Board Of directors
Visit Beloit, Inc.
Spencer Waite
Chair
Personal Risk Manager, TRICOR Insurance
Spencer’s career began with the City of Beloit as the Recreation Supervisor in December of 2001. Most recently he has joined TRICOR Insurance as a personal Risk Manager. He obtained his bachelors degree from Southwest Minnesota State University. Spencer is currently chair for the Visit Beloit Board as well as an acting board member of Friends of Riverfront, and the Stateline YMCA Corporate Cup committee. His hobbies include, hunting, fishing, and playing golf with family and friends.
Roy Ward
Vice Chair
General Manager, Home2 Suites by Hilton
Roy is a Beloit native and has been with Beloit Hotel Group, LLC for 10+ years. He is currently the General Manager at the Home2 Suites Beloit. Roy attended UW-Whitewater where he took classes towards a BS in business. He enjoys working in the hospitality industry and is honored to serve as Vice-Chair on the Visit Beloit Board where he feels he can help to impact Beloit’s future in a positive way. He and his wife Kristin have 3 wonderful children. They all enjoy eating at Beloit’s many great restaurants and Roy personally enjoys golfing at Krueger Golf Course which he considers to be a hidden gem amongst the numerous courses in our area.
Jeff Vohs
Secretary
Stateline Market President, CBI Bank & Trust
Jeff worked for the Beloit Snappers for 11 years, before moving into banking in November 2011. He graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2001 with a Bachelor of Business Management degree. Other than working in baseball, he has also volunteered for RiverFest, Festival on the Rock, served earlier in his career on the Visit Beloit board, and other activities. Jeff lives in Beloit with his wife and daughter, and can be found many nights at ABC Supply Stadium watching the Beloit Sky Carp play baseball.
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Treasurer
Aimee Thurner
Ex Officio
President & CEO, Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce
Aimee has been with the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce for 20 years and has led the organization for 6 years. She lives in Janesville with her husband Nate and three children, Emma, William, and Lillian. Her favorite thing to do in Beloit is go downtown for dinner and see the streets busy with people, music playing, and everyone having a great time!
Drew Pennington, AICP
Economic Development Director, City of Beloit; President/CEO, Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation
Drew is the Economic Development Director for the City of Beloit and President/CEO of the Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation. Drew previously worked in the City of Beloit Planning Department for 15 years, serving as Planner and Planning Director. He served six years on the Board of the American Planning Association – WI chapter and currently serves on the Boards of the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce and Visit Beloit. Drew holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and lives in the City of Beloit.
Gloria Bradley
Assistant Dean for Student Success, Equity and Community and Co-Director of the Weissberg Program for Human Rights and Social Justice, Beloit College
Gloria is the Assistant Dean for student Success, Equity and Community and the Co-Director of the Weissberg Program for Human Rights and Social Justice at Beloit College. She spent over 30 years as a basketball coach and nine of those years as an educator. Gloria holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) from Wayne State University, a Masters from Montclair State University, and a Bachelors from Seton Hall University. She is drawn to the water and loves walking along the river and soaking in the beauty of the city.
Jacquelyn Jackson
Adjunct Instructor, Blackhawk Technical College
Jackie is an alum of the UW-Madison School of Social Work and received a Masters of Science in Social Work in 1978 with a concentration in Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health. She has been a practicing social worker for 45 years. Her first job was at Catholic Charities working with clients with developmental disabilities. After that, Jackie was employed in the School District of Beloit as a school social worker for 32 years until her retirement in January, 2016. She has taught at the post secondary level for 25+ years. Initially at UW-Whitewater Social Work Department and currently at Blackhawk Technical College where she teaches Behavior Science courses. She currently serves on several boards in Beloit and also served on the board of the Wisconsin School Social Workers Association for over 20 years. Her favorite thing to do in Beloit is dine at Zen Sushi.
Jan Smith
General Manager, Fairfield Inn and Suites
Jerry Gabrielatos
City Manager, City of Beloit
Jerry is the City Manager of the City of Beloit. Prior to this, he served in city management in West Linn, OR and Albert Lea, MN. While in Albert Lea, the City hosted the Governor’s Fishing Opener and Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. Jerry enjoys travelling and has been all over the States and most of Europe. He’s also visited countries in South America, Asia, and Africa.
JESSE SEYKORA
Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, Geronimo Hospitality Group
Jesse is senior vice president of sales & marketing for Geronimo Hospitality Group and Hendricks Commercial Properties. Jesse leads a team of more than 30 talented marketing and sales team members throughout the country focused on design, marketing coordination, public relations, and event sales. Jesse’s team carries the weight of all sales and marketing efforts for Geronimo’s 30+ hospitality brands located in Beloit, WI, Indianapolis, IN, Boise, ID. Some of Geronimo Hospitality’s notable businesses include Bottleworks Hotel, voted Yelp’s #1 Hotel in America, The Garage Food Hall (voted #2 Food Hall in America by USA Today) and ABC Supply Stadium (voted top 8 ballparks in all of High-A MiLB). Jesse is originally from the land of 10,000 lakes and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University where he graduated with a Masters in Sport Management and played third base for the NIU Huskies. He lives in South Beloit, IL with his wife of thirteen years, Jenny, his two children, Nolan (11) and Brooklyn (8), and their four-year old Goldendoodle, Lucy.
mARIA ELENA WHITE
Director, La Voz de Beloit
Maria Elena White has been teaching for over 28 years in areas such as Communication, Spanish, Translation, Chicano Studies, Sociology, Modern Dance, and Theater. She owns the company Spanish Communication and Translating Services, which is an international communication consulting and translating firm located in Beloit, Wisconsin. Maria is also the Director of the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Beloit. It is a non-profit organization that addresses a wide range of themes, focusing especially on the health, safety, and complete well-being of families within Latino communities.
Patricia Diduch
Planning & Development Administrator, Village of Rockton
After growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois, Patricia graduated the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelors in urban planning. She moved to the Rockford region in 2009, and has worked as the planning & development administrator for the Village of Rockton since 2013. Patricia loves managing the Village’s River Market, Christmas Walk and Yeti Fest. She also loves to travel to small community festivals for fun day trips with her husband and three stepchildren. Her favorite thing to do in Beloit is the Saturday morning market in summers. She says, “you can’t beat it!”
Sonya Hoppes
City Administrator, City of South Beloit
Sonya is a South Beloit native and proud graduate of South Beloit High School. Sonya became the City’s first City Administrator in the Fall of 2021. She brings well rounded experiences from three municipalities, Beloit College Powerhouse and Stateline Area Boys & Girls Clubs. Sonya has served the stateline area in multiple capacities including the South Beloit City Council, South Beloit Parks Committee, South Beloit Centennial Committee, Nature at the Confluence Board of Directors, Visit Beloit Board of Directors, Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation, Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Riverfront. Sonya is most passionate about youth professional development, outdoor recreation and igniting excitement for a more beautiful, sustainable South Beloit for future generations.
Beloit Convention and Visitors Bureau Charitable Foundation, Inc.
RON WHITLEY
Chair
Owner, Father & Sons Cleaning
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JULIE URAM
Vice Chair
Executive Director, Nature At The Confluence
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Julie graduated from Boylan Catholic High in Rockford and Drake University in Des Moines. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sustainability and a Master of Arts in Communications with a focus in Public Affairs and Advocacy. She has worked at Severson Dells Nature Center in Rockford, Farmers Rising in Caledonia, and started as the Executive Director of Nature At The Confluence in South Beloit in 2022. She is a board member of the Beloit Rising Professionals, and a casual participant of the Stateline Spinners. Julie loves getting her summer CSA boxes from Bountiful Beloit!
Marty Densch
City of Beloit Councilor
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A Beloit native and current Beloit City Council Member, Marty is a retired pharmacist and served previously for eight years on the Beloit City Council, as well as on the boards for Friends of Beckman Mill, Welty Environmental Center, and the Beloit International Film Festival. He was appointed as the city council representative to Visit Beloit, Inc.
Danielle Marx
Director of Human Resources, Stateline Family YMCA
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11 years’ experience in human resources and management, with work focused on employee relations and morale, workplace culture, safety, compliance, and so much more! Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration and Management from University of Phoenix. Apart from work with the Y, Danielle co-coordinates the local high school practice interview programs. She serves on the Business & Education Committee for the Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation. She is very involved in strategic planning for the School District of Beloit, serving on the Master Planning Committee and Strategic Plan Design Committee both as a parent and community partner. Danielle is also the HR Peer Group Leader for the Upper Midwest Alliance of YMCA’s and serves on the Alliance’s Board of Directors. Outside the Y, Danielle spends all her time with her “high school sweetheart,” Danny, and two sons, Bennett (9) and Sawyer (6); you will often find them at the Y or “unplugging” at their permanent campsite in the summer months. Our favorite things to do in Beloit include exploring the DBA Farmer’s Market, going to the movies, and generally playing and exploring outside.
Celestino Ruffini
CEO, Visit Beloit
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Celestino has been a lifelong resident of the Midwest. He was born and raised in central Illinois and fueled his passion for tourism in Indiana, where he graduated from Purdue University with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in hospitality and tourism management. He later returned to Illinois to become a strong advocate for the industry and has since planted roots right here in Wisconsin. For seven years, Celestino served as the director of sales and marketing in Galena, Illinois, one of the leading destinations in the state. Lucky for us, he joined the Visit Beloit team in the summer of 2015 as the executive director. He is thrilled to serve the Beloit region as the chief “people connector” – ensuring consumers have the Beloit region top-of-mind, connecting businesses to one of the primary industries in the U.S., and pursuing excellence among staff and board members as we strive to be a leading destination in the Midwest.
He resides in Beloit with his wife and son and is dedicated to enjoying all that life offers.
Personally, he enjoys exploring off-the-beaten-path restaurants, geocaching throughout the region, spending time downtown with his family, and watching the community come together to celebrate at events and festivals.
Jessica Santillan-Reyes
Associate Dean, Office of Instruction Administration, Kishwaukee College
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Spencer Waite
Personal Risk Manager, TRICOR Insurance
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Erick Williams
Site Manager, Eddr Foundation
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