Meet the Staff

Sean Dempsey - Vice President, Director of Sales
Sean has been at Saddlebrook since 2000 and has worked in the rooms division, several departments within the Food & Beverage division, has served as a construction manager and is an experienced sales executive. Sean leads the sales team with the same zeal he exhibits when participating in both marathons and triathalons.
sdempsey@saddlebrookresort.com

Cheryl Jelinek - National Sales Manager
Working in a single department in one hotel all of your adult life is easy for Cheryl to proclaim but it makes it difficult to write a colorful bio. Cheryl has indeed only worked in the sales department over the past 24 years, first as an assistant, then as executive group sales director and, for the past 10 years, covering Florida’s corporate and association markets.
cjelinek@saddlebrookresort.com

Johnnie Giffin - National Sales Manager
Another one of our sales team who’s worked at only two properties over her last 32 years in the industry. Johnnie worked for 10 years at the DonCeSar Beach Resort, as Front Office Manager, Night Audit Reservations Manager and Travel Industry Salesperson. For the last 22 years, she’s headed our leisure sales efforts, working with golf, tennis and social groups, family reunions, customer and vendor appreciation events.
jgiffin@saddlebrookresort.com

Christina Wiedersheim - National Sales Manager
Christina has worked in the hospitality industry for the past 15 years and has been involved with nearly every aspect of running a hotel. Her past work experience include housekeeping, food and beverage, front office, catering and conference services and sales. She has worked as a sales manager for the past 5 years with Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels and now covers the Northeast for Saddlebrook.
cwiedersheim@saddlebrookresort.com

Dick Sims - National Sales Manager
A 30 year veteran in hotel and resort sales, Dick has returned to Saddlebrook, where he worked a total of 14 of the 30 years in the business. He has also worked at Boca Raton Resort and the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort. Dick will be covering the Washington DC and surrounding Mid-Atlantic states.
dsims@saddlebrookresort.com

Yvonne Bohannon - Executive Sales & Service Manager
Yvonne has worked in the hospitality industry for over 23 years and came to us from Busch Gardens, where she held a variety of positions in marketing, sales and events. She’s handled both social and corporate markets. Her professional background and experience at Saddlebrook brings a high-level of hands-on service to her our small meetings and conferences, as well as social events.
ybohannon@saddlebrookresort.com

Kristen Kachurak, CMP - Director of Catering/Conference Services
Heading our Catering/Conference Service team, Kristen started at Saddlebrook as a Catering Manager in 1999. Prior to Saddlebrook, Kristen’s career experience was gained with Dolce International Hotels including stints at the Front Desk and Conference Planning.
kkachurak@saddlebrookresort.com

Doug Pollard - Associate Director of Catering/Conference Services
Doug started as a catering manager at Saddlebrook in 1991 and, when the catering and conference services departments were joined in 2002, Doug was named the associate director. Doug comes from the Boston metropolitan area, where he joined Sheraton Hotels, working in both Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island, for over 13 years.
dpollard@saddlebrookresort.com

Lisa Rewasiewicz - Catering/Conference Services Manager
A graduate of the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Lisa worked with Darden Restaurant before joining the Saddlebrook family in the sales department. She came over to the Catering/Conference Services department as the Executive Services Manager, where she handled all groups with less than 50 attendees before moving on to handle groups of any size.
lrewasiewicz@saddlebrookresort.com

John Spitz - Concierge & Floor Manager for Convention Groups
With over 35 years of experience in conference services, John provides fast, efficient service to the meeting planner while the meeting is going on. At Saddlebrook since 1984, John also worked at Innisbrook and Doral Golf Resort & Spa prior to coming with us – always in convention/conference services.
(813) 309-9422