OMAHA, NE: Jim Beatty, Founder of the African American Golf Expo and Forum and President of Jim Beatty Golf Ventures located in Omaha, NE, has named Ashaunta Epps and Ronnie Bryant as Honorary Co-chairs for the 2nd annual African American Golf Expo and Forum which will be held August 27-31, 2022 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Charlotte Concord Golf Resort & Spa in Concord, NC.
Ashaunta Epps, a native of Kingstree, SC is the CEO and Founder of the Charlotte, NC-based organization, A Perfect Swing, Inc. whose mission is to help individuals use golf as a networking tool to advance in their careers. The mission of the 501(c)3 nonprofit youth Foundation is to introduce golf as a low-impact alternative sport while providing youth development workshops and events to enhance their leadership, communication, and networking skills. Using strategic brand management, she established A Perfect Swing as a footprint in the golf and networking arena.
Ashaunta’s numerous achievements include:
- A Class A Member with the Ladies Professional Golfers’ Association (LPGA)
- 2021 LPGA Southeast Section Professional of the Year
- 2020 Teacher of the Year
- LPGA’s Southeast Section President
- Executive Committee liaison for the National Member Growth Committee
- Chairperson, LPGA Professionals national Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts
Ashaunta is an African American Golfers Hall of Fame Inductee and has been recognized nationally as an Outstanding Leader in Golf by the African American Golfer’s Digest. She’s won countless local and national golf competitions including the longest drive and low gross honors in the Black Enterprise Magazine Golf and Tennis Challenge two years in a row at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Ashaunta is the featured instructor for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Clinics show, Let’s Talk Golf with Ashaunta, a series of informational, with a bit of entertainment, golf videos. She was an Instructor for the LPGA Leadership Academy, the LPGA Golf Academy, and serves as an LPGA/USGA Girls Golf Site Director and PGA Jr. League Captain.
Ashaunta holds a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Computer Science and works as a Modern Service Management Consultant for Microsoft Corporation.
Ashaunta is also the Chief Operating Officer for The Coalition for Teens Helping Teens and Vice President for Polished Pearls Leadership Seminars for Teen Girls. She is a member of the Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Charlotte Chapter of National Black MBA Association, the Women in Technology International (WITI), and Home and Foreign Mission Development Center
She is dedicated to giving back to her community through the sponsorship of youth golf days, Back-to-School supplies drives, mentoring high school athletes, tutoring, and serving in various community service projects.
Ronnie L. Bryant is Founder and Lead Consultant at Ronnie L. Bryant, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching, organizational management, and board development and training for top-level corporate and not-for-profit managers. Ronnie created the company in 2017 to help executives improve their leadership skills and business acumen to operate organizations while maintaining a competitive edge in diverse, evolving domestic and global marketplaces.
Prior to forming Ronnie L. Bryant, LLC, Ronnie served as President & CEO of Charlotte Regional Partnership in North Carolina, for fifteen years. Ronnie and his team marketed the sixteen-county region to domestic and global companies as the premier site for expansion and relocation. He created strategic partnerships and brokered viable collaborations, which earned him a national reputation for creating and implementing effective economic development programs.
Ronnie’s leadership in economic development spans thirty-five years, including executive positions at Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce (Louisiana), St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (Missouri), and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (Pennsylvania). Ronnie quickly became one of the nation’s most sought-after economic developers, piquing the interests of Charlotte business leaders, who hired him to lead Charlotte Regional Partnership in 2005.
Ronnie currently serves as on the board of directors for The American Leadership Forum, Aspire Community Capital, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, Charlotte City Club; Johnson C. Smith University; The Bollinger Foundation (Washington, D.C.); The Institute for Work and the Economy (Illinois); The International Economic Development Council. He is a former board member for The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Pittsburgh Branch.
Ronnie is a past chairman for the International Economic Development Council and a member of the Southern Economic Developers Council. He is a former dean and a faculty member for the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute, an adjunct professor for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He serves as a Visiting Lecturer at Cornell University’s Institute for Public Affairs.
Ronnie earned a B.S. in business management from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He was a fellow at The Center for Intentional Leadership®, Center for Creative Leadership, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. Ronnie is a recipient of the American Economic Development Council’s Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award.
Throughout his career, Ronnie has garnered national recognition and top industry ranking for his leadership by Site Selection magazine, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Charlotte Magazine. He is an acclaimed contributor to and global lecturer in economic development marketing, organizational governance, strategic management, and current trends in civic and community engagements. His book, “Driving from the Backseat – Tips for Surviving as a Not-for-Profit CEO”, was released in April 2019.
JIM BEATTY GOLF VENTURES LLC is an Omaha, Nebraska golf promotion and management firm engaged in developing and producing golf-related venues and forums focused on unique markets. Activities include tournament planning, executive forums, economic development meetings, and other specialized opportunities to promote the industry and the game of golf.
The mission of the AFRICAN AMERICAN GOLF EXPO AND FORUM is to promote the recreational, business and career opportunities for African Americans in the $84 billion golf industry. The inaugural EXPO was held August 21-24, 2021 in Marietta, GA (near Atlanta), and attracted 750 attendees with engaging activities and breakout sessions. It had an economic impact of $700,000. The EXPO is supported by golf industry leaders such as PGA of America, PGA Tour, LPGA, USGA, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, National Golf Course Owners Association, PGA Tour Superstore, ClubCorp, and Troon.
Go to www.aagolfexpo.com for more information about the Expo.
