TMP-July 15, 2008
Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:16 am

The Embassy Suites Murfreesboro – Hotel & Conference Center, scheduled for completion in September 2008, has announced its management and sales staff.

“We are pleased with the talent of our new team members, who all have the dedication to luxury and quality service that we were looking for,” said General Manager David Latture. “With our opening right around the corner, this team has come together to handle the great momentum we have building as this community gears up for its first luxury all-suite hotel and conference center.”

David Latture – General Manager: Latture, who has more than 30 years of hospitality experience, was previously the general manager of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cool Springs, where he directed operations of the all-suite luxury hotel. Under his leadership, the hotel was ranked in the top ten among its peers for outstanding product and service every year since opening. Prior to the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cool Springs, Latture held several general manager positions in Tennessee and Texas, among them the Hilton Houston Hobby Airport and Tennessee’s Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn. He has also served on a variety of professional boards, including the Tennessee, Greater Nashville and Williamson County Hotel & Lodging Associations, Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce.

Becky Vealey – Director of Sales and Marketing: Vealey has over 13 years of hospitality experience, and has worked for John Q. Hammons for 10 years. Vealey was previously the director of sales at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Convention Center and Spa in Hampton, Virginia, where she successfully managed the hotel’s opening. During her time there, the hotel was honored with the Connie Award for ranking second worldwide for product quality and customer satisfaction.

Sheron Clifton - Senior Sales Manager: Clifton previously worked as a senior sales manager and administrative assistant at the Nashville Airport Marriott, and as a national sales manager for the Nashville Convention Center. She has held membership in several professional organizations, including Meeting Planners International, Hotel Sales and Marketing Association and the American Society of Association Executives.

Doug Martin - Chief Engineer: Martin was previously a member of the engineering department at the Embassy Suites USF/Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida for five years, where he held the position of chief engineer from 2005 – 2008. Martin holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.

Jo Crips - Director of Human Resources: A Detroit native, Crips has over 12 years experience in human resources. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management from Oakland University and a master’s degree in Organization and Human Relations Management from Cumberland University. Previously, Crips was human resource manager for K&S Wiring Systems, Inc. in LaVergne, TN.

Nicole Biles-Fulp - Director of Accounting: Biles-Fulp has over eight years of hospitality experience. She most recently held the position of head bookkeeper at the Embassy Suites Greystone in Columbia, SC from 2006 – 2008. Biles-Fulp holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Middle Tennessee State University.

Jim Wynn - Assistant General Manager and Food and Beverage Director: Wynn has over 33 years of experience in the hospitality industry, as food and beverage director and as executive chef at several notable properties. Before joining Embassy Suites Murfreesboro, he held the position of assistant general manager and food and beverage director at The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, FL from 2007 – 2008 and at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cool Springs, TN from 2005 – 2006. Wynn is also a certified food and beverage executive by the American Hotel Motel Association and a certified executive chef by the American Culinary Federation.

John Johnson - Rooms Division Manager: Johnson’s 32 years of hospitality experience include the roles of general manager, property accountant, front office manager and food and beverage director. He is a Nashville native and a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University.

Janice Stone – Sales Manager: Before joining Embassy Suites Murfreesboro this year, Stone had held the position of Corporate Sales Manager at the Chattanooga Marriott Hotel since 2004. She also held the position of Director of Sales and Marketing at the Chattanooga Clarion Hotel from 2001 – 2004. Stone attended the Marriott Sales School in 2001 and 2006.

Rosemary Wilson – Sales Manager: Wilson was previously a regional sales and event coordinator for Estee Lauder Companies in Nashville for eight years. Prior to Estee Lauder, she worked for Parisian as a business manager and an account coordinator.

Kellie Myers – Director of Catering: Myers has over 17 years of hospitality experience. Previously she worked at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, as a corporate catering manager and then as conference manager before being promoted to senior conference manager, a position she held for 10 years. While at Loews, Myers was named manager of the month four times. Myers holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama.

Jennifer Crafton – Catering Sales Manager: Crafton previously held the the position of catering sales manager at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. Prior to the Millennium Maxwell House, she was a celebrity services agent and VIP coordinator at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville and a guest service representative at the Holiday Inn University Plaza in Bowling Green, KY. Crafton holds a bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management from Western Kentucky University.

Laura Cloud – Catering Sales Manager: Cloud was previously a customer service representative and assistant manager for Stewart’s Special Events and a video journalist for City Cable Department in Murfreesboro. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University.

Tanya Starr – Catering Sales Manager: Starr worked previously at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cool Springs. She is a Boston, MA native and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. Starr is also a member of the Tennessee chapter of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals.

Melissa Cassidy – Catering Sales Manager: Cassidy was previously general manager of the Byrn-Roberts Inn in Murfreesboro for five years. Prior to the Byrn-Roberts Inn, she worked as a manager at Curves For Women in Memphis and Murfreesboro. Cassidy holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Memphis.

To Make a Reservation

To make a hotel reservation, visit the hotel website at www.murfreesboro.embassysuites.com, or to book a group function at the Embassy Suites – Murfreesboro Hotel & Conference Center, contact the sales and catering department at (615) 890-4464.

Area Information

Murfreesboro and Rutherford County’s central location in Tennessee makes it a prime area for development as the county is within 500 miles of 75 percent of the nation’s population centers. The hotel and convention center also will be easily accessible from Middle Tennessee State University, the largest undergraduate university in the state with nearly 23,000 students, and will be within minutes of the Nashville International Airport, Murfreesboro Municipal Airport and Smyrna Airport. In addition, the development is near several significant business hubs, including Nissan, Saturn, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, Cumberland Swan, General Mills, Ingram Books, State Farm Insurance, Verizon and Whirlpool.

Hotel Information

The Embassy Suites Murfreesboro – Hotel & Conference Center will feature a variety of amenities for both business and leisure travelers. Beautifully decorated to make guests feel at home, each guest suite will have a private bedroom and spacious living room and will be equipped with two televisions, refrigerator, wet bar, microwave oven, coffee maker, two telephones with data ports, high-speed internet access, spacious work desk, in-room safe boxes and private covered balconies on selected room types. Guests will enjoy the Embassy Lounge, located in a luxurious open garden atrium with a cascade and meandering water trails, or will relax at Caffeina’s Internet Café. The hotel will offer room service, same-day dry cleaning and daily cooked-to-order breakfast. Other features include a fitness center, indoor pool and sundeck. For more information about the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro – Hotel & Conference Center, please visit the company’s web site at www.murfreesboro.embassysuites.com.

About John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts

Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts is the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites, including: Embassy Suites Hotels, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott brands. With 73 hotels strategically located near demand generators, such as state capitals, universities, airports, corporate headquarters or office parks in secondary and tertiary markets, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts’ properties are dominant in their markets. Over the course of his impressive career in the hotel business, Mr. Hammons has developed 187 hotels. For more information about John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, please visit the company’s web site at www.jqhhotels.com.