ATLANTA – September 28, 2006 – The Atlanta Local Organizing Committee for the 2007  NCAA® Men’s Final Four® has announced its local committee chairs, responsible for event details ranging from community welcome and outreach to transportation and city décor.  As volunteers, the following professionals are donating their time and energy to ensure the success of the 2007 NCAA Men’s Final Four, taking place at the Georgia Dome on March 31 and

April 2.

Jo Ann Hayden Miller is the chair of the Community Welcome Committee, responsible for garnering support for the 2007 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Atlanta from area residents and helping prepare downtown restaurants and cultural venues to support Final Four fans.  Hayden Miller is the director of cultural and heritage marketing for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Chair of the External Operations & Transportation Committee, Jim Cox is president of Presenting Atlanta, a full-service professional destination management company.

As co-chairs of the Facility Committee, Carl Adkins and Mike Springfield, will coordinate all of the events taking place at the Georgia Dome, including the tournament games.  Adkins, general manager of the Georgia Dome, is responsible for management, operations and marketing of the facility.  Last year, he saw more than 1.5 million people visit the dome.  Springfield is the Georgia Dome’s event coordinator, serving as a liaison for the Dome’s clients.

Bruce Murphy is chair of the Finance Committee.  As CFO of Powell Goldstein, LLP, Murphy oversees all accounting functions in the firms Atlanta, Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices.  He has also served as the Finance Committee chair for the 1997 and 2000 NCAA Men’s Final Four tournaments.

Paul Griffin, senior associate athletic director for Georgia Tech, and Andrew Parrish, Georgia Tech’s facilities and game operations assistant, serve as co-chairs of the Game Management Committee, working with the NCAA on game day details.

Bill Miller and Greg Pridgeon serve as co-chairs of the Government Outreach Committee.  Miller is the director of administration services for the Georgia World Congress Center Authority.  Pridgeon, chief of staff to Mayor Shirley Franklin, has also served the City of Atlanta under the administrations of Mayors Maynard Jackson and Bill Campbell.

Prentiss Yancey serves as legal council for the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee.  As a partner at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, Yancey specializes in contract law, acquisitions, corporate formation, municipal finance and sports law.

Jeremy Rubin serves as the Lodging Liaison for the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee.  Rubin is the sales manager for national accounts for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, and also served as the Lodging Liaison for the 2003 Women’s Final Four.

Mark Vaughan, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, is chair of the Look Committee.  In this position, he is responsible for signage and décor throughout the city and the facility.

Mike Stamus, associate director of communications at Georgia Tech, is chairman of the Media Committee, responsible for on-site media coordination.  Stamus also serves as the chairman of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame Committee, and was the local media coordinator for NCAA men’s basketball regionals in Atlanta in 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2006, as well as the 2002 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Bob Schuler, vice president of sales & services for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, serves as chair of the Mementos Committee.  He served as the Lodging Liaison for the 2002 Men’s Final Four.

Sharon Goldmacher, president of communications 21, is chair of the Public Relations Committee, which is charged with generating awareness of the tournament and surrounding events.  At communications 21, Goldmacher develops strategic-level, results-oriented marketing PR campaigns for clients in industries from professional services and real estate to technology and consumer products.

Jennifer Odom and Billette Owens Ashford co-chair the Special Events & Youth Outreach Committee, which will work with the NCAA to promote and facilitate youth educational outreach opportunities including the YES Clinic® and a Dome Dribble event.  Odom, a partner at Powell Goldstein, LLP, practices corporate and business litigation.  Owens Ashford is the director of health, physical education and athletics for Atlanta Public Schools.

Susan Henderson, chair of the Special Guest Services Committee, is president and CEO of Atlanta Arrangements, Inc., an award-winning destination management company.  Henderson currently serves as the president of the Association of Destination Management Executives and is on the board of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Mary McElroy, director of athletics for Georgia State University, serves as chair of the Team Hosts Committee.  McElroy oversees 16 varsity sports at Georgia State, and guided the school’s inaugural year in the Colonial Athletic Association.  She also served as the tournament manager for the women’s 2003 NCAA Women’s Final Four® in Atlanta.

Julia Emmons, former director of the Atlanta Track Club, is chair of the Volunteer Committee, in charge of recruiting, training and managing over 2,000 volunteers for the 2007 Men’s Final Four.  In her position at the Atlanta Track Club, Emmons served as race director of the 55,000-runner Peachtree Road Race for the past 20 years.

Kristin Delahunt will serve as a key member of three committees, including Community Welcome, Lodging and Mementos, working with the chairs on each.  She is the manager of convention services for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB).  At the ACVB, Delahunt coordinates conventions, trade shows and sporting events and employs attendance building tools to ensure each event is a success. 

“The hard work and dedication of these key volunteers continues to secure Atlanta’s position as a world-class sports destination,” said Anna Slive, executive director of the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee.  “When you feel the excitement in Atlanta next March, these are the people who made it all happen.”