DeTeau rides out of Sports Council and into top spot at Columbia County’s CVB
by Eric Johnson
All in all, it’s been a pretty good couple of days for the Augusta Sports Council’s Randy DuTeau.
Not only did the ESi Ironman 70.3 go off without a hitch and not only did his relay team end up on the podium and not only did he have the fastest bike split of all the cyclists in the relay, but Monday he was announced as the new executive director of the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“To be able to set the tone for the way the county moves forward in terms of how we promote the county is really exciting,” says DuTeau, an Evans resident. “I’m really looking forward to broadening my scope, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
He might be looking forward to the new job, but seven years is a long time, and he admits he will miss being a part of the club he leaves behind.
“I love those folks,” he says. “There’s no way that such a small staff can work together in such close quarters and so tightly under sometimes some pretty intense conditions and not have a true appreciation and fondness for each other.”
Next year’s Ironman stands to be especially difficult.
“I will play some role in the event next year, but I won’t be having my hands on it completely,” he says. “It will be bittersweet.”
Going from a logistics and operations person to a marketing person is a big transition, and one that promises a few difficulties along the way.
“I think I will acclimate well to it,” he says. “And I hope I do an excellent job, but at the same time it will be different because when I go out and meet with event owners, I may be able to bring some expertise to the table in terms of how the event is brought here and planned for, but once it’s here, I’m not really going to have the operational role that I’ve had in the past.”
DuTeau replaces Beda Johnson, who resigned last fall, and he inherits a CVB that seems almost perfectly tailored for his background.
“If you look at what facilities are already in existence in Columbia County, the majority really are geared more toward sports and recreation,” he says.
Starting with the mega ramps at Wildwood Park and extending to the soccer fields at Blanchard Woods and the new tennis courts planned for the Lakeside area, the county has definitely showed a commitment to recreation facilities that can be leveraged into outside programming.
In November, Blanchard Woods will host the NCAA Div. II Soccer Championships, and the commission recently approved the addition of an $800,000, 9,000-square-foot skateboard and BMX facility at the park.
“I’m really fortunate to step into it, because it’s not like I’m just starting in and trying to build something up from scratch,” he says. “We’ve got the infrastructure in place and we already have some outstanding relationships in place.”
For years, Columbia County’s Community and Leisure Services has served as a form of its own Sports Council, and DuTeau has a long and fruitful experience working with them.
“When we did the National Cycling Championships last year, the role those guys played with the National Time Trial Championship was huge,” he says.
The fact that he has so many relationships — in his role at the Sports Council he also worked closely with the Augusta CVB — fits into his philosophy of inclusion.
“The region is better served through collaboration,” he says. “They see that and we as a sports council saw that, and now me being in the role with the CVB of Columbia County — we’ve got the existing relationships and we’re all really eager to more forward.”
DuTeau will start transitioning to his new position the week of October 22, right after the Georgia-lina Bike Summit.You Might Also Like:
