2008 Republican National Convention Announces Additions To Senior Staff
(SAINT PAUL, Minn.) – The 2008 Republican National Convention today announced the addition of five senior staff members to its growing team in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Frank Spicka is Director of Security for the four-day event. Mike Miller, who has signed on for his tenth Republican National Convention, is Director of Operations, Media Operations, Production and Official Proceedings. Joby Boland and Gordon Pennoyer join Miller this month as Deputy Director of Operations and Logistics and Deputy Director of Media Operations, respectively. Finally, Anthony Foti has accepted the position of Director of External Affairs and will begin work later this fall.
“We are delighted to have such talented people join us in Minneapolis-Saint Paul as planning for our party’s 39th nominating convention shifts into high gear,” said convention President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Cino. “Frank, Mike, Joby, Gordon, and Anthony bring years of experience, professionalism, and a ‘get it done’ mentality to the task at hand. All five will play important roles in ensuring a successful convention, where the Republican Party will nominate the next President of the United States.”
As Director of Security, Spicka will work in close partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement in planning, coordinating, and implementing a comprehensive security plan for the convention. Previously, Spicka was a senior-level law enforcement professional with the United States Secret Service (USSS) for more than 24 years. In this capacity, Spicka participated in complex protective, investigative, intelligence, and international liaison responsibilities. He is experienced in protecting national and world leaders, as well as planning and supervising operational security for designated National Special Security Events (NSSE) and other large-scale special events. Spicka brings to the job a wealth of experience in interacting with multi-national organizations, media representatives, and the general public. Spicka is a Saint Paul, Minn. native and received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Stanford University.
Miller, a veteran of the last nine Republican National Conventions, will serve as Director of Operations, Media Operations, Production and Official Proceedings. He and his team will oversee the complex operational aspects of planning a large-scale event and handle the needs of the anticipated 15,000 members of the media on site to cover the proceedings. Miller will also direct the production and staging of the four-day event and structure the convention’s official proceedings. Miller has worked as a staff member for every Republican Convention since 1972, and covered the two conventions prior to that as a journalist. Miller also operated Elkmont Productions, a public affairs consulting firm.
Boland joins the convention team as Deputy Director of Operations. He comes to Minneapolis-Saint Paul from the Washington, DC area, where he most recently served as Vice President of Operations for Quinn Consulting, Inc. Boland brings exceptional operational and managerial skills to the job, as well as past convention experience. From 2000 to 2006, Boland worked for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, including three years as Director of Advance. In 2004, he directed scheduling, Congressional relations, media affairs, corporate sponsor relationships, and state delegation communication for the Speaker in his role as Permanent Chairman of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Boland is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
Pennoyer joined the staff as Deputy Director of Media Operations effective October 1. He is a convention and campaign veteran, having worked on both the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City and for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign in New Hampshire. Following the last presidential election, Pennoyer oversaw the Republican Party’s efforts to recruit and coordinate more than 5,000 volunteers for the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Pennoyer is a graduate of Kenyon College.
Foti will serve as Director of External Affairs for the 2008 Republican National Convention. His duties will include outreach to the business community; federal, state, and local government offices; interest groups; and members of the general public. Foti, a Senior Policy Advisor at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in Washington, DC, will join the convention staff in Minneapolis-Saint Paul later this year. In his current role, Foti represents clients before Congress on a broad range of issues, including transportation, appropriations and international trade. In 2004, Foti served as the director of the 72 Hour Task Force Legal Volunteer Program for the Republican National Committee. In 2000, he was appointed by the Bush-Cheney 2000 transition office as coordinator of the Transition Advisory Committees, where he directed the operations of the committees that advised the president-elect on policy and management matters. Before joining Akin Gump, Foti served as district director to Congressman Bill Paxon (R-NY) from 1994-1998 and was the Western New York regional director for New York State Assembly Minority Leader John Faso. He received his B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
The 2008 Republican National Convention will be held at Saint Paul’s Xcel Energy Center from September 1-4, 2008. Approximately 45,000 delegates, alternate delegates, members of the media and other guests are expected to attend the convention. Minneapolis-Saint Paul is expected to receive an estimated $150-$160 million positive economic boost from the four-day event.
