2022 NBA Annual Convention Sessions

Speakers

Matthew McCormick - Co-Managing Member, Fletcher Heald & Hildreth PLC
Matt McCormick is the Co-Managing Member of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C., a communications law firm that is nearly as old as the FCC itself. He has practiced broadcast communications law for more than 40 years and has extensive experience in nearly all aspects of FCC broadcast regulation. Matt got his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Oregon State Bar and the Virginia State Bar. He previously served as a member of the Oregon’s State Bar’s House of Delegates. He also is a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association. Prior to entering the law, Matt worked as a broadcast journalist, including a stint as news director of an ABC affiliate in Eugene, Oregon. In the past, Matt, with members of his family, owned five radio stations in Oregon, including two FM stations they built from scratch.

Nicole Gustafson - VP & Sr. Legislative Counsel for Government Relations, NBA
Nicole Gustafson is Vice President and Senior Legislative Counsel for Government Relations for the National Association of Broadcasters. Previously, Nicole served for two years as VP of Government Affairs for the National Football League, and eleven years in Congress in various counsel and coalitions roles for House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair John Cornyn, Sen. Chuck Grassley, and Rep. Steve King. She also practiced First Amendment law with Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom. Nicole holds degrees in American history/government and communications from William Penn University, and her J.D. from the University of Iowa.

Speakers

Tara Stingley - Partner, Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather, L.L.P.
Tara is the Chair of Cline Williams' Labor and Employment Law section as well as the firm's primary representative to the Employment Law Alliance, the largest international network of labor and employment lawyers. Tara specializes in employment law, advising businesses in a variety of industries on compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. Tara assists clients in developing employment policies and provides guidance on best employment practices, employment/termination decisions, and avoiding employment litigation and claims. In the area of wage and hour laws. Tara assists clients in performing internal wage/hour audits to identify potential areas of exposure. Tara also prepares and updates employment policies, employee handbooks, employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, restrictive covenant agreements (including non-compete, non-solicitation, non-disclosure/confidentiality, and non-diversion agreements), and separation agreements/releases for individual terminations and reductions-in-force. Additionally, she develops employee training materials and conducts training sessions on equal employment opportunity subjects and recent changes in employment law. Tara earned her J.D. from the University of Nebraska with high distinction in 2005, and also earned her B.S. from the University of Nebraska in Criminal Justice, summa cum laude, in 2002.

Speakers

Carl Gardner - Veteran Broadcast Executive
Carl Gardner is a 43-year veteran leader in radio, television, and digital media. He has worn many leadership hats at all levels of our industry, from general manager to corporate operating executive to the board of directors. Carl is known to many Nebraska broadcasters for his key role in assembling, developing and overseeing the Journal Broadcast Group’s radio/TV operations in Omaha from 1995-2008. He served as President of Journal’s radio division, as well as Executive VP of Television and Radio Operations and VP of Digital Media for Journal Communications across its broadcasting and newspaper publishing groups. He was a member of Journal’s board of directors for nearly five years. Carl is a 1977 graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, where he earned a B.A. in Communications. In 2008 he returned to the West Coast with Bonneville International Corporation, where he served as market manager in Seattle and San Francisco until his retirement in September 2020. Throughout his career, Carl has taken a keen interest in issues of leadership and organizational development. Carl is a past chairman of the NAB Radio Board, past member of the NAB Board of Directors, and past member of the Radio Advertising Bureau Board and the Associated Press Advisory Board. He has served on the boards of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, Wisconsin Broadcasters’ Association, and the Seattle Sports Commission. Carl and his wife Kim have been married 36 years; they have four adult children and seven grandchildren. They live in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Speakers

Rick Fink - ENS Media USA
Rick is a life-long radio professional that managed one of the highest billing, small market radio groups in America. In the last 20 years, he has had his thumbprint on over $4,700,000 in recruitment advertising, in markets where rates are less than $30 per ad. Rick’s style is to take radio sellers and turn them into advertising professionals that gain respect from their clients and their peers. He does this by guiding, teaching, and coaching them on correct and effective ways to not only sell but also how to make advertising work. He believes that once you train them on “how” to make advertising work, and in turn, teach and prove to their clients “how” it works, clients will invest far more money with you. Ultimately, everyone becomes more successful.

Speakers

Brad Seitter - Television Bureau of Advertising
As EVP of TVB’s local and national business development, Brad oversees TVB’s business development efforts across all 210 DMAs. Brad travels the country presenting directly to national, regional and local advertisers at the invitation of TVB member stations in group and one-on-one sessions. The main goal of TVB’s business development team is to educate advertisers on the power of combining local broadcast television with specific digital media. Using research, media strategy and truth serum, TVB’s business development team has successfully moved millions of dollars in ad spend from other mediums to broadcast TV stations. Brad’s background includes over 25 years in broadcast television, including time with Scripps and FOX O&O stations. Eleven years were spent as President & Executive Producer for the Kansas City Chiefs Chiefs GameDay Television Network. In addition to his work with TVB and Chiefs GameDay, Brad was National Sales Director for Clear Channel Branded Cities, was a senior AE for KSHB NBC and began his work in broadcast as a sports producer with WDAF FOX-4. Brad earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism at the University of Kansas and resides in Overland Park, KS with his wife and two children.

Speakers

Chris Flemming - EVP, El Dorado Broadcasters, California/Arizona
Chris Fleming is the Executive Vice President of El Dorado Broadcasters, with radio stations serving the markets of Victor Valley, California and Yuma, Arizona. He serves as the General Manager of both operations, and the editor in chief of HDdailynews.com and Yumadailynews.com. Chris has also worked for Neuhoff Media and Ramar Communications, overseeing operations and revenue development for multiple radio & TV stations and web products. Originally from Massachusetts, he graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, with a degree in Communications and a minor in Central and Eastern European History. Chris is certified as an expert in media and marketing by the Radio Advertising Bureau and is a graduate of the NAB’s Executive Development Program at Georgetown University. He is currently a board member of the Southern California Broadcasters Association and was named one of Radio Ink’s Best Managers in Radio in both 2020 and 2021. Chris has written and published two books, the most recent is on selling titled Yes…. I’m A Salesman: You Can Be, Too. It is currently available on Amazon.com. Chris lives in Victorville (Spring Valley Lake), California with his wife Danette, plus Jax, the cocker spaniel, Cali, the beagle, and Moses, the cat.

Speakers

Pat Norris - EVP, JDA Media
Having previously been on “the other side of the table” as an auto group managing partner, Pat experienced the power of the JDA.media philosophy of concentration and marketing focus and the impact it had on his business – growing it over 25% and reaping millions more in annual revenue. He also understands the hard decisions a business owner makes in advertising spending and the need to get quantifiable results on the investment. Now, he uses his hands-on experience with the JDA.media strategies to help other local businesses substantially grow their sales. As the Managing Partner of the Norris Auto Group, Pat ran a collection of 5 retail, multi-brand automobile dealerships and 2 motor sports stores. His 36-year+ success was directly attributed to his ability to develop advertising strategies that cut through the “advertising noise” and got results. Pat graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Marketing and Business Development and from the General Motors School of Retail Management. Pat says it best, “I believed so much in the JDA.media marketing philosophy and saw the success it brought my businesses, that I joined the company!” Pat lives in Sarasota, FL and enjoys fishing, golf, motorcycle touring, skiing, boating, and spending quality time with his 2 daughters.

Speakers

Al Tompkins - Senior Faculty, The Poynter Institute
Al Tompkins is Senior Faculty at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. In his nearly 50 years in Journalism, Al has been awarded some of the profession’s most prestigious honors including the National Emmy, 7 National Headliner awards, 2 Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Silver Gavel from The American Bar Association, the Sprague Award from the National Press Photographers Association and The Japan Prize. He has taught thousands of journalists in 49 states, South Africa, Egypt, Japan, Ecuador, Canada, Iceland, Cayman and beyond. His textbook, “Aim for the Heart” is used by 150 university journalism departments worldwide.

Speakers

Jeff McHugh - The Randy Lane Company
Jeff McHugh coaches presenters, broadcasters and speakers. At The Randy Lane Company, Jeff guides radio, on-camera and podcast talent to their top performance across the US, Canada and Mexico. Jeff also coaches executives on presence and speaking at companies like Apple, LinkedIn, Google, Amazon and Prudential Financial.

Speakers

Moderator, Pat Norris - EVP, JDA Media

Speakers

Al Tompkins - Senior Faculty, The Poynter Institute
Al Tompkins is Senior Faculty at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. In his nearly 50 years in Journalism, Al has been awarded some of the profession’s most prestigious honors including the National Emmy, 7 National Headliner awards, 2 Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Silver Gavel from The American Bar Association, the Sprague Award from the National Press Photographers Association and The Japan Prize. He has taught thousands of journalists in 49 states, South Africa, Egypt, Japan, Ecuador, Canada, Iceland, Cayman and beyond. His textbook, “Aim for the Heart” is used by 150 university journalism departments worldwide.

Speakers

Lori Lewis - Lori Lewis Media
Lori Lewis has an extensive background in broadcasting, starting as an on-air talent to an award-winning Program Director. In 2008, Lori left day-to-day programming and began leading the way for brands to acquire a better understanding of social media, serving the role of VP/Social Media with companies like Midwest Communications, Jacobs Media, Cumulus Media, Westwood One, and more. In 2019, Lori Lewis Media, her own social media management & marketing firm, was launched. Lori is the joint creator of "What Happens in an Internet Minute," a graphic shared globally each year, teaching us how truly distracted everyone is, and the opportunities we have to stand out and be remembered. Lori adds, "Many mistake social for volume, when in fact it's about differentiating.”

Speakers

Trey Morris - The Center for Sales Strategy
Trey Morris is Vice President / Senior Consultant for The Center for Sales Strategy. He is known as a leader, a creative storyteller, and for delivering hefty sales results. He has spent 25+ years in the world of broadcasting and advertising by holding every significant role in the sales funnel. He’s sold advertising, managed station sales teams, ran his own full-service advertising agency, been a Chief Marketing Officer, and started a successful restaurant chain. Born and raised in Dallas, he spent the first 10 years managing stations in Dallas and Chicago. While in Chicago, he branched out and ran a full-service advertising agency that specialized in developers and home specialty retailers. In 2008, he launched Q BBQ, a Michelin award-winning barbecue restaurant with 4 locations in the Chicago area. In 2013, he left the business world for the ministry non-profit world. Trey has been married for 25 years to Rebecca, his Baylor sweetheart, and father to Haley and Jordan.