Ray Hoyt
Executive Director/President
Ray's career began at Tucson Parks and Recreation Department in 1982. As manager of the City Wide Adult Sports Programs and City Wide Senior Programs, Ray channeled his great love of sports into creating the Tucson Local Senior Games and developing it into a major senior sports event with over 3,000 participants.

Based on this successful experience, Ray organized a local group of community and business leaders to submit a bid for Tucson to host the 1997 National Senior Games Senior Olympics event. Once receiving the bid, Ray was appointed the Executive Director for the organizing committee, which hosted over 10,000 athletes and 15,000 guests during a two-week period. The event created a standard of excellence for the National Senior Games Organization still being followed today.

Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, official host site for 1999 Senior Olympics, recognized Ray's talent and invited him to come on board in 1997 to lead the event management team for the 1999 Senior Games. Before long, Disney asked Ray to head the entire event management team for the Sports Complex, which hosts over 200 separate events annually. Events include: 40 AAU National Championships, the USTA National Clay Court Championships, Disney's Indy 200, Walt Disney World Marathon, Odyssey of the Mind World Championships, POP Warner Super Bowl Championships, and more. In this leadership role, Ray focused on strengthening the newly created events team by developing operational processes and event management tools necessary to streamline the communication, reporting and tracking of individual events.

In 2002, Ray joined the Central Florida YMCA as District Executive for Camps and Retreats. Through his experienced leadership, many positive changes occurred in the Youth Camp Boards and the retreats business for the association. There was great success in raising funds for the youth camp capital campaign.

With over twenty years of experience in sports and event management, Grassroot Development, LLC (Sports and Events) was created in March 2003 to facilitate this broad expertise of non-profit, government and corporate success into a consultancy group. Since inception, Grassroot Development has been successful with clients such as the National Senior Games Association, Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ripken Baseball Management and Design, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and Sportwall International, Inc.

Susan Pass
Administrative Director
An Eastern Kentucky University graduate and a 25-year resident of Louisville, Susan Pass worked in the travel agency industry for many years, handling marketing, sales, event planning and budgeting for a $3 million travel agency. Recently, Susan served as the sports event planner and administrative director of Champions Baseball Academy. She coordinated travel and tournament logistics and handled budgeting for various tournaments. She also coordinated the Jeffersontown Little League Girls Softball World Series Tournament from 1999 through 2001.

Chad Pickering
Operations & Logistics Director
A number of valuable experiences aid Chad in his position as Operations and Logistics Director. While pursuing a BS in Business Management from the University of Louisville, Chad was responsible for leading electronic auctions and negotiating cost savings of $1 million as a Business Analyst/Buyer for General Electric Consumer Products in Louisville. Following graduation in 2003, a summer position with the Louisville Bats (Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) convinced Chad of a new calling to work in the sports and entertainment field.

Chad completed the Sport Administration graduate program at the University of Louisville and interned with the Athletic Department in Facilities. Responsibilities included co-conducting weekly game management meetings, revising and implementing emergency procedures manuals, and coordinating the Cardinal Special Forces Volunteer Ushers at U of L athletic events. The position offered Chad many exciting opportunities, such as co-managing facilities of the 1st and 2nd Rounds of the 2005 Big East Volleyball Championship and 2005 NCAA Volleyball Championship, becoming an active member of the Sport Administration Club, and acting as Tournament Director for the 9th Annual Sport Administration Golf Scramble.

Cindy Good
Special Events Director
A Louisville native, Cindy offers over 20 years experience in planning and coordinating events. An honors graduate of the University of Louisville with a degree in Sport Administration, Cindy formerly managed the Food and Beverage Departments at Togwotee Mountain Lodge, a popular ski and snowmobile resort near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Cindy is no stranger to working with organizations in the area. While serving as Program Director for Special Olympics Kentucky, she coordinated and managed all team sport events as well as directed the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for both the Summer and Winter Games. In 2004 Cindy produced and managed "The Run for the Rosebush," an official Kentucky Derby Festival Event. She also helped coach the 1999 Team USA Women's Softball team to a Gold Medal.

Cindy is a past Board Member for Down Syndrome of Louisville, a Games Chair for the Street Ball Showdown and the Activity Director for Down Syndrome of Louisville. She also volunteers for Louisville Hunger Walk, Buddy Walk, & Cans for a Cause.

Jim Watkins
Competition Director
With over 39 years of experience in athletic administration, Jim Watkins brings a wealth of knowledge to the 2007 National Senior Games team. Jim launched his career in high school athletics as a health and P.E. teacher and coach of several sports. Jim also served as an assistant football coach and athletic director before eventually becoming the Director of Academics/Activities/Athletics for Jefferson County Public Schools.

As a Certified Master Athletic Administrator, Jim received his Rank I Certification in Administration and Supervision from Western Kentucky University. He is involved with several state, local, and national organizations, including serving as the Executive Director for the Kentucky High School Athletic Director's Association and as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. Over the years, Jim has been recognized with many awards, including Athletic Director of the Year for Kentucky in 1982-83 and 1983-84.

Abby Wallace
Athlete Services Director
Abby brings a wide array of experience in many different fields to the position of Athlete Services Director. While pursuing a BA in broadcasting at Western Kentucky University, Abby was actively involved in the athletic department as a manager for the Lady Topper Basketball team for three years and head manager for one year. Her responsibilities included setting up for practices and games, overseeing a team of student managers and handling equipment management and maintenance. She was also employed at Destiny Dental during this time, conducting internal marketing and facilitating a team building program.

While working toward a Master's degree in Communication at WKU, Abby worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Recreation Administrative Program, performing various duties to assist the faculty. She spent most of her free time substitute teaching in the Warren County school system and leading the Greenwood High School girl's soccer team to back-to-back Final Four appearances as an assistant coach.

Abby recently completed an internship at New West Agency which allowed her to assist account managers on various client projects including Dicken's on Fourth Street Live, GE Leadership Conference and Steel Technologies Year End Event.

Kate Kirby
PR/Media & Volunteer Director
Kate grew up in Bowling Green, Ky., and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. After completing her undergraduate degree, Kate moved to Louisville and became an editor. Editing led to a job at Doe Anderson Advertising, Inc., where Kate acted as a print production coordinator and a traffic manager. During this time, she completed her Master's Degree in Sport Administration at the University of Louisville. In 2002, she acquired a coveted marketing internship at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. Following the internship, Kate joined FKQ Marketing in Tampa, Fla., and worked on several key accounts, including the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club.