Staff

Front Office

Lee Latini

President of Ignite Sports and Entertainment

Lee Latini is an accomplished Sales & Operations Executive with an impressive 20+ year career that includes advancement into increasingly demanding leadership roles based on sales leadership and business growth results. With a solid history of driving revenue increases, cost reductions, and innovation, he has delivered multimillion-dollar top- and bottom-line results for high-profile brands.

Most recently as Executive Director of National Retail for Comcast, Lee has made key contributions, serving as a top-performing people leader. He provided solid leadership as the business model changed from internal heads to an external salesforce of 800–1000 reps selling in Walmart, Best Buy, Brandsmart and Boost Mobile stores.

Lee also attended The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2016, where he obtained his Certificate of Professional Development. Also noteworthy for the past 6 years, Lee has given back as an active mentor in Comcast’s ERG Mentorship Program, where he advises and guides entry-level employees to build successful careers.

In summary, Lee Latini is a seasoned executive and exceptional salesforce leader who is passionate about empowering, galvanizing, and leading large-sized teams, as well as training, mentoring and coaching high-potential performers to grow into managers/directors. He brings game-changing perspectives to the table due to his expertise in leading sales and operations to quickly surpass expectations. Lee is a proven thought leader and difference-maker who develops and executes a corporation’s strategic vision to deliver unprecedented results.

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Scott Brand

River Dragons General Manager

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What can we say about Scott Brand that he hasn’t already said about himself? Brand is a product of amateur hockey having played youth hockey in Michigan, Iowa, Texas, and Illinois.

After a “career” (not a very good one either) in Junior hockey, he spent eight seasons as an on-ice official in the United States Hockey League, International Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League.

After leaving the ice, he held the position of Vice-President and General Manager of the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League from 1992-96 where he guided the team to set record crowds, corporate sponsorship and the building of a new arena. He also founded the Waterloo Bucks, the 1st expansion team in the Northwoods College Baseball League in 1995 and was named executive of the year. In May of 1996, he was named the Vice-President of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, where he increased attendance for two seasons in a row.

In 1998, and for the next 14 seasons, he guided USA Hockey’s Officiating Development Program along with being the Director of Hockey Operations with the USHL. Under his direction, 15 officials advanced to sign National Hockey League contracts (including Cottonmouths player Peter McDougall) and over 250 into minor professional & college hockey.

He is also the inventor of the icing rule that is used by every major hockey league in the world. In 2008 Brand received the Distinguished Service Award from the United States Hockey League and in 2012 he was inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame.

2013 saw Brand hired by the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, the team won the 2014-15 Anderson Cup Championship and he directed 22 of the team’s top 25 crowds, in 2015 the team was sold and Brand returned home to his family farm in St. Louis, MI, where he helped start a local farmers market and was named Vice President of Operations for Pure Pro Wrestling, a Michigan based sports entertainment promotion.

In 2016, Brand was lured back into hockey and was named the President & General Manager of the new Carolina Thunderbirds. Brand set attendance and corporate sponsorships records in Winston-Salem, along with securing that teams longevity in the community. During the 2018-19 season that team would go on to winning a record 24 games in a row, the regular season championship and the playoff championship along with selling out the building a record 13 times.

In June of 2019, he was hired as to the position of President/General Manager of the Columbus River Dragons.

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Kristen Buley

Chief Financial Officer

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Although she was born and raised in Louisiana, Kristen spent most of her adult life calling Georgia and Alaska home. With a Bachelor's degree from Louisiana College, and a Master's from University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kristen has held a variety of positions that have prepared her for her roles with Ignite Sports and BKI Accounting.

She's a bit competitive, having played sports all of her life. From playing high school through college athletics and intramurals, to coaching her kids' sports teams, to competitive archery and kickball; she's at home on the field of play and often leans into those experiences while making career decisions.

She's a self-professed lifelong student, often picking up courses to have the ability to better her clients' business. When she's not in the office she's usually looking for something new to experience, or curled up with a book and her dogs.

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Shannon Rutledge

Assistant General Manager

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Shannon was born and raised in Chicago, IL and earned her B.A. in marketing from Aurora University. Her free time is spent exploring the Columbus area with her two dogs, and putting her creative brain to work renovating a 90s Winnebago motor home.

Shannon has lived in multiple states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Mississippi, Florida, and now Georgia by way of her husband’s hockey career. She has a love for the game and is excited to be a part of the River Dragons team!

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Sydney Vadney

Vice President of Ticketing Operations

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Sydney is from Monroe, GA. She played collegiate DII soccer at Columbus State University and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology! She is always happy to assist with tickets!

Zak DeBeaussaert

Vice President of Communications/Play-by-play Announcer

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Prior to working in professional hockey, Zak was a traffic reporter, producer and play-by-play man for local radio in Lansing, Michigan. He got his start doing play-by-play back in college and the fire has stayed with him ever since. He is a graduate of Grand Valley State University and has been involved in the sport of hockey in some way as a player, referee, broadcaster and/or administrator for over 13 years. Zak is a native of Shelby Twp., MI.

Jaden Krueger

Game Night and Event Operations Manager

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Jaden was born and raised in Grand Junction, CO, graduating in May of 2021 from Colorado Mesa University with a B.S. in Sports Management and Business Administration.

Growing up he played several different sports, including basketball, golf, track and field, and baseball, where his love for sports continued to grow. Prior to working for the River Dragons, Jaden held positions as the Events and Activation Coordinator for the Grand Junction Sports Commission, and as a Game Night Operations Staff Member for CMU Athletics.

In the fall of 2021, Jaden was brought on to Ignite Sports and Entertainment, where he continues to develop his expertise in Game Night Operations and Community Relations.

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Diego Wilson

Vice President of Corporate Partnerships/Special Projects

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Diego moved down to Columbus, from Lansing, Michigan where he grew up playing hockey. His career took him all across the country from Junior hockey in Richmond, Virginia to Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. It has also allowed him the opportunity to earn his B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His continued love for the game has now led him to the River Dragons where he will be working in the front office.

Diego is the youngest of four with two older brothers, Tony & Michael, and one older sister Kristal. He is also the proud Uncle of his niece Raquel.

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Taylor Blackwell

Game Night Entertainment Manager

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Taylor was born and raised right here in Columbus, but her career in baseball started at her alma mater, Georgia College, as the Media Director for the athletic department. Her career with summer collegiate baseball organizations in marketing, promotions and entertainment has taken her to several states and teams, which is how she found her way to Ignite Sports.

She now likes hockey too.

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