America Outdoors
International Marketing and Management Conference
Confluence® 2008

Knoxville Convention Center
Knoxville, Tennessee
December 3 - 5, 2008

Beverly Bahmanyari
Ms. Bahmanyari is a professional trainer and facilitator with 18 years experience working with Fortune 100 companies and currently does contract training for American Management Association and Coca-Cola Enterprises. She provides specialized consulting services to "boomers," combining image consulting with career guidance. Prior personal development includes 15 years in the competitive field of front line sales, and later the corporate human resources field where she led a team of highly successful technical recruiters. She was selected to be on a specialized team to recruit managing and principle consultants throughout the country for an international IT company. From there, she served as Employee Relations Manager and oversaw call center leadership training for a 4B telecommunications account. Her certified coaching and mentoring helped managers address performance issues, behavior problems, and employee development, which resulted in lower turnover rates and a program for succession planning. Ms. Bahmanyari has developed classes for corporate recruiters on sales, customer relations, and effective communication. She is certified in Behavioral Interviewing Techniques and was the lead trainer in that area for three years at EDS. She is a top-rated facilitator of corporate management training, most recently at Coca-Cola Enterprises. She passionately and positively approaches leadership training and understands the issues that arise from poor management and ineffective communication.

Leesa Barnes
Working with management teams, entrepreneurs and businesses, Leesa Barnes teaches insider tips on how to open doors, generate leads and make money using a podcast. Leesa has been featured in national and international media and is recognized as an expert in podcasting and online media. She speaks regularly about podcasting and receives rave reviews for helping audiences release their fear of technology through her use of relevant visuals, analogies and humorous stories. She is President of Toronto-based Caprica Interactive Marketing and is author of Podcasting for Profit (Maxpress, September 2007) which shows individuals and businesses how to make money podcasting in seven simple steps. For more information about Leesa, visit www.leesabarnes.com.

Harry Chambers
Harry brings 30+ years of practical business experience to his content-rich presentations. His experience ranges from that of an hourly employee to executive officer in the sales, operations, training and administrative areas with privately held and Fortune 500 companies. He is President of the Atlanta-based training/consulting company, Trinity Solutions, Inc. and a graduate of Kent State University. Harry has worked extensively with industry leaders such as Cingular Wireless, Pratt and Whitney, and Carrier Corporation, as well as many public sector and non-profit agencies. He is a frequent presenter at Inc. Magazine's Leadership Development conferences and his work has been featured on the web sites of CNN, FN and Business Week On-Line. An award-winning author, his books have been translated into six foreign languages. His articles, excerpts, and direct quotes appear in many publications and journals, including Executive Excellence, Success and Cosmopolitan magazines. He has been interviewed on NBC's Today Show, ABC's Morning News, and National Public Radio's "Morning Exchange." He is a frequent guest on radio talk shows discussing "Negativity in the Workplace" and "Dealing with Bad Attitudes" along with a variety of management and leadership issues.

Karla Flores-Gomez
As a Training Account Manager for Signature, Karla is responsible for the delivery of customer service and sales training for Signature clients located throughout the United States. Karla joined Signature in 1999 serving in a variety of positions related to Signature's call center including mystery shopping and a team leader. In 2005, Karla joined the training side of Signature. As a Training Account Manager, Karla has been involved with a variety of industries and training environments. Karla has been able to blend her knowledge and expertise to provide a training session that is not only fun but makes an impact on the organization. She helps clients focus on the value of customer service skills related to their personal growth, the growth of their company, and the delight of their customers. Her bilingual capabilities also enable Karla to train a diverse client workforce. Karla resides in Columbus, Ohio.

Teddy Garcia
Mr. Garcia is an Internet veteran with over 10 years of hands-on experience helping business owners leverage the power of Internet Marketing to grow their business. He is the founder of Cybermedia Marketing Inc., one of the top website development firms in North Carolina and GearedLocal.com, an Internet Marketing firm that specializes in Search Engine Optimization, Local Search Marketing, Web 2.0 Marketing, and Online Profile Management. Mr. Garcia also organizes the Triangle Internet Marketing Mastermind Group which meets monthly in Raleigh, NC. Before becoming enthralled with the Internet in 1996, he owned a retail bicycle store and competed in various BMX freestyle competitions. He's still an avid mountain biker and musician and is currently working on his first book, "Don't Let Your Competitors Steal Your Customers". www.CybermediaMarketing.com

James H. Gilmore
As co-author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage (Harvard Business School Press, 1999), James H. Gilmore wrote the book that literally spawned worldwide interest in experience design, customer experience management, and experiential marketing. Now published in ten languages, the book continues to find new readers across myriad industries as businesses find their goods and services commoditized, with customers increasingly spending their time and money on experiences-memorable events that engage them in an inherently personal way. Gilmore's most recent book, Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, contends that Authenticity is the new Quality-that businesses must learn to manage authenticity as a distinct business discipline. Indeed, in a world of increasingly commercialized activity-intentionally staged and technologically mediated-people today want the real from the genuine, not the fake from some phony. For businesses and industries sensing the need to render greater authenticity, Gilmore and his co-author Joe Pine, offer unparalleled insights concerning this important new issue. In a March 2008 cover story, Time Magazine named Authenticity as one of the "10 Ideas That Are Changing the World". Mr. Gilmore is currently a Batten Fellow and Visiting Lecturer at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Mr. Gilmore is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Tracey L. Knutson, Knutson & Associates
Tracey began the firm of Knutson and Associates in 2003 and she has oriented the firm's focus on recreation and adventure sports defense. Tracey has had a rich background of insurance defense litigation, defending, native housing authorities, insurers, outdoor recreation and adventure or sports entities and a variety of other clients. She has tried numerous tort litigation style cases and regularly participates in appellate level practice. Tracey has an extensive history of charitable, community and volunteer oriented activities. Tracey's personal interests have long been outdoor oriented. Throughout her youth and adult years she has been an avid resort, helicopter and back country skier, a sea kayak guide, an avid fisher-woman, hiker and camper. Among her commercial clients are: rafting businesses, kayak tour operators, heli ski companies, lodges, hunting and fishing operators, horse trekking businesses, ski industry operators, snowmobile and ATV tour groups, commercial mountain biking companies, etc. Because she believes strongly in educating herself in her client's areas of work and because she believes strongly in personal responsibility (hence, her focus on defense work) she currently holds a number of certifications in the outdoor recreation area and continues to do some guide work herself. Tracey graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School (J.D. granted by University of Montana) in 1989. She is a member of the Alaska Bar Association, American Bar Association - Entertainment and Sports Industry Forum, Sport and Recreation Law Association, International Amusement and Leisure Defense Association, Sports Lawyers Association.

Jo A. Pendry
Chief, National Park Service Concession Program. Ms. Pendry has nearly 20 years of experience in analyzing program operations and performances and has served in several senior roles with the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center where she received several civilian service awards. In addition, she has eight years of experience in municipal parks and recreation. Ms. Pendry has oversight of more than 600 concession contracts with gross revenues approaching $800 million dollars per year. Ms. Pendry is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Parks and Recreation Administration, and she holds a certificate in Revenue Management from North Carolina State University.

Ron Rosenberg
Ron Rosenberg of QualityTalk is a nationally recognized, award-winning expert on marketing and customer service and a winner of the prestigious "International Marketer of the Year" award at the GKIC International Marketing Summit. He has authored several books and learning systems. Over 15,000 people have subscribed to his "In-A-NutShell" newsletter. His expert commentary has been featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and in Smart Money and Real Simple magazines. He has been a guest on nationally syndicated radio shows including ABC Radio, Dateline Washington, and The Gary Nolan Show. Ron is sought after to present keynote and breakout sessions, training programs, and corporate retreats. His client base reads like a who's who list of companies, corporations, and associations, including Ace Hardware, Stine Lumber, Sumitomo Electric Lightware, Ben Bridge Jewelers, Dow Chemical, Nortel Networks, the American Gem Society, and the American Society of Association Executives. Ron holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jay Schurman
Jay is a wealth advisory specialist for Smith Barney in Berkeley, California. Prior to becoming a broker and advisor with Smith Barney, Jay ran an outfitting business in Maine. Jay knows the outdoor industry well and the cash flow challenges that sometime prevent outfitters from establishing a viable long term retirement plan.

Peter C. Yesawich
Peter is chairman and chief executive officer of Ypartnership, America's leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency serving travel, leisure, hospitality and entertainment clients. The agency represents clients in every category of the travel industry through seven offices across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Ypartnership is an integrated marketing communications company that is known for its strategic thinking, breakthrough creativity and innovation in marketing practice. The firm's Research & Brand Strategy Group is also regarded as one of the most respected sources of insights into the emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans, and coauthors the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITOR? survey with Yankelovich, Inc. Yesawich is a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and Business Week. He is also featured on the CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and BBC World television networks and National Public Radio. He serves as a featured columnist in several industry trade publications and has authored numerous articles on marketing and advertising strategy in professional journals. He is also a coauthor of Marketing Leadership in Hospitality published by Prentice Hall.

Janet Zeller
Ms. Zeller is the National Accessibility Program Manager for the USDA Forest Service. She is on the Washington Office Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness Resources staff. Janet has worked in the field of accessibility since the mid 1980s. She has been involved in the development and implementation of the Forest Service accessibility programs and policies since 1991.

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