Click Here To Listen Nashville Business 100 Leading Women Rachel Layton
Rachel Layton is a trained media, broadcasting and marketing leader that joined A. Marshall Hospitality in 2014. By 2015, she was driving all major media, campaign, programming, and sponsorship decisions for the company’s then five locations.
Layton’s love for philanthropy inspired many notable marketing campaigns. Puckett’s Gro. & Restaurant’s Mission H2O campaign (founded in 2015) raised over 10,000 water bottles for the Nashville Rescue Mission in just one month and won the Stars of the Industry Award given by the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association (GNHA). In 2016, the campaign’s success grew, donating nearly 20,000 water bottles, and by 2017 it raised just over 27,000 water bottles. Layton also founded the Puckett’s Playhouse campaign to support fundraising efforts for the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Williamson County, resulting in $15,000 in new funds for CASA. In 2017, Layton founded the Funds 4 Food Project, which contributed 40,000 meals to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee in just 30 days. The Funds 4 Food Project won the Stars of the Industry Award given by the GNHA and also won on the state level, the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association’s (TnHTA) Stars of the Industry Award both in 2017.
Layton was also the catalyst behind two business development concession contracts with University of Tennessee Chattanooga Athletics, and Middle Tennessee State University Athletics for Puckett’s. She simultaneously integrated those contracts into merchandise campaigns gaining use of both school’s official marks for branding. Layton established and led the partnership negotiations with the Nashville Sounds, along with the Nashville Soccer Club/MLS group. Layton also founded the largest event in company history, the Holiday Village at Homestead Manor, attracting nearly 4,000 attendees to the property in a day.
In 2017, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce named Layton a Nashville Emerging Leader in the Hospitality and Tourism category. Additionally, Layton won the 2017 Women of Influence award given by the Nashville Business Journal. Layton was also named a Nashville Champion of the Year by Best Buddies Tennessee in 2017.
Now, Layton oversees all marketing-related strategy and decisions for eleven locations company-wide at A. Marshall Hospitality, manages two external public relations firms, and runs a team of seven who contribute to marketing, catering and events, and the music program. In her spare time, Layton serves on the advisory board for Second Harvest Food Bank, serves as a board member for Safe Haven Family Shelter, and is the President of the Belmont Massey Alumni Board.