new USATF staffers

[Marlow]

A few of the new hires in positions that could do something to change the status quo:

E. SUSAN HAZZARD - Director of Public Relations

ALEJANDRA DIAZ-LABRECQUE - Associate Director of Sales and Marketing

TALIA MARK - Associate Director of Athlete Services

DESIREE FRIEDMAN - Associate Director of Constituent Services

NICK MORELAND - Internet Publishing Coordinator

[Halfmiler2]

Susan has been at USATF for years - she was promoted, not a new hire.

[Marlow]

Susan has been at USATF for years - she was promoted, not a new hire.

I wrote that inelegantly. My phrase "new hires in positions" was meant to acknowledge that some were merely 'new' to their positions.

[Devader]

Re: PR hire, don't get too excited. Susan is a nice enough lady but not a PR pro. She was the graphic deisgner for many years and I doubt she has professional PR experience. Dutiful staffer that worked herself up to the point of promotion. Real PR - like earning stories in major dailies and magazines (outside of the months before the Games) and placing T&F on major media outlets - is not a job for someone most likely destined to crank out news releases on junior olympic champions. You need connected individuals you doggedly pursue quality placements. Given Siegel's lack of knowledge and limited resume in most areas outside of marketing and self promotion, I am shocked he under-hired here but he recent track record shows an inability to find game changers (nonsensical COO hire, weak Events hire), i guess I am not surprised.

Quick google searches indicate two of three "associate directors" are from Nascar so either he is stealing talent or recycling old buddies (hard to believe usatf is a step up from nascar/nor indy a step up from charlotte). A quick count on the website shows 17 of 47 staffers labeled associate director or higher - seems a little top heavy.

[gh]

I just noticed that on the USATF staffing page that the position of CFO is blank.

[Devader]

Based on the convention, they have had one or two CPAs on staff for years - not sure what happened. I hope they continue to hire top peoplein this area since strong fiscal management is necessary to keep as much money as possible in the athletes' pockets.