Phil Ammann
Two longtime public relations and sports administration veterans have been named to leadership positions with the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.
Collegiate athletics administrator and public relations specialist Wayne Hogan will serve as Executive Director while Tallahassee-based consultant Keyna Cory is the newest member of the 22-person board of directors. Hall of Fame Board President Barry Smith announced the changes in a statement Friday.
Hogan is owner and CEO of Mango Media, a public relations consulting firm in St. Petersburg, which he will continue to manage.
A Tallahassee native, Hogan spent more than 35 years in collegiate athletics, 17 of which at Florida State University, his alma mater. During that time, Hogan served as sports information director, assistant AD and later as interim athletic director in 1994-95. After an eight-year stint at the University of Montana as athletic director, Hogan recently spent nine years as Associate AD for External Operations at Georgia Tech. He returned to his native Florida in 2014 to launch Mango Media.
“The Florida Sports Hall of Fame is extremely fortunate to have someone with Wayne’s background and experience available to manage our day-to-day operation,” said Smith, a former wide receiver at both FSU and in the NFL.
“I’ve known Wayne for more than 30 years,” he added, “and can attest to his administrative acumen, creativity, and people skills, which will be a valuable asset to the Hall of Fame.”
Most recently, Hogan was Chair of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame’s 2015 Enshrinement festivities, held last November in Hollywood. The successful two-day event enjoyed record corporate participation as well as a sold-out enshrinement ceremony.
Hogan’s first project for the Hall in 2016 will be to coordinate a series of statewide celebrity events, including golf, fishing and sporting clay tournaments, meet-and-greet opportunities and tailgate-style autograph sessions.
As president of Public Affairs Consultants, Inc., Cory brings to the Hall of Fame more than three decades of legislative advocacy experience, representing Fortune 500 companies; corporations; associations and small businesses.
Cory played a crucial role in the establishment of the Sunshine Football Classic as a member of the Founding and Team Selection Committees. The Classic, formerly the Blockbuster Bowl and later the CARQUEST Bowl, is now known as the Micronpc.com Bowl. In 1995, Cory had the honor of being the first woman to serve as chair of a college football bowl game, the CARQUEST Bowl. She now represents eight Florida bowl games: Capital One Orange Bowl, TaxSlayer Bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Outback Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, Russell Athletic Bowl, Miami Beach Bowl and the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl.
The Florida Sports Hall of Fame, now in its 55th year, honors the state’s sports heritage by sharing the inspiring stories of its 243 current members. Under the slogan “Fame for Fitness,” the Hall maintains a museum and preview center in Polk County, displaying memorabilia provided by the members. Among the organization’s missions is promoting active lifestyles and fighting childhood obesity.
