Geoff Cipkala

Charleston, South Carolina

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Geoff is a graduate of American University with a Bachelors Degree in Enterprise Management.  Geoff began his career in hospitality as an intern in the sales department at the Washington Capitol Court Hotel in the District of Columbia while attending American University.  Since joining Gateway Hospitality in 1999, Geoff worked at several Gateway hotels before directing the Sales and Marketing efforts at the Ramada Inn in Clemson, South Carolina.  In 2001, he oversaw the opening of the Sleep Inn in North Charleston as the General Manager.  The hotel won numerous awards for service and revenue performance including 2004 Sleep Inn of the Year.  Currently, he is the General Manager of the Comfort Suites hotel in North Charleston, South Carolina and serves as Regional Director of Sales, Marketing, and Operations for Gateway's five Charleston area hotels.  Geoff is a board member of Choice Hotels' National Advisory Committee and also serves on the Choice Hotels' Regional Marketing Committee for the North/South Carolina region.  He is currently a board member of the Greater Charleston Hotel Motel Association serving as a past president, and is active within the Charleston hotel community.

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Jim Underwood

Melbourne/Titusville, Florida

Though born in New York Jim considers Ohio to be his home. He grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and attended Youngstown University where he obtained his BS in education. Currently the General Manager at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Melbourne, Florida Jim also serves as the Regional Director of the Florida properties. He has been in the hotel business around 35 years starting in 1974 as the General Manager for Days Inn. He also owned his own hotel business for 25 years during this length of time.

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Andy Briggs

Statesville, North Carolina

Andy's career in the hospitality industry gained its roots when he held the position of banquet waiter at the Broyhill Inn & Conference Center in Boone, NC. After spending many of the past 15 years working for the Drury Hotels in Alabama and Georgia, Andy's career in hospitality management has brought him back home to North Carolina. In 2006, he arrived in Statesville as the opening General Manager of the Statesville Hampton Inn. In the three years since, he successfully managed that award-winning hotel while simultaneously overseeing the construction of a new Courtyard by Marriott. The state-of-the-art Courtyard opened its doors in June of 2009, with Andy assuming the position of General Manager. In addition to managing the top-ranked Courtyard, Andy serves as Gateway Hospitality's Regional Director for the Statesville area. The Asheville native holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Western Carolina University. In 2006, he attained designation as a Certified Hotel Administrator by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Statesville Convention & Visitor's Bureau. Andy further serves his community on the Board of Directors of the Greater Statesville Chamber and as a member of the Statesville Rotary Club. While under his management, the Hampton Inn Statesville won Wall of Fame recognition within the Hampton Brand in all quarters of 2007, 2008, and 2009, as well as achieving the Lighthouse Award for 2009. Andy relies on his experience with multiple hotel brands to develop aggressive and strategic plans with a vision of excellence for the hotels in his area.

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