Amy A. Atkinson, Vice President, Marketing and Communications Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center and Attractions

"I find sports analogies are frequently useful in life, especially in business situations. One quote by hockey great Wayne Gretzky has relevant implications to our business. It is: ‘Some players try to go where the puck is, I try to go where the puck is going.' In our business, it is important to anticipate what our customers will want, and to be there ready to supply it successfully – both in terms of our hotel product and outstanding service … and in terms of modern-day marketing. Staying ahead of the curve is key to driving success in today's challenging business climate."
Amy Atkinson has served at both Gaylord Entertainment and Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center since early September 2001.

As Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for this Nashville-based hospitality and entertainment company, Atkinson works to promote Nashville as an exciting travel destination for business and leisure activities. She helps market Gaylord's Nashville-based offerings through impactful television, print and radio advertising, as well as through direct mail, promotions, public relations, internet outreach, cooperative partnerships, special events, sweepstakes, sponsorships, collateral support and other creative marketing initiatives.

Atkinson seeks to increase the leisure and convention business in Nashville. By working with Gaylord Hotels', Gaylord Attractions' and the Nashville CVB's sales teams, Atkinson is marketing Nashville as an attractive travel destination to Gaylord Opryland's key markets, which include: national meeting planners, bus tour professionals, leisure vacation consumers, schedulers of executive meetings, group tour leaders, SMERF groups, country music fans, business travelers, travel agents and others.

One way in which Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center seeks to increase its number of leisure guests is to attract and produce world-class entertainment events in Nashville and to market them to potential customers. A few of these recent events include the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the world-famous Rockettes, ICE!, The Titanic Exhibit, The John F. Kennedy Presidential Exhibition, Cheval, SummerFest, Fiddlin', Brewn' and BBQ'N, Celebrity Chef events, Music City Hit Makers and more. Gaylord Hotels (and its Attractions businesses) are also partnering with other Nashville events to attract additional visitors to the area, including the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, the Predators games, CMA Music Festival, The Iroquois Steeplechase, the Tennessee Titans games, NASCAR races and national-caliber concerts at Gaylord's many entertainment venues.

Prior to joining the Gaylord team, Atkinson was Vice President/Senior Account supervisor of Martin Public Relations/The Martin Agency. Atkinson served at this Richmond, Virginia-based advertising and public relations agency since 1992 and opened a satellite office of that agency in Green Hills in the summer of 1999. During her tenure with this 450-person firm, she was the recognized expert for tourism marketing at the agency. Atkinson also managed numerous marketing initiatives for clients in several other industries, including banking, government, automotive, community relations, economic development, biotechnology, entertainment events, African-American travel, hospitality, recycling, communications, sports marketing, health care and various non-profit organizations.

While at The Martin Agency, Atkinson supervised multi-faceted integrated marketing campaigns to inform the travel trade media, consumer press, travel agents and the vacation traveler about her client(s) with great success, focusing on the United States Virgin Islands.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, she lives in Davidson County with her husband, Brannan, a Nashville native. Atkinson currently serves on the Mayor's Tourism and Convention Commission and Board of Trustees for Cheekwood Art & Gardens, is a member of the Nashville Rotary, the Advisory Council of the Nashville Business Committee for the Arts and is an active member of the Junior League of Nashville. She has worked with several other charitable organizations, including serving on the board of directors of the Nashville Humane Association and a past seat on the board of directors of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Richmond and Western Virginia. Atkinson is accredited in public relations by the Public Relations Society of America, and her work has received several national and regional awards from industry associations. She is also a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, Country Music Association and the Southeast Tourism Society.

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