by darren reese
sports editor
GREENEVILLE – The Greene County Partnership, led by tourism director Tammy Kinser, has been named by SportsEvents Media Group as part of the 2013 class of Sports Events Planners To Watch in the group’s January publication.
The Partnership was recognized by SportsEvents with a Readers’ Choice Award, given to only four cities in the state (Knoxville, Kingsport and Oak Ridge).
“The top planners named display exemplary creatitvity and professionalism in planning their events,” said SportsEvents editor Kristen McIntosh. “These winners have proven they are willing to go above and beyond for the athletes, fans, and all those involved in the events they produce.”
SportsEvents considers itself the leading industry publication focused exclusively on helping sports event planners produce excellent sports competitions.
Kinser was instrumental in bringing the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships to Greeneville in 2011 and 2012, the NAIA Fall Collegiate Classic golf tournaments the same years, and the AAU Golf National Championships in 2012 and again this coming July.
“In tourism, the main objective is to place ‘heads in beds’, and with our experience in this field, recruiting and hosting sporting events is the ideal way to increase overnight stays, as well as sales tax revenue for our community,” Kinser told SportsEvents.
“We have also learned that by winning bids for national championship events, we receive exposure across the country that we couldn’t ordinarily afford.”
Kinser said the key to running a successful sporting event is “Making your guests feel like a big fish in a small pond.”
Those organizations who have brought their sporting events to Greene County have positively commented on the hospitality the Partnership, as well as the community, has provided.
In addition to the golf tournaments, the Partnership puts on the annual Landair Ladies Classic girls’ basketball tournament in December, which is considered one of the top high school basketball events in the Southeast.
Kinser says the Partnership also plans to hold a regional soccer tournament in conjunction with Tusculum College this fall, and is trying to pursue a large-scale senior tennis tournament, as well.
