama State Department of Education to update the course of study for the Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary courses for high school programs throughout the state. He is also active in community and professional organizations serving as a board member on the Tri-City Community Foundation, Community Foundation of South Alabama, Magnolia Springs Community Association, Magnolia Springs Volunteer Fire Department, South Baldwin Chamber Foundation, Coastal Resiliency Coalition, Alabama Travel Council, Study Alabama, and Alabama Community College System Global Engagement Association.

Bill Dinan, Account Director, Intermark Group

Dinan serves Intermark Group as an account director, where he will is responsible for the Alabama Tourism Department account. Prior to Intermark, Dinan worked as an account supervisor at Luckie and Company. Dinan received his B.S. from Auburn University and his M.A. from the University of Alabama.

Dr. Kimberly Severt, Professor and Director of Hospitality Management and Sport Management at The University of Alabama

Dr. Kimberly S. Severt received a Ph.D from Oklahoma State University in 2007. Her dissertation and research focus has primarily been in meetings and events. She taught at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida for nine years prior to joining the University of Alabama in 2012. She is full Professor and the Director of both the undergraduate and graduate programs in Hospitality Management and Sport Management. Her research also includes incentive travel, presentation and communication preferences of generational groups, investigating the inefficiencies of entering event specifications into hotel technology systems. Dr. Severt directs the Alabama Hospitality Workforce Initiative (AHWI) and works closely with Bethany Brendlinger, Project Administrator of AHWI.  Dr. Severt is also a conscientious teacher and strives to give her students a foundation that will help them reach their potential academically, professionally, and personally.

Hans van der Reijden, Ithaka Hospitality Partners Founder and CEO

With more than 30 years of dedicated service as an international hotelier, Hans van der Reijden is recognized as a hospitality expert and a respected leader.

As founder and CEO, Hans leads Ithaka’s development initiatives and spearheads the company’s academic partnership. A visionary leader in the world of luxury hospitality, Hans has a record of successfully launching, turning around and expanding organizations.

Hans was a Partner in Capella Hotel Group from its founding in 2003 until 2018. Prior to joining Capella, he served as an Executive in The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for 11 years, opening hotels across the globe.

He has been named “Hotelier of the Year” and “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Alabama Hospitality Association, “Tourism Executive of the Year” by the State of Alabama and was awarded the Award of Excellence by the Alabama Travel Council.  Hans is an active member and has served as Chairman of the Board for both the Alabama Hospitality & Restaurant Association as well as the Alabama Travel Council. He also serves on the advisory board for the Alabama Tourism Department, an appointment by Governor Kay Ivey, and is a charter member of the Foundation Board for Storybook Farm, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing childhoods for children experiencing difficulties.