Catawba College

Catawba College has appointed Danielle Randall as marketing specialist for the college and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA), a nonprofit organization housed on campus. College President Brien Lewis made the announcement in mid-December, noting that Randall will report to Tonia Black-Gold in Catawba’s Public Relations Department. Randall began work on Dec. 14.

“We are pleased to be able to attract someone with Danielle’s experience to the college,” Lewis said. “For now, her focus will be split between the NSSA and Catawba as we attempt to grow the membership of the NSSA and better market both the NSSA and the college. We are very pleased that NSSA has agreed to contribute to the compensation for this position because it not only indicates the strength of our partnership but also allowed us to attract a candidate with Danielle’s credentials. She brings outstanding experience, fresh ideas, and a new set of eyes to help us assess opportunities available to both entities.”

“I look forward to using creative marketing strategies to share the excitement of all the progress taking place at Catawba,” Randall said. “Having the opportunity to work with the exceptional faculty and staff assembled here will be an honor. My goal is to make Catawba a more recognizable name and a consideration for students looking at higher education in North Carolina and the United States.”

Randall, who holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of South Carolina School of Journalism, worked for more than 25 years in the NASCAR Industry. She served in many areas including public relations, licensing and marketing. Randall opened her first sports marketing agency, The Motorsports Decisions Group at age 27, building it into a multi-million dollar business and eventually selling to Omnicom Group, a global leader in marketing communications.

She began her career in racing as a pit coordinator for CBS Sports after becoming a fan at age 14. From a small town farm community south of Syracuse, N.Y., Randall inherited the motorsports passion from her late father who was a huge fan, attending the Daytona 500 for 55 consecutive years.

Randall was also the creator and part-owner of the Crew Chief Club (CCC), LLC along with several top NASCAR Crew Chiefs. One of the most innovative endorsement marketing programs in racing at the time, CCC offered companies and organizations opportunities to enter the NASCAR arena through the very popular crew chiefs in the sport.

Since 2008, she has served as principal for Everest Marketing Group, Inc. Her company provided consulting services to race teams, drivers and corporations involved in racing, focusing on strategic planning, licensing and brand awareness.

Over the years her corporate clients have included The Home Depot, Square D/Schneider Electric, Yellow Transportation, NASCAR CAFÉ, Cooper Lighting, Graybar, Goodyear, NASCAR, Husqvarna, Toy State and Borla Exhaust.

Randall has four children — two boys, Robert and Conrad, and two girls, Marleina and Annalise — and lives in Concord.