Paul Smith’s College to host sports and event panel

Paul Smith’s College and its DECA chapter will host “Adventures in Top Tier Sport,” a panel featuring five sports and event management professionals, on Thursday, Feb. 27.

The discussion, which will include topics ranging from career opportunities and marketing to logistics and legacy after use of facilities, will feature the following speakers:

• Molly Mayer, director, Empire State Winter Games
• Ashley Walden, project director of the Adirondack Sports Council, World University Games
• Gordy Sheer, marketing director, US Luge Association
• Greg Borzilleri, race director, Ironman and Rock & Roll Marathon
• Jenna Lute, events logistics manager, Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA)

Jamie Wilson, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Paul Smith’s, will moderate.

Athletic event organizers took in $2 billion last year, marking a 4.5 percent average growth over five years and employing some 13,000 people. From World Cup competition at ORDA venues to the longest-running Ironman in North America, sporting events and the region have long been intertwined.

Lake Placid and surrounding communities are also gearing up for the 2023 World Universiade, or World University Games, and the 2,500 athletes that will descend on the region to compete in the largest multi-sport event in the world outside of the Olympics. At Paul Smith’s, which offers a bachelor’s degree in management with a sports and event track, students and faculty have already begun work on projects associated with the games.

The panel is open to the public and will take place from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Joan Weill Student Center Pine Room. Refreshments will be served and seating is limited to 90 participants.

About Paul Smith’s College
At Paul Smith’s College, it’s about the experience. We are the only four-year institution offering broad-based higher education in the Adirondacks. Our programs – in fields such as natural sciences, sustainability, forestry, business, hospitality, recreation, and culinary arts – draw on industries and resources available in our own backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. For more information, visit paulsmiths.edu.