Hospitality TN Announces New Staff

SARA BETH URBAN
NAMED NEW HTN PRESIDENT/CEO

HospitalityTN, the statewide association representing Tennessee’s hospitality and tourism industry, is pleased to announce that Sarah Beth Urban has been selected as the new President/CEO of the organization. She will begin her new duties on April 18.

“Our search committee, working through Searchwide Global, had a number of candidates to consider,” said 2022 HTN Chair Jackie Leatherwood. “After careful review and interviews with a number of qualified individuals, the committee unanimously chose Sara Beth. We believe her background and experience will be a tremendous asset to the association and are excited about her leading HTN to new heights going forward.”

Sara Beth has ten years of experience in marketing and management in the tourism industry in Tennessee. She began her career at Historic Rock Castle, a nonprofit house museum in Hendersonville where she served as the Executive Director. From there, she took a position with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to serve as the Middle Tennessee Division Manager. In this role, she assisted the forty counties in her division with the marketing and development of their tourism assets.

Since October 2019, she has been the Executive Director of the Tennessee Distillers Guild working with distilleries statewide to manage and grow the industry as well as to promote the Tennessee Whiskey Trail.

Sara Beth is a Nashville native and proud graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, from which she earned her master’s degree in public history and where she serves as an adjunct professor in the Tourism & Hospitality Management program.

She lives in Nashville with her husband, J.P., a deputy attorney general for the state, and their two sons: James, 5, and Dominick, 2.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the HospitalityTN team after being a member of this organization throughout my career,” said Ms. Urban. “I’m looking forward to working with the team and our partners across the state to reconnect the industry and offer more opportunities for our members to gain value from this organization.”