Courtesy of City of Fort Worth
Left to right: Cynthia Serrano, Keith A. Chisolm, Blake Moorman, Andra Bennett
The city of Fort Worth’s Public Events Department has added new faces to its executive team.
Cynthia Serrano has been promoted to assistant director/general manager of the Fort Worth Convention Center. She has been in the position in an interim basis since August 2019.
Serrano earned a master’s in advertising and public relations from TCU and a graduate certificate in public administration from Texas Wesleyan, according to a news release from the city. As an undergraduate, Serrano earned a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies from UT Arlington.
She has been with the City of Fort Worth since 1999 and has worked in several departments, including Finance and Community Relations.
New to the team is Keith A. Chisolm, who has been named capital projects coordinator for the department. Chisolm was previously assistant director of Public Works at the city of Colonial Heights, Virginia.
He served in the U.S. Army for 22 years, which included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chisolm, a Dallas native, received a bachelor’s in criminology from Abilene Christian University and a master’s in public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Capital plans for Public Events venues over the next five years include a $450 million expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center and more than $21 million in upgrades and renovations for Will Rogers Memorial Center.
Blake Moorman has been promoted to director of sales and marketing for the Convention Center. He had been in the position in an interim role since April 2020. Moorman attended TCU and holds a bachelor’s in music theater and business from UTA.
He was managing director for Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth before coming to the city in 1998. Moorman is an active member of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, NAACP, and Alpha Phi Alpha.
Andra Bennett joined the department as its first marketing communications manager. Bennett brings 18 years’ experience at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where she was vice president of communications.
Bennett earned a bachelor’s in mass communications from Abilene Christian and has been accredited by the Public Relations Society of America since 1993.
Rounding out the executive team are Mike Crum, director of the Public Events department; assistant public events director Andrea Wright; and assistant director/general manager Kevin Kemp and director of sales and marketing David Reeves, both with Will Rogers Memorial Center.
The Public Events department manages the operations of the Office of Outdoor Events, the Fort Worth Convention Center and Arena, and the Will Rogers Memorial Center and Coliseum. The two event facilities generally welcome more than 3 million visitors annually from conventions, sporting events, national equestrian and livestock events, consumer shows, and corporate and social events.
The Office of Outdoor Events reviews, regulates, and processes permits for an annual average of 250 outdoor events such as parades, block parties, festivals, and foot or bicycle races.
“Our team members really had to roll with the punches during the past 18 months as business travel and other events evaporated,” Crum says. “The leadership team not only rose to those extraordinary challenges but exceeded expectations with a new strategic plan, cross-functional staffing solutions, $2 million in capital project completions, and a positive financial position ending FY2021.”