Birmingham-based Sports Marketing Company Announces Promotion

Bruno Event Team (BET), a Birmingham-based sports marketing and event management company will celebrate its 20^th anniversary of managing world-class sporting events around the United States and Canada in 2015.  Coming off one of its most recognized years, with BET’s golf division adding numerous accolades to its collection of trophies, the division’s senior officer, Sean Sovacool, has been promoted to president of the golf division. BET currently works alongside governing bodies and associations to manage three United States Golf Association (USGA) championships, the BMW Championship on the PGA TOUR for the Western Golf Association (WGA), four annual events on the Champions Tour including Birmingham’s Regions Tradition, a Web.com tournament and an LPGA tournament, all under Sovacool’s leadership.  Among the events that BET currently supports are:

• USGA Championships

  • 2015 U.S. Senior Open at Del Paso Country Club – Sacramento, Calif.

  • 2016 U.S. Women’s Open at Cordevalle – San Jose, Calif.

  • 2017 U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club – Peabody, Mass.

• PGA TOUR

• 2015 BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club – Lake Forest, Ill.

• 2016 BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club – Carmel, Ind.

• Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic at Fallen Oak – Biloxi, Miss.

• Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek – Birmingham, Ala.

• Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club – Des Moines, Iowa

• Shaw Charity Classic at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club – Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Hotel Fitness Championship at Sycamore Hills Golf Club – Fort Wayne, Ind.

• Manulife LPGA Classic at Whistle Bear Golf Club – Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

• PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour

• Web.com Tour

• LPGA

 “Last year was truly one of our best years in the company’s history, continuing the excellence Ronnie Bruno and I started back in 1995 of producing sporting events with first-class customer service and a world-class experience for the sponsors and fans,” stated Gene Hallman, president and CEO of Bruno Event Team.  “Sean has definitely played a huge role in the success and growth of the company in his 14 years here, and while we are grateful for his service, we are even more excited about where he will continue to take Bruno Event Team in the coming years.”

Sovacool joined the Birmingham-based sports marketing and event management company in 2001 as vice president and championship director of the 2004 U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.  Moving up the ranks quickly, he most recently served as executive vice president before being promoted to president.  Sovacool currently oversees all aspects of the professional golf events Bruno Even Team manages for the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA, and Western Golf Association (WGA), including the more than 50 employees who work for the golf division. 

In addition to Sovacool’s new job title, the company has promoted Doug Habgood to take the role of executive vice president of the golf division.   Since 2003, Habgood has been the driving force of Bruno Event Team’s office in Colorado.  He has led the team to four remarkably successful championships, including the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills, the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor, and the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills.   

Moving forward, Habgood will continue his role in managing golf championships, while leading the sales personnel across the golf division.   

“Doug is another strong leader in our company and he has played a significant role in the success of some of our biggest events in the company’s history, including the 2014 BMW Championship, which welcomed more than 125,000 fans from all across the world,” stated Hallman.  “With Doug’s leadership, I know that our sales teams will continue to bring in new clients, but more importantly, service our clients in the ‘Bruno Event Team way’ – providing excellence and ensuring that each of their guests have a first-class experience at the championships and events we are hired to manage.”

Awards: Bruno Event Team played a role in numerous award-winning events in 2014, two of the most notable awards were the 2014 BMW Championship being named “Event of the Year” by the PGA TOUR, and Canada’s Shaw Charity Classic receiving the President’s Award, the most prestigious award given by the Champions Tour.

Bruno Event Team was hired by the WGA to help them manage the 2014 BMW Championship, which hosts the top 70 golfers on the FedEx Cup points list and was held at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver.  The event won the PGA TOUR’s “Event of the Year” for the third year in a row, in addition to taking home the “Best On-Site Staging” and “Best Advertising Campaign/Promotional Idea.”  The penultimate event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the BMW Championship was one of the top attended tournaments on the PGA TOUR in 2014, with more than 125,000 fans going through the gates of Cherry Hills Country Club. 

Bruno Event Team also works alongside title sponsor Shaw Communications and the PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour to manage the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which also took home top honors from the 2014 PGA TOUR awards, as the recipient of the “President’s Award,” the most prestigious award which captures the criteria of all of the Champions Tour’s awards plus the intangibles that make it stand out from the rest.  The Shaw Charity Classic’s charitable giving for 2014 exceeded $2 million for the second year in a row, and marked the first time since the award was established that a tournament staged outside of the United States has won the President’s Award.  In addition to the award-winning year, the tournament came away with fan favorite Fred Couples taking home the title of champion, beating out rookie Billy Andrade in a playoff.  

“We are honored to work alongside such great organizations across the world of golf, and we’re thankful to our sponsors and fans who continue to support these great events for the community,” stated Hallman.  “Aside from all of the glitz and glamour of these awards, the most important thing that Ronnie and I take away from 2014 is that more than $6 million was donated to charity through the events we managed last year.  Now, that is what it is all about.” 

About Bruno Event Team: Bruno Event Team (BET) is a Birmingham, Alabama, based sports marketing and event management company formed in 1995 by Ronald Bruno and Gene Hallman. Bruno Event Team is experienced in all facets of event management, employing a year-round staff of 70+ employees in 12 offices around the United States and Canada.  Bruno Event Team services each client with expertise in strategic planning, marketing, advertising, public and media relations, ticket and merchandise sales, sponsor relations, hospitality consulting, event operations, event financial planning and accounting, as well as volunteer coordination.   Visit www.brunoeventteam.com for additional information.