JOHNNY MOORE | Executive Director

After serving 14 years as a member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Johnny Moore has been named Executive Director of the Hall. Moore is a native of Garner, NC where he lettered in football and track at Garner Senior High School. After high school, Moore went on to run track at Guilford College, where he started his career as Sports Information Director as a student in 1974. Moore is a 2004 inductee into the Guilford College Athletic Hall of Fame. Following graduation, Moore joined the Duke sports information staff in 1977 working as assistant and associate sports information director, and later as Director of Promotions and Marketing for the Blue Devils.

In 1990 he began his own communications company and during those years purchased the rights to the Duke Radio Network and the Duke coaches’ radio and TV shows where he served as Executive Producer.  Moore also served as publisher for Blue Devil Weekly, Falcons Extra for the Atlanta Falcons, Pirates’ Chest for East Carolina University, Ramblin Wreck for Georgia Tech, Basketball America, NC Architecture for AIA North Carolina and the ACC Basketball Tournament program.

For over a decade he has worked on the national level with ISP, IMG and Learfield, first as president of Blue Devil IMG Sports Marketing and now as a Senior National Associate working with over 170 universities across the country and some of the nation’s largest corporations.

Moore has authored two books and is currently in his 15th year serving as a Senior Lecturer at Duke University. He proudly serves as a board member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Triangle and sits on the North Carolina Golf Panel. 

JULIE LAWHON-MARKS | Deputy Executive Director

Raised in Savannah, GA, Julie attended College in Charleston at Johnson & Wales, and after two years, she relocated to Las Vegas, NV to finish school and start a career in food and beverage. Julie worked her way up from server to Regional Director of Recruiting & Training with 79 restaurants under her. Upon moving to North Carolina, Julie returned to Johnson & Wales, Charlotte for Sports Management. She has helped facilitate several swimming events at the Greensboro Aquatic Center from ACC Championships to Toyota U.S Opens. Julie has also facilitated NCAA Basketball and Soccer Tournaments as well as AAU Junior Olympics. She joined the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2021 and loves the opportunity to highlight stories from the past while encouraging the athletes and students of the future.

ALAN ARMSTRONG | Associate Director, Special Events

Alan brings an executive background of marketing and association management to NCSHOF. Following a 30-year career with advertising agencies and consumer product companies where he executed marketing strategies that drove sustainable top-line growth and built global brand awareness, Alan pivoted to the not-for-profit world in 2004. His career since has engaged a focus on brand marketing, educational program development, and event management in legal, clinical research, insurance, and athletics. Alan is a native of Columbia, South Carolina, and graduate of Lenior-Rhyne University.

STEVE GOWAN | Associate Director, Corporate Partnerships

A 30-year collegiate sports marketing veteran, Steve spent 22 years with Learfield in multiple leadership positions, most recently Senior Vice President, providing corporate-level management for the college sports properties in the eastern US. Earlier, he served as General Manager of the Learfield collegiate multi-media properties in Oregon and Oklahoma. Prior to his career at Learfield, Steve was part of the athletic administration leadership teams at both East Carolina University and the University of Missouri. He has also held on-air broadcast roles with the Tar Heel Sports Network (UNC-CH) and Pirate Sports Network (ECU). A Wallace, NC native, Steve is a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate.