Visit Tuscaloosa Names Hart VP Of Marketing & Communications

Tuscaloosa, AL – Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports on Tuesday announced that Jimmy Hart has been hired as Visit Tuscaloosa's new vice president of marketing and communications, effective Oct. 13.

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Hart will fill the role left vacant by Kelsey Rush, who was promoted to president and chief executive officer earlier this year after the retirement of Don Staley over the summer.

Hart comes to TTS with nearly 20 years of marketing and communications experience, previously working as The University of Alabama’s first centralized director of marketing.

“Since joining the Tuscaloosa community in 2017, I have fallen in love with this place exploring it through the eyes of UA’s prospective students and their families,” Hart said. “As I’ve learned even more about the community beyond campus, I could not be more excited to tell these stories and to help even more people discover everything that the Tuscaloosa area has to offer.”

During Hart's time at UA, TTS says he has managed undergraduate and graduate recruitment marketing, was responsible for stewarding the “Where Legends Are Made” institutional campaign, and oversaw collaborative work with Advancement and Development, Admissions and Enrollment Management, Financial Affairs and Student Affairs.

What's more, TTS says his areas of primary focus included omnichannel marketing, data management, analytics, and team building.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jimmy to our Visit Tuscaloosa team,” Rush said. “Jimmy has the skills and the experience to help our organization and our community grow destination awareness as we strive to tell the world the story of Tuscaloosa County — of our history, of our culture, of our community, and of our people.”

In his new role for Visit Tuscaloosa, Hart will be tasked with overseeing the organization’s advertising, media relations, content creation, and digital presence. He will also help create, develop, and execute a range of strategies and tactics to increase overnight visitation, tourism expenditures, and tax revenue.

TTS said Hart holds a bachelor’s degree in management with a sports specialization and a marketing minor from The University of Tulsa.

Hart and his wife have one daughter and have lived in the Tuscaloosa area since 2017.

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