Melissa Fry, Hooters’ Senior Director of Marketing

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Rick talks everything Hooters this week in terms of marketing and sports with Hooters’ Senior Director of Marketing, Melissa Fry.

She has over 23 years in the hospitality industry, from management to marketing with proven success in guiding brand messaging and delivering impactful marketing solutions.

Hooters, a long-running partner of both Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports, has officially unveiled the newly designed No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro that will appear three times throughout the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The brand-new paint scheme, which features a primarily orange and black base design, will make its on-track debut in the second event of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25.

NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver will then carry the Hooters colors on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for a second time at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14, before the scheme makes one final appearance at Richmond Raceway on August 11.

The company, which has developed a pedigree in the NASCAR Cup Series over the last three decades, is widely known for its stint as primary sponsor of the late Alan Kulwicki from 1991 to 1993.

Hooters has been involved with many different sports over the years. From golf to NASCAR and everything in between. The Hooters brand is about empowering women and part of that is their annual Hooters calendar.

Give a Hoot Background 

During this year’s annual October Give a Hoot campaign, Hooters raised $786,000 in the fight against breast cancer. The funds were presented to the V Foundation for Cancer Research during last night’s 2023 Men’s Jimmy V Basketball Classic held at Madison Square Garden. 

Since the program began in 2002, Hooters has raised a cumulative $9.4 million towards breast cancer research, reinforcing the cause as a priority for a company whose workforce is roughly 70% women, most of which are made up by the iconic Hooters Girls whose numbers have reached nearly 10,000 worldwide.

Consumers can still support the cause with calendars available for the holidays. For every 2024 Hooters Calendar purchased, Hooters donates $1 toward the Give A Hoot fundraising effort.

Enjoy this interview with Melissa and learning about Hooters.

Ryan Lepicier, President and CEO of National Peanut Board

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After a yearlong nationwide executive search, the National Peanut Board (NPB) announces Ryan Lepicier as its new president and CEO beginning January 1, 2024. Most recently, Lepicier served as NPB’s senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). 

Rick talks to Ryan this week.

Lepicier has led marketing and communications for NPB for the past 15 years. During this leadership at NPB, U.S. per capita consumption of peanut butter has reached all-time highs through compelling consumer promotions and the backing of groundbreaking research on prevention and treatment for peanut allergies. Prior to NPB, Lepicier served as communications manager for the Office of the Mayor of the City of Atlanta, a multimedia producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting and worked as a television news reporter and anchor at several network affiliate TV stations.

Lepicier shares his outlook for the agricultural and food industries and his vision for NPB as he steps into his new role as the CEO of the National Peanut Board. He can also speak to the importance of early introduction in the prevention of peanut allergy, food and snack trends, product innovation and more.

They talk everything peanuts and how sports could get involved.

See more at: https://nationalpeanutboard.org/

 

Andrew Corkill, Vice President, Global Marketing and eCommerce at Targus

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Rick talks about Targus with Andrew Corkill this week. Targus with a bunch of new products coming off CES.

Targus EcoSmart Backpacks and other sustainable products that travel well for the sports-minded consumer, and how Targus utilizes recycled plastic, some from the Oceans!

At this year’s show, the industry leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, is celebrating their 40th anniversary with the launch of several new products, including those recognized as a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Honoree, designed to help empower a seamless life and a sustainable future.

Targus will unveil new products under the EcoSmart line, including:

· extended collection of EcoSmart tech accessories

includes three new EcoSmart keyboards)
· Backpack made from Ocean bound plastic

+new Zero Waste Backpacks
· Women’s Collection of laptop cases in various silhouettes

· Laptop bags made for Dell and Lenovo

including a lineup of gaming backpacks

· Plus, the Award-winning MiraLogic Workspace Intelligence System

Danny Bryant, Classic Center Arena General Manager

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The Classic City will have a new entertainment venue come Summer of 2024.

Danny Bryant, Athens Arena General Manager, began his successful career at The Classic Center in 2010. Danny has served in multiple operational roles during his time at The Classic Center, but since 2015, he has primarily focused on the development of The Classic Center Arena, which is set to open in 2024. He joins Rick.

The Arena is slated to have 5,500 permanent seats with the capacity to hold up to 8,500 people along with the ability to transform for any occasion from concerts and sports tournaments to banquets and general sessions. Built into the fabric of downtown Athens, The Classic Center Arena will echo the energy of the college town with its rich music history, outstanding clubs, restaurants, and breweries, along with walkable access to hotels.

The arena will be home to The UGA Ice Dawgs, an ECHL team and used as a learning lab. The Georgia Music Hall will also open in The Classic Center, bringing the state’s collection of memorabilia to life in The Classic Center Arena through an interactive, museum-quality experience.

For the past 25 years, The Classic Center’s mission has been to enhance the quality of life in Athens-Clarke County by serving as the cultural, civic, and social center of the Southeast and by generating maximum economic impact. The new LEED-certified arena will continue The Classic Center’s mission along with generating more jobs for the Athens area while focusing on sustainability and green energy.

In 2015, Danny was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) 30|UNDER|30. He earned his Certified Venue Professional certification in 2019, received an IAVM Chair Citation in 2023, and now serves on the IAVM Foundation Board.

Danny is a graduate of Central Michigan University. He and his wife Beth proudly call Athens, Georgia, their home and enjoy spending time with their zoo of animals.

Emily Johnson, Miss Hooters International, 2024 Hooters Calendar Cover Girl

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Rick is joined by the new Miss Hooters International, Emily Johnson, this week.

The 2024 Hooters Calendar has just been released.

To celebrate the 2024 Hooters Calendar, Hooters hosted calendar signings at some Metro Atlanta locations featuring:

Cover Girl: Emily Johnson (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Miss March: Sophia Zullo (Mason, Ohio)
Miss July: Cassidy Marginean (Grand Prairie, Texas)
Miss September: Sara Vratanina (Daytona, Fla.)
Miss November 2023: Ashleigh Meade (Chantilly, Va.)
Back Cover: Paloma Henderson (Charlotte, N.C.),
Calendar Girls from Hooters of Kennesaw: Gwyn Johnson (Kennesaw, Ga.), Caitlin Tabor (Kennesaw, Ga.)
Calendar Girls from Hooters Mall of Georgia: Abbey Upshaw (Buford, Ga.), Jasmin Duncan (Buford, Ga.), Cassidy Keene (Buford, Ga.)

For every calendar sold, Hooters will donate $1 toward its Give A Hoot fundraising effort benefiting the V Foundation for Cancer Research — one of the nation’s leading cancer research funding organizations — and other local beneficiaries through the Kelly Jo Dowd Breast Cancer Research Fund. To date, Hooters has raised over $8.7 million for this organization.

To find your nearest Hooters location, visit Hooters.com. For more information about the Hooters Calendar, please visit hooterscalendar.com.Johnson, the 2022 Hooters Girl of the Year and four-time Hooters Calendar Girl, has worked at Hooters for six years and has used that time to build her professional portfolio. This includes pursuing her academic dream of a doctoral degree in occupational therapy. The goal to pursue this career started when therapists helped her brother recover from brain surgery when she was growing up.

David Marcus, EcoGrip

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Rick is joined by David Marcus, the founder of EcoGrip this week.

Note: A biodegradable tennis / pickleball grip: a high performance grip for racket sports, which decomposes naturally within one year.

David had the idea for a biodegradable overgrip while traveling around eco-friendly Ireland in 2008. In 2010 I finally found a highly skilled industrial chemist in Australia and told him about my green idea. He joined our company. After several years of trial and error together our small team developed a great patent pending polymer for the overgrips. During the very hot summer of 2013 we play-tested EcoGRIP Smooth and Hi-Tac in 10 different countries with 30 excellent tennis coaches and players including a young teen player from California named Cici Bellis. No players were told the grips were eco-friendly. Every one of the players told us the grip played excellent, felt great and lasted longer than their current overgrips.* When we told them the grips would safely biodegrade in one year after changeout … they were blown away.

EcoGrip Hi–Tac overgrips use a slow-release formula and small perforations to offer much longer tack and superior sweat absorption.

Decomposes naturally in the environment within 1 year. Good for your game & great for the environment.

Makes a great holiday gift for a tennis/pickleball player.