Contacts: Dawn Tolbert, 706-266-9266 Aimee H. Madden, 706-233-7241   
Release Date: January 20, 2010
       
Dwarf House’s Greg Major Joins NAIA Host Committee

Rome, Ga. – From greeting the championship teams at the airport with hot Chick-fil-A sandwiches to hosting the FCA Champions of Character Breakfast, the Rome Dwarf House and its general manager Greg Major have been an integral part of the NAIA Football National Championship since it arrived in Rome in 2008. Now, Major’s involvement with the game has reached a new level as he joins the Host Committee that plans for the annual national championship event.

Major has served as general manager of the Rome Dwarf House since January 1995 and has worked for Chick-fil-A for more than 18 years. The 1991 Berry College graduate earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Berry in 2002. His wife, Michelle, earned her undergraduate degree from Berry in 1990 and her Master of Education degree from Berry in 2000. They have two children: Ryan, 18, a senior at Darlington, and Kenzie, 16, a sophomore at Darlington. They are members of First Baptist Church, Rome.

Greg Major in front of the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House in Rome, Ga.

“From day one, we’ve known that community partners were going to be the key to our success as the host city for the NAIA Football National Championship,” said Rome attorney Bob Berry, who serves as co-chair of the Host Committee. “Certainly at the top of the list of organizations who have stepped forward to partner with us has been the Dwarf House. Greg has been a generous sponsor and active supporter of the NAIA game, and we are proud to have him working alongside us, officially now, as part of the Championship Host Committee.”

 Berry added that the majority of the Host Committee will continue their involvement with the game, with most of them returning for a third year. Subcommittee chairpersons include: Bob Berry and Shorter College Athletic Director Bill Peterson, Co-Chairs; Ann Arnold, Rome Downtown Development, Concessions; Rome CPA Randy Bowen, Treasurer; Will Byington, Rome realtor and key administrative assistant to Georgia Southern’s coach during their national title run, Transportation and Logistics; Rome attorney Andy Davis, Legal and Governmental Affairs; Richard Garland, executive director, Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority, Stadium Operations; Matt Green, Shorter College’s sports information director, Media Coordinator; Phil Jones, Shorter’s head football coach, Football Operations; Ricci Lattanzi, Shorter’s director of athletic operations, Game-Day Operations; Gina McDaniel and Melissa Hickman, Shorter business faculty members, Tickets; Jim O’Hara, former Rome News-Tribune sports editor, Sports Information; Linda Smith and Ann Hortman, Convention and Visitors Bureau staff, Hospitality/Special Events; Roger Smith, president of River City Bank, Sponsorship Programs; Dawn Tolbert, Shorter’s vice president for public relations, Public Relations and Marketing; and Jim Williams, former executive director of the YMCA, Special Programs.

Also returning for the 2010 event are Host Committee members Elaine Abercrombie of Greene’s Jewelers, Ken Fincher, Rachel Rogers and Mallory Jones of Shorter College, Roman Charles “Coach Pop” Warner, and Bob Stinchcomb of Darlington School.

Rome’s Barron Stadium will be the site of the NAIA Football National Championship for the third consecutive year as the top two teams in the athletic association go head to head at noon on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010. For more information on plans for the 2010 championship game as well as highlights of the 2009 game, visit www.naianationalchampionship.com.

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