Meet the Staff

Cheryl Jelinek - Senior Sales Manager
Working in a single department in one hotel all of your adult life is easy for Cheryl to proclaim but it makes it difficult to write a colorful bio. Cheryl has indeed only worked in the sales department over the past 24 years, first as an assistant, then as executive group sales director and, for the past 10 years, covering Florida’s corporate and association markets.
cjelinek@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4708

Johnnie Giffin - Senior Sales Manager
Another one of our sales team who’s worked at only two properties over her last 32 years in the industry. Johnnie worked for 10 years at the DonCeSar Beach Resort, as Front Office Manager, Night Audit Reservations Manager and Travel Industry Salesperson. For the last 22 years, she’s headed our leisure sales efforts, working with golf, tennis and social groups, family reunions, customer and vendor appreciation events.
jgiffin@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4477

Christina Wiedersheim - Senior Sales Manager
Christina has worked in the hospitality industry for the past 15 years and has been involved with nearly every aspect of running a hotel. Her past work experience include housekeeping, food and beverage, front office, catering and conference services and sales. She has worked as a sales manager for the past 5 years with Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels and now covers the Northeast for Saddlebrook.
cwiedersheim@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4714

Mark Marker, CHME, CMP - Senior Sales Manager
A veteran resort sales executive, Mark worked at Saddlebrook for over 20 years, left us, and has returned to join the Saddlebrook sales team once again. Mark's extensive familiarity with Saddlebrook will be invaluable in matching your needs to Saddlebrook's facilities, amenities and staff. Mark started his hospitality career at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in human resources, convention services and sales.
mmarker@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4710

Kristen Boehning - Senior Sales Manager
Returning to Saddlebrook after an absence of two years, Kristen comes back to handle meeting and conference sales originating from the Midwest states, an area she knows well. Kristen originally joined the Saddlebrook sales team in 1999 after working with Hyatt Hotels in several positions.
kboehning@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4706

Susan Trembal - Senior Sales Manager
Another experienced sales executive returning to Saddlebrook, Susan brings years of experience and confidence to the team. After a couple of years away from us, most recently as Director of Northeast Sales at Innisbrook – a Salamanader Golf & Spa Resort, Susan has returned to Saddlebrook to handle sales in the Northeast, her primary area of expertise. She has developed a strong base of loyal clients and enjoys fulfilling her client's needs by putting her past knowledge of operations experience to work for them.
strembal@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4707

Kristen Kachurak, CMP - Director of Catering/Conference Services
Heading our Catering/Conference Service team, Kristen started at Saddlebrook as a Catering Manager in 1999. Prior to Saddlebrook, Kristen’s career experience was gained with Dolce International Hotels including stints at the Front Desk and Conference Planning.
kkachurak@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4722

Yvonne Bohannon - Catering/Conference Services Manager
Yvonne has worked in the hospitality industry for over 23 years and came to us from Busch Gardens, where she held a variety of positions in marketing, sales and events. She's handled both social and corporate markets. Her professional background and experience at Saddlebrook brings a high-level of hands-on service to her our small meetings and conferences, as well as social events.
ybohannon@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4470

Joy Valenti - Catering/Conference Services Manager
A Tampa native, Joy has a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management from St. Leo University and is the newest member of our Catering and Conference Services staff. Joy’s professional experience has been in the catering services field, all of it in the Tampa area, with stints at Adam’s Mark, Holiday Inn, Hilton and the Marriott Westshore.
jvalenti@saddlebrook.com or call (813) 907-4719

John Spitz - Concierge & Floor Manager for Convention Groups
With over 35 years of experience in conference services, John provides fast, efficient service to the meeting planner while the meeting is going on. At Saddlebrook since 1984, John also worked at Innisbrook and Doral Golf Resort & Spa prior to coming with us – always in convention/conference services.
(813) 309-9422