Alonzo Byrd
Director, Business Development/Community Engagement
Ascension Charity Classic/HNS Sports Group
Alonzo Byrd is director of business development and community engagement for the Ascension
Charity Classic presented by Emerson, a new, PGA TOUR Champions event at the Norwood Hills
Country Club in St. Louis. As an employee of HNS Sports Group, Byrd works with local and
national businesses to support the tournament, while managing relationships with the
community and the tournament’s nonprofit beneficiaries.
Byrd is the former assistant vice president of public affairs for Enterprise Holdings, which owns
and operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car. He was
responsible for the development and execution of corporate citizenship initiatives nationwide.
Prior to joining Enterprise, Byrd was a vice president at Fleishman-Hillard Inc., a leading
international public relations agency. During his 15-year career at Fleishman, he managed a
wide range of media relations, corporate relations, and diversity-related issues for Fortune 500
clients, including Anheuser-Busch Companies, UPS, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and AT&T.
He also has counseled several nonprofit organizations, including the United Negro College Fund
(UNCF), the Tiger Woods Foundation, and Paraquad, which assists people with disabilities.
A native of East St. Louis, Ill., Byrd has worked as director of public relations for the
St. Louis Chapter of the American Red Cross, where he served as principal spokesman for the
agency’s health, safety, and disaster awareness programs. As a journalist, Byrd has worked for
the Kansas City Times, the Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich., and the Belleville (Ill.) News
Democrat. He began his career in journalism as a stringer with The Associated Press in St. Louis.
Byrd is married and has one child. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville,
where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
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