Celebrity helps steer tourists to Jacksonville

Jacksonville, FL — Captain Sandy Yawn, from Bravo’s Below Deck Mediterranean, is one of the three new members of Visit Jacksonville’s Board of Directors.

The celebrity super yacht captain joins Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and Alex Alston from FIS on the city’s nonprofit marketing team.

“This group of dedicated Jacksonville business and community leaders are helping us make tourism a priority for our city and guiding our efforts as we strive to make Jacksonville one of the top-visited destinations in Florida as we emerge from the global pandemic,” said Michael Corrigan, President and CEO of Visit Jacksonville. “We thank each of them for their passion and commitment to tourism in our city, and for being involved and truly engaged. Their ideas and leadership are taking our organization into new territory by forcing us to think even bigger while we promote Jacksonville to the world.”

Captain Sandy is building a new, nautical-themed restaurant in Downtown Jacksonville called Maritime 618. On the restaurant’s website, she said, “I fell in love with Jacksonville. I saw the awesome potential of this beautiful Downtown hub, its world-class waterways, and of course an exclusive dining and entertainment experience. I wanted to be a part of it.”

[RELATED STORY: Visit Jacksonville takes part of state’s internal travel campaign]

Other board members include:

- Board Chair: Ken Babby, President & CEO, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

- Chair-Elect: Tony Vecchio, Executive Director, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

- Treasurer: Patrick Krechowski, Attorney, Balch & Bingham, LLP

- Bill Prescott, CPA/Principal, Heritage Capital

- Brian London, President & CEO, London Tourism Publications

- David Mariotti, General Manager, One Ocean Resort Hotel & Spa

- Josh Harrison, Vice President, Murphco of Florida

- Warren Jones, School Board Member District 5, Realtor

[RELATED STORY: Downtown Report shows optimistic growth pre-pandemic]

Visit Jacksonville is contracted by the Duval County Tourist Development Council (TDC) to champion the growth of business and leisure tourism in Jacksonville.

Cox Media Group