Greater Orlando Sports Commission Announces Date And Featured Speaker For 2024 Celebrating Women In Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 8, 2024) – The Greater Orlando Sports Commission (GO Sports) is proud to announce that the 6^th Annual Celebrating Women in Sports luncheon presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute will be hosted at Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. In addition to Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute returning as the presenting sponsor, Florida Blue is returning as the sponsor of the fireside chat with featured speaker, Doris Burke.

“We are thrilled to welcome Doris Burke as this year’s keynote speaker, continuing our tradition of offering insight and inspiration from some of the most noted female executives in U.S. sports history,” said Sharon Line Clary, Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Communications at AdventHealth and Chairman of the GO Sports Board of Directors.

The luncheon will also recognize several female leaders in the local sports community with the Women in Sports Leadership Award, Rising Star Award, and WISE Greater Orlando Women of Inspiration award. To view past winners, visit GreaterOrlandoSports.com/Celebrating-Women-In-Sports. The 2024 award recipients will be announced at a later date.

“We’re excited to host this event every year and continue to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary women in our sports community,” said Jason Siegel, President & CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. “Thank you to Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute for their ongoing support as our presenting sponsor and Florida Blue for returning as our featured speaker sponsor.”

Doris Burke is a Hall of Fame broadcaster and the lead analyst for the NBA on ESPN and ABC. In 2024, Burke will become the first woman to serve as a game analyst on television for a championship final in one of the four major professional U.S. sports leagues.

Burke became the first woman to serve as a game analyst for the NBA Finals when she provided commentary on ESPN Radio in 2020. Prior to the 2017-18 NBA season, ESPN named Doris Burke to the position of national NBA game analyst, making her the first woman to serve full time in that capacity. In 2018, Burke was announced as a recipient of the prestigious Curt Gowdy Media Award presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

During Burke’s ESPN tenure, she has served as a top commentator on several significant ESPN properties, including the NBA, women’s and men’s college basketball and the WNBA. She also served as the lead sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC. Burke has covered basketball for ESPN since 1991 and has been the recipient of several awards and honors, including the 2017 WISE Women of the Year Award.

A former basketball standout at Providence College who held seven records upon graduation, Burke finished her career as the school and conference all-time assists leader (602), Providence’s single-season leader in assists (224), and single-season (152) and career (440) leader in free throws. She served as an assistant coach for her Alma mater for two years (1988-90). In 2000, she was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame, and she received an honorary doctorate from the school in 2005.

Past featured speakers at Celebrating Women in Sports include Jessica Mendoza (2018), ESPN’s first female Major League Baseball analyst and two-time Olympian; Stephanie McMahon (2019), WWE’s Chief Brand Officer; Brandi Chastain (2021), two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, coach and broadcaster; Jennifer Rizzotti (2022), Hall of Fame basketball player and President of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun; and Joan Benoit Samuelson (2023), legendary distance runner and winner of the first ever Women’s Olympic Marathon. Attendance has grown steadily each year, culminating in a record attendance of 650 for the 2023 luncheon.

Table Sponsorships are $2,000. To purchase a table for the event or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Michael Kalinich at Michael@greaterorlandosports.com and Chase DeMayo at cdemayo@greaterorlandosports.com. Individual tickets will be available for purchase at a later date.

ABOUT THE GREATER ORLANDO SPORTS COMMISSION

The Greater Orlando Sports Commission (GO Sports) is a private, non-profit organization established to attract and manage sports-related events, conferences and activities that drive positive economic development in the City of Orlando, Lake County, Orange County, Osceola County, and Seminole County. Founded in 1992-93, the organization has hosted or co-hosted more than 1,660 events in the Greater Orlando area with a total economic impact exceeding $3.3 billion in spending within the community. For more information, visit www.GreaterOrlandoSports.com.