Shannon Clark, Chrissy Elliott Receive Top Honors Celebrating Women in Sports Leadership
As our 80th Citrus Bowl season continues, Florida Citrus Sports is proud to celebrate two members of its leadership team who have been recognized by a pair of Central Florida’s leading organizations for their outstanding contributions to the sports and events industry.
Chief Customer Officer Shannon Clark has been named the 2025 Women of Inspiration Award recipient by WISE Greater Orlando, while Chrissy Elliott, FCS’ Executive Vice President of Event Operations, has been selected by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission as one of this year’s Women in Sports Leadership Award winners.
Both Clark and Elliott will be recognized at the Greater Orlando Sports Commission’s Celebrating Women in Sports Luncheon, taking place Sept. 17 at Addition Financial Arena.
“These awards are a testament to the leadership, experience and integrity Shannon and Chrissy bring to our organization every day,” said Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan. “They represent the very best of what we strive for at FCS, and we’re thrilled to see their impact being celebrated across the community.”
An Orlando native and Florida State graduate, Clark has spent more than 25 years with FCS and currently oversees the organization’s public-facing efforts, including event, team and venue operations. As FCS’ lead operations contact, she works closely with the City of Orlando, Orange County and a range of other partners to help deliver world-class experiences at Camping World Stadium and around the country — including recent events featuring the NFL, U.S. Soccer, FIFA, and Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea FC and Manchester City FC, in addition to the organization’s signature college football events.
Elliott, meanwhile, brings more than 28 years of experience to her role as Executive Vice President of Event Operations, where she leads day-to-day operations of FCS’ Event Operations team. A former Disney and YMCA executive, Elliott joined FCS in 2021 and brings with her a global perspective shaped by a personal journey that has taken her to all 50 states, every U.S. national park in the continental U.S. and all seven continents. She has managed more than 1,500 events in her career and is focused on expanding the organization’s youth sports portfolio while continuing to deliver seamless experiences across the calendar.
Additionally, FCS Event Operations Manager Tara Staley-Pancorbo was also recently honored as one of WISE Greater Orlando’s 2025 Women to Watch and was subsequently named a finalist for GO Sports’ Rising Star Award.
These latest recognitions build on a longstanding tradition of female leadership at Florida Citrus Sports — a legacy also recently celebrated in Orlando Magazine’s 2024 “Women Who Move the City” feature, which highlighted Clark and other FCS trailblazers. That history includes influential figures like the late Garneta Swenson, an original Tangerine Bowl staffer instrumental in building the foundation of the organization; Jane Hames, the group’s first female board president (2002); longtime executive Carol Monroe, who served FCS for 33 years before her retirement in 2016; Cathy Weeden, FCS’ 2008 board president, who later spent nearly a decade on staff as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer; and Sharon Line Clary, the organization’s current board chair.
As we mark this milestone season, these women exemplify the impact female leadership has had — and will continue to have — on Florida Citrus Sports.