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Indiana Sports Corp President, Allison Melagnton, is leaving to become Senior Vice President of Events for Hulman Sports at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
She is being replaced by Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s Chief of Staff, Ryan Vaughn.
They both spoke about the transition Friday afternoon.
Melangton has worked with the Sports Corp. for 20 years and was the president of the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee.
She says she shed tears over the decision, but wants to get back to her roots by returning to large scale event planning.
"I've never really been a person who got hung up on titles and what I look for is something that I'll have job satisfaction and personal satisfaction in," she said. "I think at this point in my life is a good next step for me.”
The Sports Corp board chose Vaughn unanimously from a list of 15 candidates during a process that took about for weeks.
The former city county council president has served two and a half years with the Mayor’s office.
He admits he has learning to do when it comes to the sports business, but believes his community relationships will serve him well.
"I've worked in this community in a lot of different capacities over the last decade and I feel like I bring a lot of relationships, both government and corporate and community based to sort of broaden the scope of what we do at the Sports Corporation," he said. "I think that's what's going to be how I contribute immediately while I continue to learn about the business of sports."
Vaughn will stay with the city through the end of October and will be part of the City County Council’s budget process. He says he will play a role in picking his successor for Chief of Staff.
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