The Executive Board is comprised of professionals and residents from the Duluth community with years of experience in hospitality, legal counsel, finance, promotions, and the nonprofit sector. Their main responsibilities are fundraising and overseeing major decisions, with a goal of improving the experience for every visitor, year after year.
Nathan Bentley
Nathan was born, raised and resides in Northern Minnesota with his wife and has 4 children. In his leisure time he enjoys domestic and international travel, spending time outdoors, boating and playing with his 3 dogs. He is the President of Advantage Emblem & Screen Printing in Duluth. In 2001, Nathan began putting up holiday lights at his home in Esko, MN. His personality of going over the top with things has grown from a weekend obsession of holiday lights to overseeing and putting on Bentleyville Tour of Lights that is now hosted at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth with a yearly attendance of over 300,000 visitors.
Jesse Hinkemeyer – President
Jesse Hinkemeyer, General Manager of Pier B Resort, grew up near Cass Lake, Minnesota. He moved to Duluth in 2004 to attend UMD graduating in 2009 with a double major in Health Care Management & Human Resource Management with a minor in Communication. He started working in 2005 in the hospitality industry. Since then he’s managed several hotels and served on a few non-profit boards. Jesse is married and enjoys being outside and visiting all of the local establishments Duluth has to offer.
Regina Fodness – Past President
Regina is the current Sales Manager at the Holiday Inn & Suites- Duluth Downtown and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Duluth North. She was born and raised in Duluth and continues to call the Northland her home with her husband and two children. Since 2005, Regina has been an active member of the hospitality industry, holding various roles and being a part of different boards. However, she especially enjoys being on the Board of Directors for Bentleyville. If you want to catch a glimpse of Regina during the holiday season, you will often find her helping out in one of the various outlet stores at Bentleyville.
Jon Luikart – Director
Jon Luikart is a retired food manufacturing executive who has served on a wide variety of boards. Upon retirement, Jon and his wife, Beth, made the North Shore their permanent home. The Tour of Lights has become a holiday tradition for their three children and seven grandkids, as it has for so many other families. After volunteering at Bentleyville, Jon was elected to the Bentleyville Executive Board in 2014. He enjoys being around volunteers and visitors as they share the spirit of the holidays.
Tony Bronson – Director
Director of Business Development for the Grandma’s Restaurant Company. A life-long resident of this area, Tony has served on a number of local boards and has been active with many non-profit and youth activity groups. As a Past Chair of the Visit Duluth Board of Directors, and present member of the Bentleyville Board, Tony has a great deal of pride in this area and a desire to see it continue to be a wonderful place for visitors and residents alike.
Kristi Stokes – Director
Kristi Stokes has been the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Greater Downtown Council of Duluth since 2000. The organization is dedicated to promoting and supporting development of a clean, safe and vibrant central business district.
Stokes has more than 26 years of management experience in the private and non-for-profit sectors. Prior to assuming her current position, she served as a News Director/Anchor at six radio stations, including the local CBS affiliate. She is a past board chair of Bentleyville Tour of Lights and also serves on the Duluth Area Family YMCA Board of Trustees.
Craig Vanneste – Director
Craig Vanneste, Art Director at Advantage Emblem & Screen Printing since 1997, is married and has two children. Part time golfer and full time rock star, Craig enjoys spending his time teeing off at the Proctor Country Club while listening to his favorite rock band, KISS.
Craig uses his graphic design experience to create breathtaking images throughout Bentleyville. Craig also plays a large part in deciding on day-to-day operations and designing merchandise to be carried in the Bentleyville store. Besides being involved with Bentleyville, Craig also volunteers his time with March of Dimes.
Cathy Slack – Director
Cathy Slack, Branch Manager of Bell Bank. Banking has been my career for the past 38 years, including positions in private banking, business banking and personal banking.
I am proud to call Duluth my hometown. Family is my husband and my 2 grown sons. In my spare time I really enjoy spending time with family and friends. Anything outdoors, especially biking, hiking and spending time at the cabin.
Tim Clay – Director
Tim is General Manager of Sunbelt Rentals. After growing up and living outside Minneapolis, he and his family moved to Lake Vermilion outside Cook MN. Duluth has been his home for the last fourteen years. Tim has been in many leadership roles and has owned a number of small businesses over the last thirty years.
In his spare time, Tim enjoys traveling, golf, photography, exploring Duluth and spending time with his family.
Chad Nagorski – Director
Chad Nagorski, a Lieutenant with the Duluth Police Department, is currently assigned as the Commander of the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, and is finishing his 24th year with the Department. Chad was previously assigned as the East Area Commander where he worked with Bentleyville for seven years to assist with risk assessments, educating staff on safety and security procedures along with overall security planning for the event. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors at the Damiano Center in Duluth. The safety and security of all Bentleyville guests still remains a priority for him. Chad is married with two children, and looks forward to fulfilling a new role with Bentleyville moving forward.