Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

MBA Advisory Council
holds lunch meeting

LAKELAND, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2004) - Florida Southern College's MBA Advisory Council will hold a luncheon meeting Feb. 11 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lyons Athletic Conference Room at the George W. Jenkins Field House on campus. The public is invited to attend. 

The luncheon is being held for FSC's MBA candidates and MBA graduates. The advisory group mentors current MBA candidates, assists in new candidate orientation, and serves as a connection between the business community and the graduates.

Guest speaker Mark Jackson, a 2001 Florida Southern MBA graduate, is the director of tourism and sports for Polk County Sports Marketing (PCSM), an award-winning program that promotes tourism, sports and economic development in Polk County. Jackson designed and developed the area's first sports marketing initiative from which Polk County realizes more than $85 million in economic impact from 130 events annually. PCSM was awarded the 2002 Sports Commission of the Year by the Florida Sports Foundation; the Sports Organization of the Year by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness; and was named Sports Organization of the Year by both the Independent Softball Association and Youth Basketball of America.

In addition to his position at PCSM, Jackson owns Visibility Sports Marketing, a marketing and event production company that specializes in water shows and exhibitions worldwide. He has produced and directed performances for The Pittsburgh Regatta, and the Chicago Air and Water Show, and continues to produce all sea operations for the largest two-day show in the world, the Ft. Lauderdale Air & Sea Show (4.2 million spectators).

Jackson has served on numerous boards including the National Association of Responsible Professional Athletes, "Sports For Life," the Florida Sports Foundation, the Super Bowl XXXV Advisory Committee and Florida 2012 - Florida's Olympic bid initiative. He currently serves as vice president for Meals on Wheels and is the vice president of the Florida Grapefruit League Association (major league baseball).

Cost for the luncheon is $7 per person. Please RSVP by Feb. 9 to Shari Szabo, director of alumni relations, 680-6234, or sszabo@flsouthern.edu . 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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