Kelly Carr
Special Event & Media Support
Kelly@sportsbackers.org
Kelly assists with marketing and communications including web development and editing. She also coordinates and manages the Sports Backers Training Teams for the Marathon, Half Marathon, the 10k and the Duathlon. Kelly helps with walk-up registration at many of our events and handles communications and publicity for the National Duathlon Championships.
Kelly serves as a coach for the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k YMCA Training Team and participates in many local running races throughout the community.
Will Dixon
Event Production Manager
Will@sportsbackers.org
Will’s job responsibilities include event development, new event research, event set-up/breakdown and event operations. Will also develops relationships with the local hotels to secure rooms for our participants.
Will was born in Richmond and has lived here his whole life. He went to Godwin High School then on to James Madison University where he graduated Cum Laude in Sports Management with minors in Business as well as Conflict Analysis and Intervention. His hobbies include spending time at the river, playing sports and watching Seinfeld.
Jeff Fitch
Director of Development & Sponsorship
Jeff@sportsbackers.org
Jeff works with Sports Backers board members and community leaders to identify and recruit regional government, corporate and community investors for the Sports Backers Building on Excellence Campaign. He also identifies and recruits corporate sponsors for Sports Backers events and program and researches and writes sports program assistance grants.
Jeff ran varsity cross country at James Madison University and later served as a member of the city council in his hometown of Hopewell, Virginia.
Townley Goldsmith-Ray
Director of Event Development
Townley@sportsbackers.org
Townley oversees the development and recruitment of new events, some of which are created/owned by the Sports Backers, while others are owned by outside organizations. And she manages the Sports Tourism Grant Program to help local sports organizations market existing events to be held annually in the Richmond region.
Townley played second base for the University of Virginia varsity softball team which won the 1994 ACC Softball Championship.
Mary Marshall Graeber
Volunteer Coordinator
MaryMarshall@sportsbackers.org
Mary Marshall coordinates individual volunteers and volunteer groups for all of our events including the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k, SunTrust Richmond Marathon & McDonald's X-Country Festival at Maymont. She also coordinates planning meetings and communication amongst our event committee members.
As self-described “people person,” Mary Marshall enjoys all her interaction with volunteers.
Faith Hecht
Fit For Life Program Coordinator
Faith@sportsbackers.org
Faith manages the Fit for Life Program for elementary school kids and helps coordinate the Healthy School Challenge for middle and high school kids. She also oversees the Richmond Times-Dispatch/Sports Backers Annual Scholarship Program, which recognizes outstanding Richmond-area high school scholar-athletes. She is also directing the Sports Backers’ Save Our Kids: The Childhood Obesity Conference.
Joining the Richmond Road Runners Club was a way for Faith to make new friends when she and her family relocated to Richmond. A dedicated runner and volunteer, she was soon welcomed into the Sports Backers.
Meghan Keogh
Event Manager
Meghan@sportsbackers.org
Meghan coordinates a wide variety of logistics and operations for our events including the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10k, the McDonald’s X-country Festival at Maymont, and the SunTrust Richmond Marathon. Meghan is also in charge of the Expos for all the Sports Backers events.
Meghan lettered in softball, basketball, soccer and indoor track at Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey.
Dona Lawson
Accounting Manager
Dona@sportsbackers.org
Dona manages for all accounting functions and financial record keeping and reporting for the Sports Backers; she handles payroll disbursements and is responsible for insurance and human resources/benefits; and she facilitates financial communications between management and the board of directors.
Dona was a natural choice for the Sports Backers part-time accountant as her husband, neighbors and friends were all longtime Sports Backers participants, volunteers and staffers.
Jon Lugbill
Executive Director
Jon@sportsbackers.org
Under Jon’s leadership, the Sports Backers has been voted the “Best Sports Commission in America” two out of the past four years. Jon motivates a dedicated, hard working staff in all aspects of creating, organizing and promoting sporting events that put hundreds of thousands of healthy heads on Richmond beds. He confers with community leaders, government officials and corporate supporters on sports tourism initiatives that advance the economic vitality of the Richmond region. And he works closely with our energetic and visionary board of directors to maintain our reputation as one of the hardest working, best run sports commissions in the United States.
Jon runs marathons, mountain bikes, rock climbs, and was a five-time individual world champion in whitewater canoeing and a member of the 1992 Olympic Team.
Ray Patterson
Manager of Community Affairs
Ray@sportsbackers.org
Ray coordinates the organizational planning of the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K, James River Adventure Games, SunTrust Marathon & NTELOS 8K and the Duathlon World Championships, and assists in oversight of scheduling, community relations and budgeting of all Sports Backers-owned events.
Running and exercising and volunteering for sports events has been part of Ray’s fun and healthy lifestyle for 20 years, now he’s getting paid to do what he loves best.
John Raigins
Event Operations Manager
JRaigins@sportsbackers.org
John's job responsibilities include event development, new event research, event set-up/breakdown and event operations. He also manages the Sports Backers Indoor Sports Tournament Center, which consists of $500,000 worth of sports equipment and Sport Court flooring, installed for a variety of events held in the Greater Richmond Convention Center. John is in charge of the maintenance, transportation and storage of the Sports Backers equipment inventory.
John has wanted to work in the sports industry since writing an essay on sports business operations in his 9th grade English class in Aberdeen, Mississippi.
Lisa Randolph
Director of Event Production
Lisa@sportsbackers.org
Lisa manages a wide variety of logistics and operations for many of our events, including the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10k, the U.S. Army X-country Festival at Maymont, and the SunTrust Richmond Marathon. She also coordinates and manages our volunteer corps for a variety of our events. In addition, she handles mail-in registration duties for all of the Sports Backers events.
A mother of four children, Lisa is passionate about the Sports Backers’ mission of encouraging healthy lifestyles, a message she carried with her while running the 100-mile Himalayan Challenge, a multi-day stage race in India.
Scott Schricker
Marketing Director
Scott@sportsbackers.org
Scott advises the executive director on all aspects of Sports Backers operations and strategy. He is also responsible for the integrated marketing campaigns of the entire organization and all of its events, including the design and maintenance of our websites, and he oversees our communications program and media outreach.
Scott was the Cavalier mascot during his undergrad days at the University of Virginia and began his career as a television sports anchor for the NBC affiliate in Charlottesville. A stint with the Richmond Braves AAA baseball team brought him to town and led him to the Sports Backers.
Megan Silva
Event Manager
msilva@sportsbackers.org
Megan serves as the tournament director for events including the CAA Youth Basketball Tournament, the Cougar 7 v 7 Field Hockey Tournament and the U.S. Army 3 on 3 Summer Hoops. She researches new events and helps with event operations for all of the major Sports Backers endurance events. Megan also coordinates medical support at our events and our internship program.
Megan, who was a Richmond Times-Dispatch-Sports Backer Scholar Athlete Scholarship recipient, earned Division III National Player of the Year for her point guard play on the Randolph-Macon College women’s basketball team.
Tiffany Sy
Sponsorship and Development Manager
Tiffany@sportsbackers.org
Tiffany coordinates sponsorship activities and provides a wide range of support for the Building on Excellence Campaign, corporate sponsorship of Sports Backer events, and grant writing. She is also in charge of investor/sponsor recognition events in conjunction with all Sports Backers events.
Tiffany earned her master’s degree from the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Tourism Administration and her B.S. in sports management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
