We’ve lined up some great speakers for the 2020 #NCWine Blogger Summit. Check out the bios below to find out more. If these topics interest you, we highly suggest you sign up now while tickets are still on sale.
Our Speakers
Neha Shah: Mastering the Media Kit
Neha Shah has been leading the Chatham County CVB single-handedly for 20 years now. The CVB has won numerous awards and recognitions for marketing. Ms. Shah was also recently selected to become a Meetings Mean Business Coalition Ambassador for 2019. She has an extensive background in marketing, including social media marketing and has presented academic papers at several international symposiums.
Bob Aycock: Social Media Tips & Trends
Bob Aycock is a native North Carolinian. He has over 10 years of online and social media marketing experience and currently works full-time as a Social Media Account Manager. Bob and his wife, Jen, live in Matthews with their four children, two rescued dogs, and a flock of backyard chickens. Bob loves the charm of small towns and enjoys exploring all that the Carolinas have to offer with his family. He serves as 2nd Vice President for the Matthews Historical Foundation and Chairperson for the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee of the Town of Matthews.
In 2017, Bob and Jen started Wine Carolinas—taking their appreciation of wine and deciding to completely embrace it—setting out to explore the rich variety of wines in North and South Carolina. Bob and Jen enjoy hosting wine tastings for friends and family and have been judges for the 2018 and 2019 Palmetto Wine Competition. They have been attending the #NCWine Bloggers Summit since its inaugural year, and Bob was a presenter at the 2019 Summit. In 2019, Wine Carolinas also joined the American Wine Society to further their wine knowledge.
When Bob isn’t sipping on Rosé or Traminette in a vineyard, he enjoys lavender lattes and traveling the Carolinas in the #WINECAR.
Allison Eckley: New School Press Releases
Allison Eckley is a seasoned communications professional with nearly a decade of experience helping organizations tell stories that engage, impact, and influence stakeholders — while bolstering business goals and brand reputation. Prior to joining PIVOT PR, Allison most recently served as the spokesperson and internal communications manager for the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, where she worked daily to amplify the state and region’s national leadership in the areas of sustainability and clean energy, including building efficiency and smart design. Through regular, thoughtful and targeted outreach, Allison cultivated media relationships with state and national reporters that secured proactive and timely placements in publications like the Charlotte Business Journal, the Raleigh News & Observer, Utility Dive, and Greentech Media.
Allison also devoted time to helping grow her previous employer’s Diversity & Inclusion pilot program, designed to increase minority representation within North Carolina’s rapidly growing clean energy community. She also led the strategy and content development behind the Story of Clean Energy digital storytelling campaign, which aimed to promote real people’s clean energy success stories across the state.
Jennifer Nelson: Tying it All Together
Jennifer Nelson loves to share great wines and even better stories with friends. As a passionate and certified wine lover (Wine & Spirits Education Trust, WSET III), she appreciates the lifestyle and culture that surrounds wine. Since November of 2015, Jennifer has built the lifestyle brand of Wine Antics (@WineAntics) to both educate and entertain people on wine, beer, spirits, and cider. She is the Executive Producer and Co-Host along with Jason “Stub” Stubblefield, from Cork Envy of Wine Antics LIVE on YouTube. Wine Antics LIVE highlights people and personalities in the wine industry, wine and food pairings, wine education, and wine news, all from the jovial wine lover’s perspective. She’s recently started a new brand called Beauty N Wines (@BeautyNWines) to find a new way to relate to women and give them a reason to have fun with wine based on the ascetics and the quality.
As a life-long scholar, Jennifer sees the value of education in the classroom, but also through firsthand stories. She’s worked with start-ups, small businesses, and large organizations to help digitally communicate their message to the right audience. She current works with clients in digital marketing and is working towards her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Communication Management.
