About Us
Award-winning reporter
Alan Byrd started his newspaper career at Valencia Community
College, where he was named the editor of the student newspaper.
While a student at the University of Central Florida, he was the
news editor for the student newspaper. His career really took off
when he was named an intern at Orlando Business Journal, Central
Florida's leading business publication.
After graduating, Alan was hired full time by Orlando Business
Journal and covered tourism, transportation and sports business -
one of the first reporters in the country to cover the business
side of sports. These beats gave Alan a unique perspective of a
wide variety of industries and businesses. His "Tourism
World" column on page 3 of OBJ was one of the best-read
sections of the paper.
During the next nine years, Alan won dozens of local, state,
regional and national awards for his stories. In 1998, his
reporting of the Moscow Circus was named as the best business story
in the United States by the Society of Business Editors and
Writers.
Award-winning marketing
In 2001, Alan left the comfort of reporting to try a new
adventure - sales and marketing. As director of marketing for
Orlando Business Journal, Alan oversaw the newspaper's events and
its growth in circulation. Of 41 newspapers in the American City
Business Journal's chain, OBJ was one of only a couple of
newspapers to exceed its sales goals every year. In 2004, the
company gave Alan its highest honor, an Eagle Award for Circulation
excellence.
During this time, Alan led the foundation of Orlando Business
Journal's Executive Advisory Board Exchange. This group helped
mid-level businesses create a volunteer advisory board to help
their companies grow. Alan moderated the meetings of every board
meeting giving him even more of an education on all facets of
business.
Sales, Marketing and Public Relations
In 2006, one of Alan's good friends, Michael Waldrop, was called
to duty by his country. At the time, Alan and Michael were studying
"The Purpose Driven Life" and God put it into Alan's heart to join
McCree to handle all sales, marketing & public relations.
At McCree, Alan was responsible for a complete redesign of the
company's Website and all marketing collateral.
In The Community
Since leaving reporting, Alan Byrd has been in a leadership position in more than a dozen community boards. Some of his biggest accomplishments are his fundraising for charities. In 2005, he started an annual deep sea fishing trip, which raised nearly $12,000 to be used for a Women and Children's shelter for the Salvation Army and $16,000 for the Valencia Community College Foundation. He also chaired the Coastal Conservation Association's annual Orlando banquet, which net nearly $95,000 to help preserve marine resources throughout the state. His band, Barefoot Underground, has held several benefit concerts for Cystic Fibrosis, raising $5,000 for the charity.
Featured Author
In 2004, Alan Byrd authored his first book, Florida
Spring Training, Your Guide to the Grapefruit League. The
nationally published book features travel tips and fan-friendly
details of every Spring Training facility in Florida. The book was
featured in many major magazines and newspapers, including Money,
Newsweek, USAirways Attache, the Boston Globe and the
Houston Chronicle. In addition, Alan Byrd provided dozens of radio
and television interviews in the United States and Canada.
Featured Speaker
Throughout his career, Alan Byrd has been a sought-after speaker talking on a multitude of subjects to groups small and large. His subject matter has included subjects as diverse as baseball and fishing regulations to how to use the media for sales and how to maximize your community relations to grow your bottom line.
