Experience

28+ years of marketing and creative leadership.

Multi-location consumer brands, franchises, enterprise, federal research, real estate, broadcast, and emerging tech.

1997 — Present

Creative Director & Digital Marketing Executive

Powers Advertising · Knoxville, TN
  • Founded and operated a full-service brand strategy and marketing agency for 28 years, serving regional and national clients across consumer, commercial, and enterprise verticals.
  • Delivered end-to-end brand ecosystems: strategy, creative direction, video production, web development, SEO, paid media, analytics, and custom technology — typically operating as a VP-level marketing function for clients without in-house capability.
  • Long-term clients include Graham Corporation (Knoxville) and others across real estate, retail, professional services, and consumer products.
  • Built multiple client marketing operations from zero, including full digital infrastructure, content engines, and performance reporting frameworks.
2025 — Present

Digital Marketing Director & Creative Director

Loudon County Fence, LLC · Loudon County, TN
  • Assumed full VP-level marketing responsibility for a 50-year-old, $20M regional business with no existing digital presence — built the entire operation from zero.
  • Year-one results: +57% organic search clicks YoY, average search position improved 17.3 spots, click-through rate doubled across all campaigns, Instagram grew from 0 to 6,800+ daily views, Facebook reach exceeded 177,000.
  • Produced drone video campaigns, engineered a print-to-digital reputation system, built full SEO architecture, launched email automation, and managed 11 marketing platforms simultaneously.
  • Secured Google Guaranteed badge, strengthening local authority and lead conversion.
2022 — 2025

E-Commerce Manager & Digital Marketing Strategist

B&B Industries Inc. · Knoxville, TN
  • Drove 15% improvement in marketing ROI through strategic SEO, SEM, and PPC optimization of Magento e-commerce platform.
  • Grew social media audience engagement 20% YoY through targeted creative campaign development and content strategy.
  • Improved conversion rates via Google Analytics-driven A/B testing and UX optimization.
2020 — 2022

UI/UX Designer & Web Developer (Contract)

ORNL / KeyLogic · Oak Ridge, TN
  • Redesigned legacy enterprise interfaces for Oak Ridge National Laboratory — one of the largest science and energy research institutions in the United States.
  • Translated complex technical requirements into intuitive digital frameworks serving thousands of researchers and engineers.
2009 — 2018

Creative Director & Technology Architect

Zoom Tan / Hyperion · Naples, FL
  • Served as the principal creative and technology architect for a national tanning franchise during its growth from 3 locations to 100+ — personally owning every marketing and technology touchpoint at scale.
  • Directed all national TV commercials, radio, billboards, digital, social, email, and in-store brand experience, building one of the most comprehensive in-house creative operations in the franchise industry.
  • Designed and developed a proprietary SMS coupon platform using custom PHP graphic libraries — personalized barcodes, trackable redemption links, and real-time POS redemption monitoring — years before industry-standard solutions existed.
  • Co-architected and developed the POS system through three full generations: LAMP/Java web-based → Android tablet with custom UI → Raspberry Pi running a fully custom in-house MVC framework.
  • Drove 20% increase in lead generation through managed SEO, SEM, PPC, and digital advertising campaigns across 100+ markets.
  • Led cross-functional creative teams, vendors, and production partners; managed budgets exceeding $1M annually.
  • Produced 3D product visualization, vehicle wraps, packaging, and retail environment graphics across the full national footprint.
2006 — 2009

Web Designer & Digital Marketing Director

Shell Point Retirement Community · Fort Myers, FL
  • Produced 3D architectural visualizations and animations for large-scale community development projects.
  • Directed TV production for on-site CCTV news channel; led web, print, and video marketing across all channels.
2003 — 2006

Marketing Director & Creative Director

Dionas Whelchel Properties · Knoxville, TN
  • Directed all creative for real estate developments and resort properties: architectural renderings, 3D visualizations, CCTV video, email, web, print, and magazine advertising.
  • Developed illustrated site plan graphics that became the primary sales tool for developer and investor presentations.
2001 — 2003

Designer & Illustrator

Cotleur & Hearing Landscape Architects · Jupiter, FL
  • Revolutionized the client presentation process by creating illustrative digital planning graphics translating complex CAD site plans into compelling, accessible documents for developers and lay audiences.
  • Produced advertising, websites, and marketing collateral for major South Florida real estate and development clients.
1998 — 2000

Interactive Media Designer

IPIX (Internet Pictures Corporation) · Knoxville, TN
  • Produced websites for major entertainment and consumer brand clients including Star Wars Episode I (Lucasfilm), Three Kings (Warner Bros.), Sleepy Hollow (Paramount), Toyota, Ticketmaster, and Carnival Cruise Line.
  • Built interactive tech demos for IPIX's IBM HotMedia integration — a multimedia plugin platform developed to compete with Macromedia Flash — proving the platform's commercial viability to enterprise clients.
  • Created VRML 3D models and scene files for IPIX's early VR platform, contributing to one of the pioneering commercial virtual reality web experiences of the era.

Education

Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale — Fort Lauderdale, FL
Graphic Design & Multimedia

Notable Clients & Projects

Zoom Tan (100+ locations nationally) · Oak Ridge National Laboratory · University of Tennessee / Neyland Stadium · Department of Energy · Graham Corporation · Shell Point Retirement Community · Cotleur & Hearing (Jupiter, FL) · Star Wars Episode I — Lucasfilm · Three Kings — Warner Bros. · Sleepy Hollow — Paramount · Toyota · Ticketmaster · Carnival Cruise Line · IBM / HotMedia · Loudon County Utilities Board · B&B Industries

Full Resume Get in touch