Rick Blackburn With more than 25 years of hospitality industry experience, Blackburn worked with the Marriott Global Sales team for five years, providing strategic leadership for a team of well-seasoned sales professionals. Prior to that, he was the director of sales and marketing for The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, where he helped significantly increase property revenues, achieving record-setting room sales for the five diamond resort. He was also area director of sales and marketing for three distinctively different Marriott properties in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. He began his hospitality career at Marriott International in Atlanta, GA, holding a series of increasingly responsible leadership positions in food and beverage and sales and marketing. Additionally, Blackburn has served as a guest speaker for numerous organizations, including the College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and The Hospitality College of Johnson & Wales University. He has been a facilitator for Marriott international sales training schools and is a certified speaker for The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center. In 2002, his team won the North American Sales Team Special Achievement Award from Marriott International, and in 2009 the Intermediary Team won the prestigious Global Sales Team of the Year Award.