Four added to Pro Football HOF Board of Trustees

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Trustees has approved the addition of four new Trustees, Board chairman Ron Dougherty announced today. The new Trustees include Jerry Jones, Owner, President and General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys; Dan Snyder, Owner of the Washington Redskins; Todd Blackledge, ESPN sports analyst; and Dennis Nash, President and CEO of Kenan Advantage Group, Inc.

Jones, one of only four current owners to guide their franchises to at least three Super Bowl titles, is one of the most active figures in the area of service to the leadership of the NFL. He serves on a wide range of league committees including the Management Council Executive Committee, the Broadcast Committee, NFL Network Committee (Chairman), the Business Ventures Committee, and the Special Committee on League Economics, the Los Angeles Stadium Working Group, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee. He previously served two terms as a member of the NFL’s Competition Committee.

Jones’ innovations in the areas of marketing, corporate sponsorships, television, stadium management, stadium development, and community service has made a visible imprint on the ever-evolving face of professional sports in America. His latest initiative, the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, scheduled to open for the 2009 NFL season, will undoubtedly serve as a major focal point on the sporting and entertainment landscapes of this country. Jones and his family are very involved in numerous civic and charitable causes, including the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Salvation Army, for which they have helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

Snyder, who assumed ownership of the Redskins in 1999, has provided the leadership that has made the Redskins one of the most successful franchises in all sports. His Redskins and Jones’ Cowboys were cited by Forbes magazine as the two most valuable sports organization in the world. A guiding voice in NFL business activities, Snyder serves on the NFL’s Broadcast Committee, Business Ventures Committee, Digital Media Committee, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee.

His business ventures, however, extend beyond the NFL. He is founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of inVentive Health, one of the most successful financial performers on the NASDAQ stock exchange. He is also Chairman of the Board of Six Flags, Inc., the founder and a member of the Board of Red Zebra Broadcasting, Inc., and a managing partner of RedZone Capital, a private equity firm whose holdings include the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain and Dick Clark Productions, Inc., one of television’s most successful producers of live entertainment. A prominent community leader, Snyder is active in the Larry King Heart Foundation and devotes most of his philanthropic efforts to Washington’s Children’s National Medical Center and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Blackledge, a Canton, Ohio native, was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by Kansas City and played quarterback for five seasons with the Chiefs (1983-87) before finishing his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1988-89). A three-year starter at Penn State, he guided the Nittany Lions to a 31-5 record, including three New Year's Day Bowl victories, as well as a national championship in 1982.

After retiring from pro football, Blackledge went on to host radio sports-talk shows in Cleveland (WKNR) and Canton, Ohio (WHBC). He also did analyst work for the Big East Network, Indianapolis Colts preseason games, and several Bowl games for ESPN. From 1994-98, he worked as a college football analyst for ABC Sports. In 1999, he joined CBS Sports as the lead analyst for the network's college football coverage, and in 2006, he returned to ESPN/ABC as the lead analyst on ESPN’s Saturday Night Prime Time.

Nash began his career in transportation in Pittsburgh, PA before relocating to Akron, OH to participate in the transportation management program sponsored by Coastal Tank Lines. After spending several years in the petroleum transportation industry with Coastal Tank Lines, he moved on to Leaseway Transportation based in Cleveland, OH. He spent fifteen years at Leaseway Transportation holding vice president positions in operations, sales and marketing. In 1991 Nash joined the entrepreneurial ranks by forming Advantage Tank Lines, Inc. He has served as President and CEO from the beginning and today the company (now known as Kenan Advantage Group) produces annual sales in excess of $600 million and is the world’s largest fuels delivery and third-party logistics provider. The company operates from 78 locations in 36 states and employs approximately 5,000 people. Nash has served on various labor and advisory councils and the Board of Directors for National Tank Truck Carriers and American Trucking Associations for many years.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio and Dedicated Transport located in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also been instrumental in major fundraising efforts for Pathway Caring for Children, a nonprofit, Ohio-based organization devoted to providing treatment-oriented care for children and their families.

“We are pleased these very successful and capable men have agreed to join our Board,” stated Dougherty. “We look forward to their support in our future efforts to continue and expand the operations of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”

The Board of Trustees serves as the governing body of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.