Five Professionals Added to North Carolina Sports Association Board

Five new sports tourism professionals have been named to the board of the North Carolina Sports Association.

The NCSA elected the group to three-year terms during its Annual General Meeting held virtually earlier this month. NCSA is a statewide collaboration of sports commissions, convention and visitors bureaus, parks and recreation entities and sports authorities who share an interest in supporting sports events in North Carolina. The nonprofit’s mission is to grow, promote and enhance the state’s sports industry.

The five elected professionals are;

• Visit Greensboro Sports Sales Manager Brian Ambuehl, who started in the business in 1999 and before transitioning into a sports market position in 2004.
• Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission Executive Director Demp Bradford, a sports management industry veteran with over 15 years of experience and experience in a variety of roles at the Greensboro Sports Commission and Greensboro Coliseum.
• Visit Charlotte Director of Sports Development John Mark Freeze, who has been with the organization since 2014 and has spent nearly three years in his current role after starting as sports sales manager.
• Visit Winston Salem Senior Sports and Event Sales Manager Bonny Bernat, who has over 16 years of experience in tourism and hospitality.
• Durham Sports Commission Senior Manager of Events & Operations Alyssa Duke, who joined the DSC after four years as the assistant director of women’s basketball with the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I am honored to become a member of the NCSA Board of Directors, especially at this moment when sports have such great potential to be a significant driver of economic and social recovery after the pandemic for communities across North Carolina,” said Duke. “I am excited and look forward to working with peers from across the state as we continue to push for North Carolina to maintain its position as a major player in the sports tourism industry and figure out how to best serve championship event owners in this ‘new normal.’”