Gene Hallman
[1]Gene Hallman is a sports marketing industry leader who is based in Birmingham, Alabama where he is President and CEO of Bruno Event Team. Gene co-founded Bruno Event Team in 1995 with his partner, Ronnie Bruno. The company has more than 80 employees in 13 offices across North America. Bruno Event Team manages a wide variety of events in numerous sports including golf, motorsports, tennis, intercollegiate and high school athletics. Golf tournaments managed by Bruno Event Team are on all major golf tours: PGA TOUR, LPGA, Champions TOUR and Web.com Tour. Additionally, Gene's organization has managed more than 20 USGA National Championships including the U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open, and the Walker Cup. The company also created Zoom Motorsports in 2004 to serve as the exclusive promoter for all events at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. This world-renowned road racing facility is viewed as one of the finest in North America. Notable motorsport events include the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the Triumph/AMA Superbike Classic. Additional major events include all gameday operations for the University of Alabama football, basketball and gymnastics competitions and operations for the CrossFit Games. Bruno Event Team is now the country's largest event management company dedicated exclusively to managing sporting events.[2]
Gene is also the Executive Director of the Alabama Sports Foundation. The Alabama Sports Foundation's mission is to recruit notable, high-profile sporting events to the State of Alabama. Some of this organizations successes include the 1996 Olympic Soccer, SEC Baseball Tournament, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Final 4, Magic City Classic and the Alabama High School Athletic Association's State football and basketball championships and The World Games -2021 edition. The Alabama Sports Foundation's board of directors hired Bruno Event Team to manage all activities.
Bruno Event Team also owns Five Star Event Catering, the exclusive event caterer to the Barber Motorsports Park. Five Star Event Catering also caters other sporting events, along with various high-profile events throughout Birmingham.
Personal
Gene Hallman was born in Anderson, South Carolina on December 22, 1959 and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the College of Charleston (SC) (cum laude) and his MBA from the University of South Carolina (magna cum laude), where he was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Award. He is married to Allison Hallman and has two children, Ella (10/22/2003) and Marshall (09/06/2005). Gene serves on the Board of Directors for the following organizations: the Birmingham Business Alliances, Magic Moments, the Bryant Jordan Scholarship Foundation, and March of Dimes. In addition, Gene serves as the annual Emcee for the Heart Ball on behalf of the American Heart Association. Gene is also a member of United Way's Alexis de Tocqueville Society. Gene was a torchbearer in the Centennial 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and was a competitive long distance runner, having competed in both New York City and Boston Marathons.
Event Experience
Golf
- Since 1992, most noted for the management of the Birmingham area Champions Tour event which began as the Bruno’s Memorial Classic at Greystone and is now known as the Regions Tradition played at Shoal Creek
- (20)+ USGA National Championships including the U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open, and Walker Cup
- (40)+ Champions Tour events (formerly Senior Tour)
- (20)+ LPGA golf tournaments
- (15)+ Nationwide Tour tournaments
Motorsports
- Exclusive promoter for world-renowned Barber Motorsports Park - Birmingham, AL
- Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama- the only INDYCAR event in Deep South
- Grand American Sports Car Road Racing Series
- Triumph AMA Superbike Classic
- Barber Vintage Festival
Baseball
- Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament (since 1998) Regions Park -Hoover, AL
Football
-Spectator Gameday Operations for the University of Alabama Football program
-Magic City Classic, largest Black college football game in the country- Legion Field; Birmingham
-Alabama Super (6) Football State Championships- Bryant Denny and Jordan Hare Stadiums
Additional Events
-NCAA Men’s Division (1) Final Four Soccer Tournament; Regions Park; Hoover, AL
-Final (48) Alabama High School basketball tournament; BJCC; Birmingham, AL
-CrossFit Games
-NCAA & SEC Gymnastics Championships; BJCC; Birmingham, AL
-Selling naming rights for the new Alabama State on-campus football stadium
Professional Honors
- 2011 Inducted into Hall of Fame; Birmingham Golf Association
- 2010 Top 40 Under 40 Alumni Hall of Fame; Birmingham Business Journal
- 2006-2008 Finalist, Birmingham Small Business Leader of the Year; Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
- 2005 Community Leadership Award; City of Leeds
- 2004 Men of Substance and Style; Birmingham Magazine
- 2003 Alabama Man of the Year; March of Dimes
- 1999 Birmingham News- Top Ten Up and Coming Leaders for Birmingham Region
- 1994 - 1999 Top Twelve Most Influential Sports Leaders in Alabama- Birmingham Post-Herald
- 1999 Vestavia Hills Rotary Club Celebrity Roast Honoree
- 1998 Outstanding Community Sales & Marketing Award- Birmingham Sales and Marketing Execs
- 1997 Best in Business Rising Star Award- Birmingham Business Journal
- 1996 Alabama Marketer of the Year- America Marketing Association
- 1996 Birmingham Man of the Year- Birmingham Business Journal
- 1995-1996 Birmingham’s Top 10 Most Influential People- Birmingham Business Journal
- 1995 Birmingham Person of the Year - Birmingham Magazine
- 1995 Communicator of the Year - International Association of Business Communicators
- 1995 Top 40 Under 40 - Birmingham Business Journal
Personal Activities
- United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society Member
- Bryant Jordan Scholarship Foundation, Member, Board of Directors
- Birmingham Business Alliance, Board of Directors
- Emcee at the Annual American Heart Association Ball Gala
- Competitive long distance runner; competed in both New York City and Boston Marathons
- Torchbearer - Centennial Olympic Games, Atlanta 1996Bruno Event Team
References
- ↑ "Bruno Sports Marketing & Event Management Team". www.brunoeventteam.com. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
- ↑ Hallman, Gene. "CEO, Bruno Event Team". Bruno Event Team.