U.S. Masters Swimming Welcomes Three New Additions to the Staff

U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) is pleased to announce the addition of three new staff members. Nick Florio, Laura Hamel and Mark Gill will each bring unique experience, skill sets and strengths to the organization.

Nick Florio of Sarasota is our new Controller. Nick is a Villanova graduate with a degree in accounting. He worked 22 years in finance and accounting for Chevron-Texaco Corporation, mostly overseas in such places as Korea, New Zealand and the Philippines. This experience provided Nick an opportunity to work in many different cultures. Nick has been a Director and Trustee of such non-profits as Junior Achievers and Habitat for Humanity. Nick takes over Controller responsibilities from Margaret Bayless. Margaret has been managing USMS finances the last seven years from her home in Cleveland, while also working a full time job. Margaret will continue to serve locally as Registrar for the Lake Erie LMSC.

Laura Hamel, also of Sarasota, began her tenure with USMS earlier this week as our new Editor-in-Chief. In this role, she will be responsible for content and business management of USMS communication vehicles including SWIMMER magazine, USMS.org and the e-newsletters. Previous to USMS, Laura was principal owner of a marketing and organizational consulting business where she directed a variety of clients with their marketing, writing, public relations, human resources, and business development initiatives. Prior to that she was a technical writer for the RMPK Group, and originally, a law enforcement officer in both California and Florida. She earned her bachelor's degree from Eckerd College. Laura is an active member of the Sarasota YMCA Sharks Masters (SYSM) and a USA Swimming official. She operates and produces the SYSM.org website. Laura was also instrumental in developing the Sarasota headquarters proposal, pulling together both Masters and community leaders to support the recruitment. Laura is taking over for Bill Volckening, who served as our Editor for the last decade including the transition when USMS assumed full responsibility for content, production and distribution. Bill will continue to live in the Portland area and we will forever be grateful to him for his many years of service.

Mark Gill, who hardly needs an introduction within the U.S. Masters Swimming community, will fulfill the position of Director of Business Operations. Mark has been a business management professor at the University of Louisville for the last five years. His official start date is June 1. Mark will have an office in Sarasota once the headquarters are open. He will manage the Member Services, and Club & Coach Services business units. Additionally, he will oversee our expanding event initiatives. Mark's passion for the USMS mission and for the sport that we all love was instrumental in his decision to accept a full-time position with U.S. Masters Swimming.

"As responsibilities that were primarily all volunteer driven shift to staff managed, these three new full time additions will contribute to our future growth," commented Executive Director Rob Butcher. "Our current staff couldn't be more excited to welcome and look forward to working with Nick, Laura and Mark."