TBA is proud to announce the latest additions to its 136th Annual Convention lineup: Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who made his mark as one of the most recognized staffers in the Trump administration, will provide the keynote address, and legendary country artist John Michael Montgomery will perform during the Chairman’s Dinner.
The Annual Convention will be held May 13-15 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio.
Spicer built a decades-long career in Republican politics, witnessing and shaping the inner workings of Washington, D.C., from every vantage point. He served as a communicator in the U.S. House of Representatives, headed up incumbent retention at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative in the George W. Bush White House and was chief strategist and director of communications for the Republican National Committee.
As a lifelong Republican operative, Spicer helped reshape the Republican National Committee’s public relations strategy and rebuild the party after losses in 2012. He implemented his same strategies in 2014 and led the party to sweeping victories.
In 2016, prior to the Republican primary debate, Spicer worked on behalf of the party to produce higher quality, more informative and fairer debates by working with networks, campaigns and other partners to restructure the debate format and ground rules. These debates broke records for television viewership.
After Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, Spicer split his time between his role at the RNC and on the Trump campaign in an advisory capacity. He became press secretary in 2017, serving in that capacity for six months.
Spicer is currently president of RigWil LLC, a strategic consulting firm that provides insights to C-Suite corporate and association executives. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, “The Briefing,” which sheds light on the Trump administration’s first year and on the 2016 campaign.
John Michael Montgomery is a Kentucky-born artist with a rich baritone voice, who has turned an uncanny ability to relate to fans into one of country music’s most storied careers. Montgomery’s achievements include 16 million albums sold, 15 No. 1 singles, four Academy of Country Music awards, three Country Music Association awards and one American Music award. Few artists in any genre sing with more heart than Montgomery.
His love songs, including “I Swear,” “I Love the Way You Love Me” and “I Can Love You Like That,” still resonate today.
His 2004 hit, “Letters From Home,” is one of the most moving tributes ever recorded to the connection between soldiers and their families.
Now with the release of “Time Flies,” which he co-produced, Montgomery has strengthened his position as one of the most versatile and compelling vocalists on the country scene.
Montgomery founded his own label, Stringtown Records, making him one of a handful of long-established stars to become label executives as well as artists. Now that he has launched “Time Flies,” he is looking to expand Stringtown’s reach.