Tulsa, Okla., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Officials from USA BMX, announce today the hiring of Ray Hoyt to lead the USA BMX Foundation. Hoyt was instrumental in bringing the USA BMX Headquarters to Tulsa, which officially opened earlier this year. As the Executive Director of the national foundation, Hoyt will drive revenue and program development to support the foundation’s STEM and scholarship initiatives serving youth nationwide.
“I can’t think of a better person to help us take the USA BMX Foundation to the next level,” said Shane Fernandez, president and chairman of USA BMX. “Ray is an international leader in the sports and tourism industry and his fearlessness and innovation has brought countless of successful accomplishments in every position he has held. He has also been with USA BMX since the beginning of our journey to Tulsa. His passion for our sport and organization is unparalleled.”
Hoyt, a native of Illinois, graduated from Illinois State University before beginning his career in Tuscon, Arizona working for the city. While there he established a 501c3 Sports Commission and hosted the then largest amateur event in the United States, The National Senior Game which he also led in Louisville, KY before serving as Director of National Games and Athlete Relations for the National Senior Games governing body. As head of events and sports management during the early years of Disney’s WideWorld of Sports, Hoyt led the creation of the business model to transform guest experience, tourism impact and event profitability.
Most recently, Hoyt served as President of Tulsa Regional Tourism where he led that organization to an annual budget growth of 500% since taking the helm in 2010 and developing into one of the most successful destination marketing organizations in the country. Countless cities have looked to Hoyt and Visit Tulsa as a best practice model in the sports and tourism industry. Hoyt also led a five-year effort to pass state legislation to create and implement Oklahoma’s first Tourism Improvement District (TID).
“His passion and relentless spirit to drive change, collaboration and community is inspirational,” said B.A. Anderson, CEO, and founder of USA BMX. “I’ve had the honor to work with him for the past seven years in making the transition of moving our headquarters to Tulsa, and now we are thrilled to welcome him to the USA BMX family.”
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About USA BMX: Founded as the American Bicycle Association in 1977, and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA BMX is the largest promoted of action sports in the country. USA BMX organizes BMX racking for boys, girls and adults throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Within the USA BMX family are four companies: BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, BMX Foundation and ABA Ethos.
About USA BMX Racing: As the largest extreme sport in the nation, BMX racing is full of nonstop action. Up to eight riders speed down the starting hill maneuvering over dirt obstacles and around banked turns in hopes of gaining a spot on the podium. Riders range in age from 2 to 70+ and race to amass points for titles in their age classes and the highly coveted USA BMX No. 1 Amateur title and the National Number One Pro.
About USA BMX Freestyle: USA BMX Freestyle is a national competition series that utilizes both digital video submissions and live events to engage amateur and elite free-style riders across the world. In 2021, seven countries entered the inaugural series. The series provides a pathway to the Olympics and has become the foundation upon which riders gain access to the necessary tools to elevate both their skills and broaden their mindset.
About USA BMX Foundation: Created in 2005, the foundation has engaged over 225,000 students nation-wide with STE(A)M education, Read to Ride, and Track Modeling Programming. The foundation also supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the Race for Life racing series as well as providing scholarship opportunities for higher education through the Bob Warnicke Scholarship. BMX is the only Olympic sport with a fully integrated STEM program, which is now deployed in more than 300 schools nationwide.
About ABA ETHOS: Created to assist and empower nation-wide communities by breathing life into their vision. ETHOS facilitates and provides turn-key design-build services for the entire process of bike park master planning, design, engineering and construction. The Ethos team acts on the client’s behalf to orchestrate and provide professional strategies and tactics for assembling the best teams in the industry and streamlining the multiple efforts of large-scale developments.
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