Jimmy Hart has been named Visit Tuscaloosa's vice president of marketing and communications, the tourism board announced Tuesday.

Hart, who will officially take the reins Thursday, has nearly 20 years of marketing and communications experience and previously served as The University of Alabama's first centralized director of marketing since 2017 where he helped lead the execution of the creation of the now-ubiquitous "Where Legends Are Made" campaign.

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“We are thrilled to welcome Jimmy to our Visit Tuscaloosa team,” said Kelsey Rush, Visit Tuscaloosa president and CEO. “Jimmy has the skills and the experience to help our organization and our community grow destination awareness as we strive to tell the world the story of Tuscaloosa County – of our history, of our culture, of our community, and of our people.”

Hart began his career in higher education, joining University Relations at The University of Tulsa in 2007, his alma mater, where he earned a bachelor's degree in management with a sports specialization and a minor in marketing. He also served at Rogers State State University and Oral Roberts University before joining the Tuscaloosa community.

“Since joining the Tuscaloosa community in 2017, I have fallen in love with this place exploring it through the eyes of UA’s prospective students and their families,” said Hart.  “As I’ve learned even more about the community beyond campus, I could not be more excited to tell these stories and to help even more people discover everything that the Tuscaloosa area has to offer.”

The role Hart will fill was most recently held by Rush herself, who was named President and CEO of the organization after its longtime leader Don Staley left the position earlier this year.

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