HATC Board

Julie Faver – Dylla
Executive Director

Julie brought more than 15 years hotel sales experience to the Hotel Association of Tarrant County when she accepted the role as our Executive Director in 2010. As the Senior Sales Manager for the DFW Airport Marriott South for more than 10 years, she built relationships both for the hotel and within the industry that will bring great value to the Hotel Association of Tarrant County.  It is to Julie’s proven success as a true leader on the association’s board of directors and to her amazing impact as a volunteer that we attribute her rise to our ultimate organizational leadership position, and she will prove to be an asset to building our membership and growing our association for all of our Tarrant County hospitality partners.

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Steve Haley
President
Hilton DFW Lakes Hotel & Conference Center

Steve is in his 23^rd year with Quorum Hotels and Resorts of Dallas and a graduate of Florida State University with his degree in Hotel/Restaurant Administration. He is actively involved in the Grapevine community with the Grapevine CVB, Grapevine Chamber of Commerce and recent graduate of Leadership Grapevine.

Steve’s family includes wife Maggie and sons Brett and Christopher. His hobbies include coaching youth sports, getting in a few rounds of golf and entertaining friends and family.

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Al DeBerry
Past President
Tharaldson Lodging Companies

A 25-year veteran of the lodging industry, DeBerry began his career at the Exel Inn hotel chain in Denton at the age of 19. By the age of 21, he was promoted to General Manager, becoming the youngest GM in the history of the company. Following management positions in Denton, Dallas and Austin, DeBerry joined Tharaldson Lodging. In his current position as Area Director, DeBerry oversees 11 hotels in Central Texas. In 2006 he was named the Rocky Mountain/South Central Region Area Director of the Year. An advocate for hospitality education, DeBerry has served on the Professional Development Panel of THLA’s Annual Short Course for the past six years and currently serves on the Hospitality Action Team for the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee. DeBerry will also serve on the 2010 Executive Committee for the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association.

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Nancy Sorrells
Past President

Nancy Sorrells has a business degree from Oregon State University.  Her hospitality career began working the front desk on weekends and holidays during college.  Her career has taken her from the front desk to sales, to operations and general management. She has worked from a beachfront resort on the Oregon Coast, to a ski lodge at Lake Tahoe, to hotels in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Fort Worth, Texas.  Her most recent assignment was ten years as a General Manager with Winegardner and Hammonds.  She managed the DFW Airport Marriott South for the last 8 of those years.  Nancy has received several Leadership awards from Marriott International and sales and management awards from Winegardner and Hammonds.  Nancy was instrumental in the growth of the hotel association in her role as president for several years.  Recently Nancy has taken a hiatus from the hotel business to work with her husband at Metro Roofing and Construction and to spend time with her children.  She remains on the board as immediate Past President.

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Jim Campbell
Board Member Extraordinaire
DFW Marriott Hotel & Club at Champions Circle

Jim Campbell is General Manager of the Marriott Hotel and Golf Club at Champions Circle.  Jim joined the hotel in February 2008 at the same time that HEI Hotels and Resorts purchased the hotel and golf course changing from the Doral Tesoro to its current Marriott flag. Since moving to the Fort Worth area, Jim has been involved with several community, civic and professional organizations.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the Hotel Association of Tarrant County, the Northwest Independent School District Education Foundation and the Tarrant County Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Jim is also a member of the Northwest Communities Partnership, the Highway 114 Stakeholders and the I-35 Coalition.

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Gracie Vega
Board Member Extraordinaire
Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center

Gracie Vega currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources for Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas and, after successfully leading the recruiting process to hire over 2,000 new STAR employees, Gracie was promoted to her current role in 2005. Gracie has over fifteen years of hospitality experience and has been recognized for her many accomplishments including receipt of the Gaylord Entertainment Excellence in Leadership Award in 2010. She was also nominated for the 2005 Gaylord President’s Award for “Integrity”; chosen as the 2001 “Human Resources Director of the Year” by Wyndham Hotels; recognized by the International Association Personnel in Employment Security in 2000 and 2001; and honored by the “Welfare to Work” Partnership in 1999. She has served as Vice President for the Hospitality Human Resources Association in the DFW area. In addition to her role on the HATC board, Gracie is a board member of Workforce Development of Tarrant County.

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Jags Patel
Board Member Extraordinaire
Q Hotels, LLC

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Jed Wagenknecht
Board Member Extraordinaire
Courtyard Blackstone Northeast

Jed Wagenknecht grew up in St Louis Missouri.  He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the hospitality program.  His first job was with Marriott at a Residence Inn as a sales manager.  After moving to a few cities back east in different sales positions he landed his first GM job in Kalamazoo Michigan.

Then Jed moved to Birmingham, Nashville and Memphis before finding his home in Fort Worth at the Blackstone. Jed lives in Saginaw with his lovely wife and twin boys.  He enjoys hunting, fishing and anything to do with the outdoors.

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Steve Keenan
Board Member Extraordinaire
Director of Room Operations, Omni Fort Worth Hotel

Steve has more than 22 years of experience in hotel management at leading properties throughout the United States. Steve joined Omni Hotels in January 1998 as Director of Rooms at the Omni Dallas Park West. In 1999 he moved to the Omni Mandalay as Resident Manager and on to Omni William Penn in 2001. Steve moved back to Texas in 2007 and joined the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel as its Director of Operations. In 2003 Steve was recognized as the Rooms Operations Executive of the Year and in 2005 was recognized for Sensational Achievement in Owner Performance.

Steve began his hospitality career with Westin in 1988 as Housekeeping Supervisor and worked his way into the positions that he has recently held.  He possesses a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Oklahoma State University. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife Jeanne and their three children Emily, Sophia and Harrison.

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Alex Kramer
Board Member Extraordinaire
Super 8 Grapevine

Alex Kramer graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Hospitality Management and has worked in the hospitality industry for many years, including positions with Hyatt and Hilton. Alex now manages the Super 8 Grapevine/DFW Airport Hotel.

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Tina Patel
Board Member Extraordinaire
Baymont Inn & Suites North

A 1993 graduate from The University of Oklahoma with a BBA in Management, Tina’s career started out in retail at the Limited, Inc., and she moved to the DFW area in 1997 and started her career in advertising with The Wall Street Journal. She managed the Southwest region until 2004, when her father invited her to join the family hotel business. Her first portfolio hotel, The Baymont Inn and Suites, opened in December of 2004, and she purchased the second hotel, Comfort Suites, in 2006 where she spearheaded all operations and marketing. In 2010 she turned those responsibilities over to a hotel management company.

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Sarah Dechert
Board Member Extraordinaire
Courtyard by Marriott Las Colinas

A long term member of the Hotel Association of Tarrant County, Sarah has provided leadership and guidance to our organization for many years. Sarah truly believes in long-term career relationships, evidenced by her roles in Marriott for 23 years. Her role at the Las Colinas property has spanned the last 5 years, and she is a past president of The Hotel Association of Tarrant County.

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Jay Burress
Ex Officio Board Member
Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau

Jay Burress became President & CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau in June 2008.  Formerly, he served as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau where he led and directed a team of 21 in the Sales & Services division. Burress joined the Dallas bureau in January 1988, and in addition to executive positions in both convention sales and tourism sales, his experience also includes international marketing, management of five regional offices and member of host committees for National Tour Association, Pow Wow, and Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress in 2006.  He has served on the Dallas Fort Worth Area Tourism Council’s Board of Directors and was chair in 2007.  He also served on the Texas Office of the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Council from 2005-2008. His professional affiliations include Meeting Professional International, Professional Convention Management Association, American Society of Association Executives, International Association of Exhibitions and Events, U.S. Travel National Council of Destination Organizations Board, Arlington Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee, Chair – Hospitality Action Team Super Bowl XLV, Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus Board of Directors, and Texas Travel Industry Association.  A native of Edmond, Oklahoma, Mr. Burress attended Baylor University and moved to Arlington in 2008 with his wife Jill. They have three children:  Spencer, Andrew and Annie.

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David Dubois
Ex Officio Board Member
Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau

David A. DuBois has more than 32 years of executive management experience in the hospitality and meetings industries. He joined the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) in January 2007 as president and chief executive officer (CEO). DuBois is responsible for the strategic management and direction of CVB initiatives to promote the interest of the city of Fort Worth in the convention and tourism marketplaces. In addition, he develops and maintains key relationships in the industry, as well as with local community leaders and media. Previously, DuBois served as executive vice president for Meeting Professionals International Foundation. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). A graduate of The School of Hotel Administration at Michigan State University, DuBois worked in sales and marketing at various Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton hotels between 1978 and 1990 before becoming senior vice president for PCMA in 1991. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for managing staff, multi-million dollar budgets and marketing initiatives. His professional involvement includes serving on the Destination Marketing Association
International board of directors, the Meeting Professionals International Foundation board of trustees and the Texas Society of Association Executives board of directors. He holds membership in Society of Government Meeting Professionals, American Society of Association Executives, Professional Convention Management Association, American Society of Association Management, Meeting Professionals International and USA Hockey. DuBois also has worked with the Convention Industry Council and is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Association Executive (CAE), and Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA).

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