Fort Worth Convention Center
Shanda Cartwright
Fort Worth Convention Center leadership announced on Thursday the addition of Shanda Cartwright as its Sales & Events Manager, according to a news release.
Cartwright will be charged with increasing the venue’s share of local meetings, events and galas.
“As Fort Worth is now the 12th-largest city in the U.S., opportunities for hosting more local and regional business meetings have continued to grow,” says Blake Moorman, director of sales & marketing at the Convention Center, in a statement. “Shanda’s wide-ranging experience in sports, entertainment, hotels, events and catering — in addition to her knowledge of the market — will benefit our existing clients and introduce our venue to new customers.”
The Convention Center is 253,226 square feet of total exhibit and meeting space and the largest ballroom in Tarrant County. The city is planning a $450 million phased expansion over the next five years that will include a new, state-of-the-art catering kitchen and provide the ability to serve larger events and shows with 5,000 to 10,000 people in attendance. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2023.
Cartwright, whom management called an “experienced hospitality services professional,” is the daughter of a college football coach. (She has had plenty of North American-style football to watch in these parts.) She attended the University of Oregon and began her career with Spurs Sports & Entertainment in San Antonio before moving to the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs and then the Denver Broncos of the National Football League.
She made her way back to Texas (it’s habit forming, this place, Texas) to help open AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and work with the Dallas Mavericks on the 2010 NBA All-Star Game events, which were split between American Airlines Center and AT&T Stadium. Other experiences include sales and event management at Billy Bob’s Texas, Las Colinas Country Club, The Fort Worth Club, and Trinity Food & Beverage, the Convention Center’s exclusive catering and concessions provider.
“Hospitality is where my heart is, and I approach sales as being a builder of profitable relationships,” says Cartwright. “Fort Worth is very much my home, as it is the first place I have ever unpacked all of my moving boxes. For someone who had to relocate every few years, that’s a significant milestone.”
Cartwright and her husband Ethan enjoy their two Aussiedoodles Kimbell and Amon, traveling, fly fishing, hiking, and searching for the best queso known to mankind.
We’ve got a few suggestions on queso.