World Tea Expo & Healthy Beverage Expo Welcome Two Leading Event Talents to Its Team

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Joining a leading-edge team of conference managers and tea and healthy beverage authorities, Samantha Hammer-Mitchell is the new event director and Brooke Mathewson the new senior manager for operations of World Tea Expo and Healthy Beverage Expo.

World Tea Expo (#WorldTeaExpo and #WTE15), May 6 – 8, 2015, is the most prominent educational event for the industry and a launching pad for hundreds of new products into the marketplace. Healthy Beverage Expo (#HealthyBevExpo and #HBE15), May 6 – 7, 2015, is dedicated to supporting and fueling the healthy drink segment of the beverage market. Both events are set for the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center in Long Beach, Calif. Details are available at WorldTeaExpo.com and HealthyBeverageExpo.com.

World Tea Expo Advisory Board member Manjiv Jayakumar, the president of QTrade Teas & Herbs, the largest supplier of organic and fair trade tea in North America, says, "The tea community is pleased to welcome Samantha and Brooke, and we're enthusiastic about the future of World Tea Expo. We know Sam and Brooke's years of conference management experience can only further propel the dynamic community that's been created through World Tea Expo. Our company looks forward to working with them in 2015 and beyond."

Recent Healthy Beverage Expo presenter, Harold Goldstein, Ph.D., executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which builds and supports policy reforms at the state and local levels, says, "Healthy Beverage Expo is an important event that can help fuel the segment for manufacturers and benefit consumers. So it's a boost to see seasoned event professionals like Sam and Brooke join the Expo to raise the bar. I anticipate exciting programs from the Healthy Beverage Expo team, working in consultation with the advisory board, as they grow the event, cultivate the marketplace and expand the community, too."

David Blansfield, president of F+W, organizer of the expos, shares, "It's wonderful news for F+W and for the beverage community to be bringing such talented professionals like Samantha and Brooke to our team. They both worked at the shows earlier this year in Long Beach, Calif., and they told me they were very impressed with everything about the events, especially the passion of the vendors, the active engagement of the buyers, and the great job our team does in putting on these shows. We're fortunate for Sam and Brooke to join us, but they're fortunate to be joining such a wonderful team and working on these terrific events, too."

As a career professional in event management, Hammer-Mitchell brings 20 years of experience producing global tradeshows and conferences with a commitment to creating business- and community-enhancing opportunities. "I'm excited to be a part of the tea and healthy beverage industries, working with a strong, established event management group and advisory board members – leaders from these industries," says Hammer-Mitchell. "My focus is to build upon the group's mission to create value and increase commerce for the thousands of international attendees, sponsors and exhibitors of the co-located expos. I look forward to supporting the members of our communities, while strengthening partnerships for collective, maximum growth."

Prior to World Tea Expo and Healthy Beverage Expo, Hammer-Mitchell held key event management positions, beginning in 1994 with Mecklermedia Corporation and its Internet World conference. She went on to hold senior event operations roles at: Penton Media, a leading business information brand; Jupitermedia, a global provider of original information and images for I.T., business and creative professionals; and Incisive Media, a B2B information provider, serving a wide range of financial, business technology and professional services markets globally. In addition, she operated a successful event consulting business, where she guided conferences and trade shows to greater success, including F+W's Digital Book World Conference & Expo.

Mathewson, as senior event manager for World Tea Expo and Healthy Beverage Expo, will be directly responsible for event operations and logistics. "World Tea Expo and Healthy Beverage Expo play critical roles for the communities they serve, and I'm excited to bring my operations experience to such vital shows," says Mathewson. "Working on events that foster education and the growth of industries as global and as important as these will be especially gratifying." For the past eight years, Mathewson managed and executed hundreds of events, ranging from consumer conventions with thousands of attendees to educational retreats and cruises. She has extensive experience managing complex events where education, learning, and on-site commerce all come together for the benefit of exhibitors, buyers and enthusiasts.

The combined World Tea Expo and Healthy Beverage Expo leadership team, and their contact information, follows:

Event Management

• Samantha Hammer-Mitchell, event director ([email protected]; 646-279-3827)
• Brooke Mathewson, senior event manager ([email protected]; 801-816-8368)
• Monique Hatchett, education manager ([email protected]; 702-789-1832)
• Edie Gillette, customer service ([email protected]; 702-789-1831)

Event, Community and Competition Sales & Marketing

• Valerie Moon, director of sales ([email protected]; 702-789-1837)
• Ashley Sostaric, event marketing director ([email protected]; 513-531-2690 x11472)
• Michael Lee, sales executive ([email protected]; 702-789-1829)
• Yesenia Hasakian, sales coordinator ([email protected]; 702-789-1838)

World Tea Academy

• Donna Fellman, director ([email protected]; 702-789-1839)

World Tea News

• Dan Bolton, contributing editor ([email protected]; 204-788-1359)

About The Beverage Group, a division of F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company

The Beverage Group, a division of F+W, is an integrated media company dedicated to providing business solutions to the global beverage industry. Events include: Healthy Beverage Expo and World Tea Expo. The Beverage Group also produces the North American Tea Championship, World Tea Academy and World Tea News. F+W serves 20 Million consumers annually via the Company's print portfolio, ecommerce stores, extensive online education programs, trade and consumer events, popular consumer catalog brands, nationally-broadcast TV programs and more, all in service of passionate niche communities of professionals and enthusiasts. (fwmedia.com)

SOURCE The Beverage Group, a division of F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company