Tourism & Hospitality Council 2.15.24
Digital Domination:
Strategies for Marketing and Operating in a Tech-Driven Landscape
Join us as a panel of small business owners gives insight into how you can utilize technology and AI to streamline operations.
Our expert panel of industry leaders, tech innovators, and marketing pros unravel cutting-edge strategies to leverage technology for marketing and operational excellence. Navigate the ever-changing digital landscape with expert guidance on adopting and adapting to emerging technologies. Our panelists will share real-world examples of businesses that have successfully integrated AI into their operations, providing invaluable insights on how you can too.
Elevate your business with technology and AI – the cornerstones of success in the tech-driven landscape. Don't miss out on this opportunity to revolutionize your approach, network with industry leaders, and stay ahead of the curve!
Leila obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Hospitality & Resort Management from the University of Memphis. She has spent nearly 20 years in the hospitality industry in various roles in operations and sales, spending most of her time as a General Manager. There were brief interludes outside the hospitality industry where she gained additional valuable skills and discovered her passion for marketing. While pursuing her career, Leila moved all around the southeast, received her MBA from Troy University, married her husband, Adam, and became a parent to 3 wonderful children. Before she purchased what is now The Local - St. Augustine, she was a marketing manager for a local Real Estate team where she learned the value of investing in real estate. When she saw the chance to purchase the 20-room roadside motel, she jumped at the opportunity and never looked back.
Jenn Kjellman is a premier marketing professional whose work confirms that you don’t have to sacrifice flare and style to build a brand. Her personal and professional accomplishments showcase her innate skill. Yet the brands she’s built as a national marketing director and agency founder are the truest testament to the value she brings to the marketing industry. Her skills and work ethic aren’t limited to marketing strategy. This pioneering leader is also dedicated to serving her community and her family. Jenn is a devoted mother and wife who not only runs a leading marketing agency but also follows her passion as a servant leader, committing her time and energy to multiple organizations in the Greater Jacksonville Area.
Peyton Cooper is the founder of PC Creative, a petite creative agency specializing in Social Media Management and Content Creation for small businesses throughout Florida. After receiving her Bachelors in Public Relations at Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL, she entered into the social media world where she worked with one of Tampa Bay's top agencies. It is there where she recognized a need for catering to the small business community, rather than larger corporations and decided to step out onto her own. What has always drawn her to social media is the social side of it, where she believes in cultivating an authentic online community around your brand that will eagerly support you for years to come.
Stephen Hudson, AI Strategist, Author, and Consultant is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AI Tsunami Group, LLC. He started his career in computers in 1982 learning how to program in COBAL and FORTRAN on an IBM System 360. Combining his love of country and computers, he joined the United States Navy in 1985 and spent the next 20 years of his life as a computer data analyst managing the maintenance programs of multi-million-dollar fighter aircraft onboard aircraft carriers as they sailed around the world.
He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he currently serves as an Adjunct Professor teaching Aeronautical Science and Unmanned Aircraft System. After retiring from the military in 2005, Stephen worked in the corporate world as an executive in the security, banking and manufacturing industries but his heart was always in teaching and entrepreneurship. He left the corporate world in 2012 to follow his passion for teaching, participating in the “Troops to Teachers” program receiving his Florida Professional Educational Certificate in 6-12 Social Sciences / ESE and becoming a middle school history teacher. He spent the next 4 years in the hardest job he ever loved, during which time he received his Master of Science Degree in Digital Marketing from Full Sail University.
In 2016 he realized his other dream of business ownership when he founded Digital Mark Company, LLC a marketing and consulting agency. The company provides website architecture and design, search engine optimization, and social media management services and continues to thrive today. Stephen is very active in his community and has served many years on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, Non-Profits and other associations and has served in several community leadership roles.
Stephen has been very fortunate to combine both of his passions and when he is not in the classroom teaching Aeronautical Science for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, he is writing books, consulting businesses on AI implementation and performing workshops to help business owners realize the amazing possibilities and potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence. Stephen enjoys golfing and collecting various musical instruments. He is happily married to Trudy Hudson and they have six children and two grandchildren, enjoying life on their 8-acre farm in Northeast Florida.
Date and Time
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM EST
Fees/Admission
Free for members
Future Members and Guests, contact Ericha Gore
Contact Information
Ericha Gore
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