Melissa Dutton

Senior Sales Professional, UGA Conference Center and Hotel
Athens, Georgia
Age: 34

From the early age of 12, Melissa Dutton, MSc, CHSE, had no doubt about her skills as a successful businesswoman. “I organized and ran my own little summer camps. We had from 15-20 kids,” says Dutton. Along with her best friend at the time, she arranged activities, put together a schedule, and created a business and advertising plan for all the neighborhood parents. Dutton’s current campers include corporate and faith-based groups who rely on her to arrange meetings and training seminars at the University of Georgia. Dutton’s journey has been fine-tuned along the way with extensive educational stops (UGA undergrad and a masters degree from the University of Birmingham, England) and a diverse work schedule, including planning and sales stints at Marriott, Dewalt Power Tools and Caesars Palace. She also mentors a UGA student hoping for her own hospitality career. “It’s been great to help open this student’s eyes to what the industry is all about,” she says. —Marc Boisclair

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