Todd Copley Named Executive Director of Deep Creek 2014

McHenry, MD – Todd Copley has been named Executive Director of Deep Creek 2014, LLC. Copley was selected by the Host Organizing Committee Executive Committee, and will oversee The International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Slalom World Championships which will be held in the Deep Creek Lake area of Garrett County, Maryland in September 2014.

Most recently, Todd was the President & Founder of Summit Travel Consulting and the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations for Vantage Deluxe Travel, where he oversaw six global offices and the product development P&Ls for three travel divisions.

Prior to his work with Summit Travel Consulting & Vantage Deluxe Travel, Todd was also a founding principal for a start-up international hospitality company that morphed into The Eco Hotels & Lodge Collection, which focused on the promotion, marketing and sales for 30 remote lodges spread across the globe. He also served as Vice President of Worldwide Operations for Tauck World Discovery, a global leader in luxury escorted travel, where he was responsible for the profitability, product development, and customer satisfaction for over 100+ premium travel products and 4 brands in 65 countries around the globe generating over $325M in revenue.

He spent twelve years internationally and has extensive expertise in running world class events and itineraries to include bicycle & active travel programs in 65+ countries, international-based outdoor guide training programs, river cruising programs across the globe and alpine mountaineering programs in the Dolomites of Italy.

“Todd’s dynamic skill set and experience in adventure sports and in the hospitality industry, both nationally and internationally, will help to ensure the success of the World Championships in 2014,” said Garrett County Commissioner Gregan Crawford, who co-chairs Deep Creek 2014. “With Todd’s leadership we are excited by the opportunities that can be created to develop and host premier sporting events in Garrett County beyond the 2014 event. The concept of adventure sports originated at Garrett College in the 1980’s and we will continue to strive to be a leader nationally and internationally in adventure sports and premier sporting competitions.”

In 2011, The ICF awarded the 2014 Canoe Slalom World Championships to Garrett County, Maryland over competing entries from Vienna, Austria and Krakow, Poland.

The event, to be held September 16 - 21, 2014 at Adventure Sports Center International, will mark the 25th anniversary of the 1989 World Championships held on the Savage River in Garrett County and represents a return of world championship whitewater canoe and kayak racing to the United States for the first time since the 1989 event. The 1989 Worlds attracted more than 600 competitors representing 26 nations and more than 40,000 spectators attended racing events and the opening ceremonies.

As Executive Director for Deep Creek 2014, Todd will oversee the event, develop and maintain relationships with donors, sponsors and community leaders and organizations, and direct staff in programs and operational management. Todd will also be a resource for Garrett College to help establish adventure/experiential learning camps.

Todd is a dedicated cyclist and advocate of the outdoors, who grew up near Garrett County, in Fairmont/Morgantown WV. He is a member of an adventure racing team that was the #1 ranked ultra-adventure racing team in the East Coast Adventure Racing Series in 2011 (3 man open elite) and his team placed 6th in the 2012 United States Adventure Racing National Championships.

Todd serves on the Board of Directors for the Adventure Cycling Association, the largest membership-based cycling organization in the world and also serves on the Board of Advisors for Nature & Kind, a U.K.-based luxury lifestyle brand.

Todd is honored to have the opportunity to return to his home stomping grounds and help organize the World Championships for Garrett County. “There is so much potential for Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County to position themselves as the premier outdoor and adventure sports capital of the Mid-Atlantic region, if not the entire East Coast.”

Garrett County, Maryland’s westernmost county, is less than a three-hour drive from the metropolitan areas of Washington DC and Baltimore, two hours from Pittsburgh, and a 45 minute drive from Morgantown, WV and Cumberland, MD. Garrett County is home to Maryland’s largest freshwater lake, Deep Creek Lake, Wisp Resort, the state’s only ski resort, and the Adventure Sports Center International, one of only two recirculating whitewater courses in the western hemisphere.

For more information about Deep Creek 2014 and Garrett County, Maryland, please visit deepcreek2014.com and visitdeepcreek.com.