Alonso 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 of 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 a number of 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 1981 graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.