BOARD of directors

The FFEA Board of Directors works year-round to help FFEA achieve its mission. Board terms begin during the annual convention in the late summer and nominations are accepted for consideration year-round.

Katherine has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Coconut Grove Arts & Historical Association, Inc., producer of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival®, since 2003. During her near 10-year tenure, Phillips-Chaplin successfully transitioned the Arts Festival from a non-paid event to a gated, paid event and achieved the coveted ranking as the number one outdoor fine arts festival in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine.  As the Arts Festival approaches its 50th anniversary, she continues to manage daily operations and staffing, as well as oversee the event’s marketing, financial and media activities. Phillips-Chaplin previously supervised Southeast Regional communications initiatives for Pepsi Bottling Group while at Tracey Locke Partnership. She is a graduate of  Florida State University and currently provides consul for other South Florida festivals and events.

"I joined FFEA to be a bigger part of the event industry.  The best benefit of FFEA Membership is the networking and the vast depth of collective knowledge and information you can easily access through participation with other event professionals.  And, late night hospitality!"

What advice you would give to someone in the event industry? 

Forget the word NO!  Creativity is our business; there is always a way, always a solution.  Make your event your party – because who doesn't want to wake up every day and go to work to plan a party!!!!  I always joke that my job is to plan a party for 150,000 of my "closest friends".

Patti brings over 28 years of leadership, sales and marketing experience to SWS and its affiliate companies, Sun Recycling and All Star, where she is instrumental in strategic planning and operations with a focus on sales, marketing, training and legislative planning. She oversees special event productions for All Star Toilets, a leading provider of portable restrooms for special events throughout Southeast Florida. She has been actively involved in the Palm Beach county business community for over 20 years. Hamilton is a past Chairman of the Board of the North Palm Beach County Chamber and was General Chairman of the 2005 and 2006 Artigras Fine Arts Festivals. She is a member of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, the South Florida Fair, the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches and was recently appointed to the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.

"We joined FFEA To support our many business partners in the special event industry."

Rita De Mier, FFEA Treasurer
Director of Marketing & Creative Services, South Florida Fair & Palm Beach County Expositions

An artist at heart, Rita has more than 22 years of experience in advertising, graphic/web design, online, and social media marketing. She joined the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach in 2002, only to fall in love with the Fair tradition, its mission, and the people who make it happen. An active member of the Florida Federation of Fairs, as well as the Hispanic Chamber of the Palm Beaches, she is also a certified judge for the Miss Florida Pageant Organization. Rita currently resides in Boca Raton with her daughter Marisabella.

Sandy has been a volunteer for the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach, Florida since 1991 and in 2000, she accepted the role of Executive Director. A native Texan, Sandy and her husband, John, have two adult daughters: Shannon and Christy. Sandy also serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Festivals and Events Association and volunteers with Amelia Community Theatre, The Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff, and other community events, plus serves as a consultant to local civic groups for their special events through her company, Blue Sky Event Consultants, LLC.

"I joined FFEA to learn more about the industry and stayed because of the people!"

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone in the event industry?  

"Don't expect to get rich!"

Kimberly has over 20 years of tourism and hospitality experience. Faulk joined VISIT FLORIDA in 1997 and is based out of Tampa. As the Director of Industry Relations she oversees Partner growth and industry engagement and also has the responsibility for all day- to- day operations for three business development offices and a team of four at the headquarter office.  Prior to joining VISIT FLORIDA, Faulk spent 10 years in the hotel industry. She served as a General Manager for six years with Marriott Corporation in Baton Rouge, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Orlando. She earned her B.S. degree in Business Administration from Florida State University and minored in Hospitality and Marketing administration.

Harvey Campbell, Past Chairman
Executive Director, Lake City/Columbia County Tourist Development Council

Harvey has served as the Executive Director of the Columbia County Tourist Development Council for the past 24 years.  Previously, he served as Chair of the Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations, Florida Tourism Commission and the board of directors of VISIT FLORIDA. He is currently the Chair of Florida’s Suwannee River Valley Marketing Group which serves Columbia, Hamilton and Suwannee Counties.  

Matthew has been with Complete Ticket Solutions (CTS) since its inception in 2000. Matthew has been involved with ticket operations since 1994 when we began his career as a ticket representative with the Florida Marlins. Matthew worked with the Florida Marlins and Miami Dolphins in their ticket office until October 1996, when he accepted a position as the Ticket Manager for the Miami Heat. Matthew worked with the Heat. Prior to joining CTS Matthew served as the Director of Ticket Operations for both the Florida Thundercats, n indoor soccer franchise and the Florida Bobcats, an Arena Football Franchise, both located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Dan Goode
Event Manager, SunFest of Palm Beach County, Inc.

Dan Goode is the Event Manager for SunFest, Florida's largest music, art, and waterfront festival, held each spring in West Palm Beach. SunFest has had the distinction of being named the 'top event in Florida' in a survey by Fodor’s Travel Guides, and one of the nation's top 100 events by The Weather Channel.

Dan has been with SunFest since 1995. He is responsible for all event production and operations on-site. Dan also oversees the food and beverage, Fine Art Show, and merchandise programs. He works directly with all 25 Event Committees, and is responsible for coordinating the volunteer program consisting of 3,000 volunteers.

Christopher Liberatore
Show Producer, Pyrotecnico

Christopher has worked for Pyrotecnico for a total of 11 years, 9 of which were out of the company headquarters in New Castle, Pennsylvania.  The past two years Chris’s focus has been on growing the company’s Florida business and expanding its F/X and laser work in the state.  Chris’s day to day activities include spreading the gospel about Pyrotecnico, retaining existing clients, and finding new business.  Chris also spends a good portion of his time on show sites to better understand his client’s vision.

J.D. Linn
Producer, Haas & Wilkerson Insurance

J.D. Linn is a producer for the recreation division of Haas & Wilkerson Insurance.  His division specializes in providing risk management consulting and insurance services to festivals and large special events.

Prior to working at Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, J.D. graduated from the University of Kansas’ School of Economics. While finishing his degree he was also employed as the music director and composer for the Downtown City Council of Kansas City. His love of music lead to him attending and sometimes performing at several different festivals around the country, where he developed a passion for the special event industry. Now, J.D. uses his analytical skills, economics background and risk management knowledge to serve the industry that he has grown to love.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone in the event industry? "Always be open to change."

Sarah has been “making a spectacle” for the last 10 years in Delray Beach, with supersize events in the public forum. Known to be a firecracker in the community, she has brought new life to the Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative, a 501c(6) organization responsible for marketing Delray Beach. Martin’s efforts have earned Delray Beach national attention. Her events bring in anywhere from 30,000 to 125,000 people.  Martin’s driving force, increasing economic impact for the community, brought $10 million to Delray Beach last fiscal year. 

Mason Meyer moved to Boca Raton, FL. three years ago as the new Southeast Regional Manager for Zambelli Fireworks. Overseeing the sales, marketing and operations in 5 states and the Caribbean, Mason has been associated with the fireworks industry and Zambelli for a seventeen years.  Previously, Mason was Manager of Custom and Sports Research at Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron is the primary ratings and research company for the radio, digital broadcast and other media industries. His experience at Arbitron included sales, sales management, research operations, and marketing.

Mason, his wife Megan, and two sons live in West Boca Raton. He is a substitute church organist and musician working with a number of different churches throughout south Florida. He is thrilled to fill a larger role within the FFEA and looks forward to working hard making it an even stronger organization. 

Prior to Panama City, Dutch was the Special Events Coordinator for the City of Hagerstown, Maryland and was one of the original members of the nationally known Western Maryland BluesFest Committee. He is also a graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelors Degree in Arts. Mr. Sanger has been responsible for the dramatic changes in events in Panama City. He is very active with Bay County Non-Profits as a consultant for fundraising and event logistics. Mr. Sanger is best known as the “Father” of Friday Fest in Panama City which attracts 12,000 visitors a month to Downtown Panama City which has won “Best of Bay-Festival” in Bay County for (3) years running and currently has close to 5,000 Facebook friends.

Lanie has worked with hundreds of tourism boards, festivals, events, conferences, museums and attractions all over the country to design surveys and collect data so that her clients can better strategically plan their marketing, promotions and sales materials; as well as optimize sponsorships and grants, evaluate advertising, and receive valuable visitor feedback. Lanie's prior experience includes over twenty-five years in sales, marketing and advertising with BIZBASH Florida, Clear Channel Communications, WGBH -TV Boston and WCRB 102.5 FM in Boston. Along with her husband and business partner Robert, Lanie resides in Coral Springs and have a 22 year-old son.

"I joined FFEA to meet people who value on-site visitor surveys. The best benefit of being a member are the relationships that have been created and getting to know so many wonderful and talented event professionals. Of course, it's been a tremendous benefit to my business, so mission accomplished and more!  "

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone in the event industry?   "Get measurable feedback from your event attendees--people see things that may not occur to you. It's their experience of your event that matters most."   

Joe comes from a fifth generation Florida family full of Floridian pride. Joe’s previous careers included retail management, sales and marketing, and real estate. However, thirteen years ago, Joe found his true calling when he was hired as the one and only employee for the Leesburg Main Street Program. His first two events brought in less than two thousand people and barely broke even. Today, Joe and his full time staff of three, along with six office volunteers, set up over ninety-one free events, including an annual Mardi Gras celebration, Farmers Market, Winter Holiday events, and various concerts attracting an estimated 500,000 people to the Leesburg downtown area. Joe and his staff have successfully created the largest three-day motorcycle event in the country, the Leesburg Bike Fest.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone in the event industry?

"Be patient, budget and keep to it, always look for and implement new and innovative ideas."

Brandy has 15 years of marketing, public relations and event planning experience. Her career has been built primarily in Palm Beach County where she has worked for the City of West Palm Beach, the Northern Palm Beaches Chamber of Commerce as Director of ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival, Sun-Sentinel as the Palm Beach County Marketing Manager, and most recently as the Director of Marketing and Membership for the American Orchid Society. Truex is very involved in the community, serving as Chairperson for the Boca Blessings in a Backpack program and SunFest Youth Area. She also served on several boards over the last five years including Florida Festivals and Events Association, Leadership Palm Beach County and Palm Beach County Cultural Council.