Meet Our Speakers

The Inside Track: 2026 PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter Conference

November 4: Pre-Conference Reception | November 5: Conference

The best reason to attend The Inside Track Conference? Our incredible lineup of speakers from across industries whose unique perspectives will keep you intrigued and in the know.

More conference details here.

Meet Our Sponsors

SAMANTHA HUGHEY: Senior Manager for Sports Marketing Brand Strategy, Abercrombie & Fitch

Meet Samantha — Sam for short. Sam is a sports marketing and brand strategy leader with over a decade of experience building culturally relevant partnerships where sport, product, and storytelling collide.

Currently, she is at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., leading the strategy and execution of sports partnerships, athlete collaborations, and integrated campaigns. Her work focuses on turning brand and merchant priorities into customer-first marketing that earns trust, builds brand love, and actually moves the needle.

Sam earned a BFA from Western Kentucky University and a Master’s in Communication from the University of Louisville, where she cut her teeth in college athletics — working in social and marketing, teaching in the College of Communication, and eventually stepping in as Interim Director of Social Media for UofL Athletics.

After grad school, Sam joined the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, helping drive digital engagement for the #RoadToRio and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From there, she landed at adidas, working across U.S. Sports on everything from Super Bowls and World Series to the Olympics, NHL All-Star, and the US Open — before moving to Germany to join the global team on adidas TERREX.

Along the way, Sam has consulted on marketing, branding, social, and content strategy for small businesses and publications across the U.S., because she doesn't really know how to turn her brain off.

She's known for a collaborative leadership style, strong strategic instincts, and a healthy impatience for anything that feels inauthentic. She believes sport is one of the most powerful cultural platforms we have — and she's always asking “why?” (Still is. Always will.)

Sam loves PBR, bourbon, great stories, her cat Catrick, her dog Crunchwrap Supreme, and the Buffalo Bills — Bills by a billion.

KATHY STEWART O'NAN: Mayor, City of Mayfield, Kentucky

Kathy Stewart O’Nan has served as the Mayor of the City of Mayfield since January 2019, and until the night of December 10, 2021, the most difficult issue that she had faced was guiding the City through the CoVid 19 pandemic. But on that evening an EF-4 tornado swept through the city leaving hundreds of citizens homeless, demolishing the entirety of the downtown central business district including every city government building, and claiming the lives of twenty-four within Graves County. Although no training exists to prepare one to lead a city through a crisis such as this, Mayor O’Nan is confident that, with time and the extraordinary efforts by the strong people of Mayfield, her city will not only recover, but will emerge a better place in which to live, work, and raise a family.'

She currently serves on the Kentucky League of Cities Executive Board of Directors, the Graves County Economic Development Board of Directors, and the Purchase Area Development District Board of Directors. In 2022 she was recognized as a Notable Woman in Kentucky Politics and Government. She has received the following awards: 2022 Mayfield – Graves County Chamber of Commerce Mary Propes Outstanding Woman in Business; 2023 Small Business Administration Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contribution to Disaster Recovery for a Public Official; 2023 Kentucky League of Cities RISE Award; 2024 Tommy Longo Disaster Leadership Award, LeadersLink; and 2025 Lambuth University Outstanding Alumni.

CLAUDIA COFFEY: Host & Founder, The Best Bet Podcast | Executive Media Strategist

Claudia Coffey is an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, frequent Fox News contributor, and creator and host of The Best Bet Podcast, distributed nationally across the iHeart Podcast Network, regional television, and digital platforms. Serving as the lifestyle spokesperson for Churchill Downs for the 152nd Kentucky Derby, Claudia brings over two decades of experience
in high-stakes broadcast journalism, live event hosting, and strategic media partnerships. An alumna of both Indiana University and Georgetown University, she specializes in building multi-platform media integrations with top-tier brands and moderating prominent industry discussions—including panels at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and Kentucky Derby Museum.

Through her production work and show hosting, Claudia is a leading voice on the power of authentic storytelling, podcast growth,

TOM L. PRESTON: Preston Global Founder/CEO & Award-Winning PR Practitioner in Crisis Communications

Before his 9th birthday he was earning a few coins working in a hay field. That began 24 years of multiple jobs, most requiring heavy lifting. Other interests kicked off a career in journalism, PR, and business management. All before age 25. Also, his love of sports found time to play varsity football and basketball, the latter up to semi-pro level.

He began learning terrible effects of crises and emergencies before getting a driver’s license. Lessons came as a news and sports reporter, editor, owner of newspapers, national magazine editor, even prior to founding what now is Preston Global, an internationally acclaimed firm almost 60 years old.

Our speaker’s military career brought officer Preston into world-wide conflicts, particularly when, as a counterterrorist, carried out secret missions against Red Chinese agents and Soviet assassins. In 2008 he was selected to attend the U.S. Army war College national security program.

Among honors bestowed: University of KY Hall of Distinguished Alumni. PRSA accredited, Tom quickly was voted into that organization’s first elected Counselor in Public Relations class. Along with various lifetime achievement awards the Thoroughbred Chapter PRSA recently established an honors program under his name.

Eclectic career? Adjunct or visiting professor at three universities and four colleges. High School football coach; On more than a dozen state or national boards; Tom, a pilot, was named Sen, Wendell Ford’s deputy for congressional activities involving NASA.

TOA GREEN: Owner/Operator, Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream

Toa Green is the Owner Operator of Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream, a beloved premium ice cream company in Lexington, Kentucky. Having grown up in Frankfort, Kentucky, she bleeds Kentucky Blue through and through despite graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations.

In 2011, Toa began crafting a simple coconut ice cream option to add to her family restaurant’s menu. Soon enough, guests came lining up to taste the delicious treat. In 2013, Toa and her husband, Mike Green, officially launched Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream to create ice cream prioritizing local, seasonal ingredients with the mission to create joy, ignite laughter, and inspire
compassion with every scoop. Now, Crank & Boom has two brick-and-mortar locations, is offered at Whole Foods Market- Lexington and other local retail partners, and ships nationwide on Goldbelly. Crank & Boom has been featured, most recently, on The Today Show, Food & Wine and has also been featured on the Cooking Channel, in the New York Times, PEOPLE
Magazine, Garden & Gun, The Local Palate, and Southern Living.

Outside of work, Toa’s passion is community building. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Commerce Lexington, is a member of the Governor’s Commission of Small Business Innovation and Advocacy, and serves as Vice Chair of the Lexington Fayette Urban County Tourist and Convention Commission. She is also a board member of North American Ice
Cream Association. She has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in India, Thailand, Honduras, and various parts of the US. Currently residing in Lexington, Kentucky, Toa enjoys pending time with her husband, Mike, and two kiddos, Bodhi and Bindi.

SCOTT NEIL: President, Horse Soldier Bourbon

Scott Neil is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and the President of American Freedom Distillery, home to Horse Soldier Bourbon. As a member of some of the first Special Forces teams deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11—later known as the “Horse Soldiers”—Scott co-founded the bourbon brand to honor service, sacrifice, and American craftsmanship.

Under his leadership, Horse Soldier Bourbon has become an award-winning, nationally recognized brand, with a destination distillery underway in Somerset, Kentucky. A leading advocate for veterans, Scott works closely with organizations like the Green Beret Foundation and the George W. Bush Veterans Initiative, while advising on veteran entrepreneurship and policy. His story continues to inspire audiences and whiskey lovers across the country.