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SKAL Tampa Bay is more than just a professional networking organization. It is a community of talented and passionate individuals working towards the common goal of promoting local tourism in the Tampa Bay area. As a chapter of SKAL International, the world’s largest professional organization for tourism business professionals, SKAL Tampa Bay is backed by a strong global network of experts in the field.

Membership in SKAL Tampa Bay offers a multitude of benefits, including opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals, share valuable ideas and best practices, and collaborate on innovative ways to grow the tourism industry in the region. With monthly meetings featuring guest speakers and relevant industry topics, members are constantly learning and staying up-to-date on the latest trends and developments.

In addition to networking, SKAL Tampa Bay also places a strong emphasis on education. The organization provides scholarships to students pursuing careers in tourism and hospitality, helping to cultivate and nurture the next generation of professionals in the field.

2024 Executive Committee & Board

President

Sonny Flynn

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Vice President

Julie Cortina

Vice President

Eric Class

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SUSA Representative

Mike Gruendel

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Treasurer

Hoyt Hamilton

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Secretary

Danielle Reeves

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Membership Chair

Oliver Kugler

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Director

Colette Florido

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Director

Kylie Diaz

Director

Bill Linville

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Director

Matthew Coots

Director

Quint Bodine

Young Professional 

Hannah Anderson

Past President

Kristina Park

Our Past Presidents

It is with great appreciation and admiration that we thank the past presidents of SKAL Tampa Bay for their unwavering commitment and invaluable contributions to the organization. Your tireless efforts and dedication have helped to make SKAL Tampa Bay a thriving community of tourism professionals, and your leadership has been an inspiration to us all.

Carroll F Hill, 1959
James H Gehlsen, 1960
Roland Butler, 1961
Jack O Mengel, 1962
Fred R Wiggins Jr, 1963
H Wayne Bevis, 1964
Robert P Kitchens Jr, 1965
Robert E Nice, 1966
Dominic Cassaro, 1967
Thomas Durfee Jr, 1968
William F Sheeley, 1969
Frank S Boyce, 1970
Thomas J O’Connell, 1971
Don Smith, 1972
Richard G Steiner, 1973
Phil Dross, 1974
Stuart L Hall, 1975
Robert P Manderscheid, 1976
Edwin Y Woodell, 1977
Finley B Myers Jr, 1978
Gerald McKenna, 1980
Fred Probst, 1981
Donald Lindsay, 1982
Bruce Shorter, 1983
Barry Shone, 1984
Bud J Fahs, 1985
Russ Kimball, 1986
Don Seaton, 1987
Hollis Powell, 1988
Sam Johns, 1989
Bud J Fahs, 1990
Phil Henderson, 1991
Rolfe Duggar, 1992
George Elbe, 1993
Henry Kempf, 1994
Sam Johns, 1995
George Hoch, 1996
George Elbe, 1997
Margaret Franklin, 1998
Daryl Seaton, 1999
Jack Guy, 2000
Oliver Kugler, 2001
Phil Henderson Jr, 2002
Steve Hayes, 2003
Marcos Lopez, 2004
Lee Daniel, 2005
Gregg Nicklaus, 2006
Jack Westman, 2007
Roberta Blum, 2008
George Elbe, 2009
Russell Bond III, 2010
Lorrie Hero, 2011
Laura Lothridge, 2012
Carol Eaves, 2013
Dan Peretz, 2014
George Hoch, 2015
Hoyt Hamilton, 2016
George Bentley, 2017
Colette Florido, 2018
Edward Shaughnessy, 2019
Kristina Alspaw, 2020
Steven W Rodriguez, 2021
Michael Gruendel, 2022
Kristina Park, 2023

To fellow Skålleagues everywhere

"Happiness, Good Health, Friendship, Long Life, SKÅL!"

Skål is the only international organization that brings together all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Representing the industry’s managers and executives, Skålleagues meet at local, national and international levels in an environment of friendship to discuss subjects of common interest.
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President

Sonny Flynn

Founder, Tampa Bay Rescues

Sonny Flynn is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She is the founder of several ventures including the Alligator & Wildlife Discovery Center, Sunny Green Acres, Water World Guardians, John’s Pass Rescue, and Helios Promotions. Her passion for wildlife conservation led to the creation of these initiatives. The Alligator & Wildlife Discovery Center and Water World Guardians educate the public about wildlife and marine conservation, while John’s Pass Rescue serves as an amnesty center for exotic pet surrenders. Sunny Green Acres offers a serene retreat for nature lovers. In addition to her conservation efforts, Sonny’s experience in hospitality has driven her success with Helios Promotions, an event planning and promotions company. Her dedication to wildlife conservation and exceptional hospitality services continues to inspire others.

Vice President 

Eric Class

Sales and Marketing Manager, Bahama Breeze Island Grille

Sales & Marketing Manager at Bahama Breeze Island Grille in Tampa Bay the Flag Ship restaurant for Bahama Breeze and now the top grossing Darden Restaurant. I started my 24 year adventure in hospitality as a host at Bennigans in Tampa. Falling in love with service while serving shots at Blarney Blast. I was promoted to service manager while working at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s southeast Asian volume house, Spice Market, in New York’s Meatpacking District. I finally found my calling as the Sales Manager for the Members Dining Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Banquet Manager at The Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center in NYC. The cold finally brought me back to Tampa and I’ve been hanging out in the Caribbean, a.k.a. Bahama Breeze ever since!

SUSA Representative 

Mike Gruendel

Travel Discoveries, Tampa, FL

Bio Coming Soon

Treasurer

Hoyt Hamilton

owner of Palm Pavilion

Hoyt is a lifelong resident of Clearwater and a member of a family that has been associated with hospitality for almost sixty years. His father Howard bought the Palm Pavilion in 1964. The family also operated the South Beach Pavilion on the south end of Clearwater Beach from 1969-2004. Hoyt and his three brothers purchased what is now the Palm Pavilion Inn in 1988. He has worked in the family business since he was in his early teens. After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1980, Hoyt started working full time with the family businesses. Over his career, Hoyt has represented his family on many local Boards. They include the Clearwater Chamber of Commerce (Amplify Clearwater), Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce, Religious Community Services (Hope Villages of America) and Clearwater for Youth. He was Chairman of the Pinellas County Hotel Motel Association which is now the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. With the help of Dannette Lynch and others, Hoyt was part of the formation and a founding Board member of the Tampa Bay Hospitality Alliance which just held its 31st Annual ExTravelganza event raising Scholarship money for local students pursuing Hospitality degrees. And, oh yeah, he served 14 years on the Clearwater City Council and is presently serving on our SKAL Board.

Secretary

Danielle Reeves

Events Contract Specialist

Danielle has been working in the hospitality industry for over 15+ years with 10+ years of meeting planning experience and 8+ years of leadership experience.
Danielle’s first meeting planning role was as an event coordinator for UCF’s College of Business Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. During her time there she planned business pitch competitions where she would host angel investors to come to UCF’s campus and hear UCF students pitch their business ideas for grant opportunities, she also ran the centers day to day operations including incubator events, guest speaker events, and angel investor visits to the center.

After graduating from UCF, Danielle took a role doing Venue Sourcing for a tradeshow company. She was promoted multiple times in her time there with her final role as overseeing a team of 5 meeting planners doing logistics for the large-scale event department. Danielle has experience sourcing and overseeing operations for events from 40-1,000 attendees.

Danielle is now an events contract specialist for a consulting firm where she negotiates upwards of 250 event contracts per year. Danielle has vast experience negotiating, planning, and executing events and looks to continue her knowledge of the hospitality industry.

Membership Chair

Oliver Kugler

Community Relations Manager, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater
Skal Tampa Bay Past President 2001

A 29-year member of Skal & 2001 Past President. He is the Community Relations Mgr. for Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. Prior to VSPC, his career spans over 37 years in sales and marketing for hotels and resorts in the Tampa Bay area and Florida. Oliver’s community involvement includes serving on the board for the Clearwater Jazz Holiday since 1996 and many of the area’s chamber and tourism organizations regionally, statewide, and nationally. Originally from the Chicago area, Oliver grew up on Indian Rocks Beach in the early 70’s. Oliver and his wife, Alison, live on Indian Shores and have a blended family of 6 children and 4 grandchildren and can be found boating throughout Florida with their kids and grandkids.

Director

Colette Florido

founder and President of CR World

Colette Florido is the founder and President of CR World, a trusted, premium brand in cannabis wellness products for women over 55 who seek wellness for themselves and their family. She is a native of the Chicago suburbs, who relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida to launch a satellite office for Mayflower Tours, a tour operator for which she worked for over fifteen years holding titles such as Operations Manager, Director of Traveler Services and General Manager. She now offers her Signature Line of products to promote healthy living through the benefits of cannabis. As a role-model to her two daughters, Colette’s goal is to do a little better each day for herself and her community to improve physical, mental and gut health, with a focus on sustainability.

Director

Bill Linville

owner of Aspirations Winery

Aspirations Winery was started in 2010 hand crafting clean, low sulphite wines. Bill is originally from Cincinnati Ohio and served in the United States Navy Presidential Honor Guard.