Jacqueline Marko

General Manager, CMP, DMCP

Jackie is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

Jackie was that girl in high school who planned both junior and senior proms and all of the class fundraisers. Jackie was also the lifelong organizer of activities for her and her twin sister (totally not identical in any sense of the word). It was only after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rutgers University in 2004 (she thought she wanted to be a therapist!) that she realized that she could no longer deny her true calling – event planning.

She joined Destination Nashville as their Senior Sales Manager, and was later promoted to Associate Director of Sales. Shortly after her move to Nashville, Jackie co-founded the ILEA Nashville chapter, serving as its first President from 2012-2014. In 2016, Jackie earned both her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP) designations and in 2017, Jackie was named the Association of Destination Management Executives International’s (ADMEI) “Rising Star” at the annual conference and awards.

Contact: Jacqueline.Marko@PRA.com

Debbie Sales

Vice President of Sales & Creative, CMP

Debbie is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

When industry folks talk about being a pro, they are certainly talking about Debbie. A veteran of the hospitality industry, Debbie began her career in convention services and catering for Hyatt Hotels in Chicago. She relocated to Nashville to continue her career with Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center later moving into sales as Director of Midwest & Incentive Sales for the corporate market. Debbie came to Destination Nashville as Director of Sales in 2005.

Active in the local hospitality community, Debbie represents Destination Nashville with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp and on a national level with Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). A graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a Master of Arts in Related Arts, Debbie was awarded the PCMA sponsored Learning Environmental Specialist (LES) and the Convention and Industry Council’s Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation.

Contact: Debbie.Sales@PRA.com

Carol Norfleet

Strategic Account Manager, MBA, CMP, DMCP

Carol is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

With more letters than a bowl of alphabet soup, Carol has both her CMP and DMCP certifications and currently teaches prep classes for both designations.

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) recently recognized Carol with the 2016 Member of the Year RISE Award. Carol currently sits on the APEX Board as Co-Chair of the APEX Standards Task Force. Carol is the Immediate Past Chair of the Certification & Accreditation Board of ADMEI, is a Past President of the Tennessee Chapter of MPI and was recently appointed co-chair of the APEX Standards Committee from the Events Industry Council (EIC) for 2018 & 2019.

Can you guess Scrabble is one of her favorite games?

Contact: Carol.Norfleet@PRA.com

Tanya Cook

Director of Sales

Tanya is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

Tanya joined the Destination Nashville team in 2004. Her knowledge, creativity and fun loving personality are what make her role as Director of Sales a perfect match.

Before joining the team Tanya grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and attended the University of Southern Mississippi where she earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing. Tanya moved to Nashville in 2001 where she worked for Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center for three years with its former in-house DMC department.

Contact: Tanya.Cook@PRA.com

Shannon Bates

Director of Sales, MBA, CMP, DMCP

Shannon is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

Jill of all trades? Shannon has the corner on this market. Shannon fancies herself a foodie, but she is an expert in every aspect of events from creative design to painstaking logistics. Originally from Alabama (no Roll Tidin’ here), Shannon received a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from Auburn (War Eagle!) University. She began her career as a catering manager at a resort in Destin, Florida and went on to work in convention services at the Birmingham Convention Center. A move to the Nashville Convention Center in 2003 led Shannon to her adopted hometown.

Shannon next made her mark on Music City as the Director of Catering and Event Production for Nashville’s top special event catering company. After collaborating with Destination Nashville on many events, Shannon officially joined the team in 2011.

Contact: Shannon.Bates@PRA.com

Samantha Reardon

Senior Operations Manager

Sam is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

A few business trips to Nashville was all it took for Sam to know that Nashville was going to be her next home town. When the opportunity to join Destination Nashville in 2017 occurred, Sam left her beloved Chicagoland and made her way to Music City. Her love of event planning and production began with an internship at an event company in Chicago while also pursuing a degree in Recreation, Sport and Tourism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Upon graduation, Sam was promptly hired by a national mortgage company as an Event Coordinator and quickly climbed the ranks to Senior Events Manager. An important move presented itself and Sam joined a major Chicago association management company as an Event Coordinator. During her tenure there she excelled in leading successful programs while honing her skills in meeting management, business travel and event production. Sam will tell you she loves the rush of being onsite and watching all the hard work put into pre-planning come to life. She enjoys the outdoors, live music and loves her two hairless cats, Claude and Oliver. A dedicated Blackhawks fan, Sam is excited about being a part of the vibrant Nashville hockey atmosphere – even though she’s not swapping her Blackhawks jersey for a Nashville Predators jersey anytime soon. We’re all betting Sam will look great in Preds blue someday…it just may take a while!

Contact: Samantha.Reardon@PRA.com

Rita Davidson

Vice President of Business Operations

Rita is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

Rita Davidson, a Nashville native, graduated from Belmont University in 2005 where she earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing. Rita was first introduced to Destination Nashville and the world of destination management through her event management class at Belmont and was instantly drawn to the company and its philosophy. Rita joined the Destination Nashville operations team in 2006 and was promoted to Associate Director of Operations in 2009, Director of Operations in 2011, and Vice President of Operations in 2016. Her knowledge and passion for her hometown keeps Rita energized when working with clients from around the globe. Rita loves to show off her city, striving to merge creativity and cutting edge design with logistics to create a memorable and well executed event.

Contact: Rita.Davidson@PRA.com

Rae Neidhart

Sales Coordinator

Rae is proud to now be a member of the market-leading PRA team.

It is a very long way from New Mexico to Tennessee but Rae has certainly enjoyed the journey. Born and raised in Albuquerque, Rae made her way to Oregon State University to study for her B.S. in Business Administration. A short trip to Nashville to enjoy some of her beloved country music was all she needed to know that Nashville was her next move.

Then came a job offer from Destination Nashville and Rae took to the road again to move to Music City. Working with DN, Rae gets to indulge herself with her favorite activity. “Talking to people is honestly my favorite thing to do. The Hospitality and Events Industry allows me to meet all kinds of people on a daily basis and really connect with them. I love being part of a team that helps make our client’s event dreams a reality.”

Contact: Rae.Neidhart@PRA.com