Oaklawn Park president Charles J. Cella on Thursday announced the hiring of the track's first assistant general manager following a nearly yearlong, nationwide search.
Cella said in a news release that the new assistant general manager, Wayne Smith, of Illinois, will better position the racing and gaming facility for the future.
"For the last two years, we've been trying to build up our bench strength here at Oaklawn in all our departments, and that also includes me, so for the last year we've been looking for someone who can backstop me," General Manager Eric Jackson told The Sentinel-Record Thursday afternoon.
"I'm not planning to go anywhere right away, but there will be a time that I'm going to start letting go of daily operations and focus more on long-range planning, relations, and staff development. So, we're just trying to get into a position that will allow me to do that, and to make sure that Oaklawn continues building upon what we have right now. Wayne Smith seems to be that guy and we're looking forward to getting started," he said.
Cella said Oaklawn interviewed a "significant number of impressive applicants" from coast to coast, but Smith stood out because of a broad range of experience that includes accounting, finance, regulatory compliance, hospitality, racing and gaming, all at the highest levels.
Smith is a native of Rhode Island and graduate of Northeastern University in Boston. He began his career in corporate accounting and finance with ITT Sheraton before taking similar positions with MGM Grand and Caesar's Entertainment. He then moved into operations with Empire City Racing and Gaming in New York and more recently with Penn National in Illinois.
Jackson, who will be 66 years old this year, said he was hired in 1987 as the director of operations, and was basically the understudy to W.T. Bishop, who was the general manager at the time, but Jackson did not carry the title of assistant general manager for the seven years he was in that position.
"But we were never this size. We've got so many departments and so many moving parts and so many people whose lives and livelihood depend on this place. And not just our own employees, but horsemen, hotels, restaurants, and everybody else, and we just needed to make sure that Oaklawn is in good shape for the future, no matter what happens.
"So I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, but we are saying that time marches on for everybody," he said.
Jackson said he became a member of Oaklawn's board of directors in 1994, and when Southwest Catering was started in 2000, he became president of that company, also.
"That was the same year we started the national company called Racetech, (which developed Instant Racing), and I became president of Racetech, so I'm wearing four or five hats here. I think our thinking was that if they gave me enough things to do they might find something I could do well," he said.
Smith, whose resume includes a particular concentration on federal and state regulatory compliance as well as marketing and customer service, will join a management team that includes Jackson, Marketing Director Kim Baron, Food and Beverage Director Belinda Castleberry, Wagering and Gaming Director Bobby Geiger, Plant Superintendent John Hopkins, Human Resource Director Kelli Mussa, Information Technology Director Ben Van Wagner, and Racing Director David Longinotti. Brad Keller, of California, was recently named controller at Oaklawn.
"We've got a great team here at Oaklawn and I think we have a great model, we're in a wonderful position in a great community and we want to keep it going and make sure there are no surprises," Jackson said.
"This is an exciting opportunity," Smith said in the release. "Oaklawn is one of the most respected racing and gaming companies in all of America. The Cella name is highly regarded throughout the industry. And, it is simply an honor to be able to join such a remarkable operation and family company."
For the past 20 years, Smith has been an active volunteer with multiple community and charitable organizations. Most recently, he was on the board of the Joliet Catholic Academy in Illinois and was chairman of the Will County Center for Economic Development in Illinois.
Smith will join Oaklawn before the end of the current racing season that runs through April 16. His wife, Audrey, and their two sons will follow at the end of the school year.
Local on 03/04/2016