Staff
Michael began his lifelong career in the hospitality industry while growing up in Atlanta and he made his home in Savannah over 20 years ago. For a decade, Michael worked for HLC Hotels, a local Savannah Hospitality company. At HLC, Michael was charged with overseeing the operations of multiple properties. In 2012, he was hired as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Leadership Council. He and his distinguished board of directors lead the largest trade organization representing the tourism and hospitality community in Georgia.
Michael was appointed to serve as a permanent member of the Tourism Advisory Committee. He serves on the executive committee of The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and is vice-chairman of EmployAbility. He is chairman of the Savannah Technical College Programs Advisory Committee and is a member of the advisory board for the Hospitality and Food Industry Management program at the University of Georgia in Athens. He serves as chairman and founder of the Savannah Police Foundation as well as chairman and founder of the Coastal Hospitality Education Foundation. He is a board member of The 200 Club of the Coastal Empire.
He is an active supporter and volunteer for The 200 Club of the Coastal Empire, The Savannah Harbor Foundation, Coastal Hospitality Education Foundation, and Autism Speaks.
In 2020 Michael and his wife, Amanda, founded Grace Autism Services, which provides therapy services to children on the autism spectrum throughout Georgia. His wife was appointed by Executive Order to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities by Governor Brian Kemp. In their spare time, they like to dream about what they would do if they had spare time.
Patrick Connell is General Counsel for the Tourism Leadership Council, representing members in business negotiations, litigation, regulatory compliance, and policy matters. Patrick also specializes in land use planning and zoning law, and routinely assists clients with real estate development and permitting issues before government agencies and in the courtroom, if necessary. Patrick’s practical knowledge of land use law began with his study of landscape architecture at the University of Georgia and his work as a city planner for Athens-Clarke County prior to law school.
Michael O’Donovan serves as Chief of Staff for the Tourism Leadership Council. Michael oversees the distribution of all content containing pertinent information and news helpful to the TLC’s membership—a membership comprising hundreds of restaurateurs, hoteliers, and other regional businesses. Michael assists in distributing the TLC’s weekly forecast and memo to our members, which reaches thousands of readers. He designs and distributes the weekly Coastal Concierge Association Newsletter, a guide to the upcoming week’s happenings in the city, that is sent to hundreds of general managers and concierges who are a part of our lodging membership. Michael Serves as Editor-in-Chief of the TLC’s Savannah: A Southern Journey coffee table book and the Concierge Dining Directory book. He also serves as the Lead Technical Advisor during the TLC’s annual Tourism Awards & Scholarship Dinner.
Michael carries a decade of experience in programming, graphic design, IT, professional writing, and editing that has proven an enormous value to the TLC, as he lends his knowledge in several departments of our organization.
Our Member Services and Sales Manager is Ron Scalf, who has 40+ years of experience in the sales and service industry, having worked for ESPN, NASCAR, the World Boxing Federation, and Motor Trend Cable Television Network in an international sales capacity. Ron was also the founder and publisher of the Out ‘N About Magazine, a regionally distributed magazine that has served the East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia region for 10+ years. At the TLC, Ron oversees the planning and publication of the Savannah: A Southern Journey coffee table book, which has a distribution of 15,000 across almost every major hotel property in the Savannah market. Ron also oversees the Concierge Dining Directory, a menu portfolio published annually by the TLC and distributed to all hotel concierges to use as a tool to better serve our restaurant partners. He attended City University of New York and Tusculum University in his native Tennessee where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management.
Our Community and Government Relations Manager, Stephen Plunk, has years of experience in government relations and business development that he brings to our organization. Stephen worked for former Congressman Jack Kingston before entering the tourism sector, working for Old Town Trolley Tours to maintain vendor relations, business development, and community outreach. Now with the TLC, Stephen builds relationships with local governmental leaders, government staffers, business owners, and other key civic figures to maintain the TLC’s role in our community and assist our members with any issues that arise. He frequently serves as the intermediary between the business community and municipal and county government, helping our members navigate the political processes so they can focus on running their businesses. He also oversees the monthly networking luncheons and our annual golf tournament.
