Ryanne Duffie
Ryanne Duffie graduated cum laude from Mississippi College School of law and practices in the entertainment law division of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC working with musicians, writers, filmmakers, and broadcasters in the areas of music licensing, music publishing as well as copyright, trademark and media law. Ms. Duffie hails from Southeast Alabama and has worked in the entertainment industry for over 10 years in the areas of artist management, radio programming, concert planning, artist promotion and film production. She currently serves as general counsel for independent country record label Seasong Recording assisting them with music licensing, artist negotiation, and various contract negotiations. She also serves as the publicist for many of the firm’s entertainment clients.

Prior to going to law school, Ms. Duffie worked with many film productions throughout the Southeast. She produced music videos, historical documentaries, a weekly television program, and many specialized programming including various material for Food Network, Discovery Channel and American Idol. She attended Birmingham-Southern College where she was an Alabama Broadcasters’ Association scholarship recipient, marketing scholarship recipient, and she spearheaded the implementation and planning of most concerts held on campus.

She was selected by her law school professors as the Most Valuable Entertainment Person of the Year, and received the American Jurisprudence Award for the class focusing on the law surrounding Trademarks and Unfair Competition. Duffie is an associate member of The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences – Memphis Chapter (better known as The Recording Academy) and a voting member of the Country Music Association.

Rex E. Kelly
Rex has been studying the impact of communication since a young high school speech teacher introduced the concept some 40 years ago.  Along the way, he has continued to gain and apply knowledge of communication across a wide range of organizations and personalities.

Prior to his retirement in 2005, Rex redefined the significance of corporate and public relations within a management structure as an executive for Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power.  His understanding of strategic communication and external process led his company to the top spot nationally in customer satisfaction and earned Utility Communicator International’s (UCI) Communicator of the Year award six times.  His work in mass communication also earned national and regional awards from the National Association of Broadcasters and the American Advertising Federation. He successfully planned for and managed many major external issues as a member of Mississippi Power’s Management Council and through his management of the company’s external communications, media relations, advertising, community affairs, charitable foundations, creative and media services, corporate services and public relations programs. 

Rex is a past president of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM). Rex is a recipient of the PRAM Professional Achievement Award and the Mississippi Beach Chapter created the Rex E. Kelly Professional Achievement Award in his honor. He is a Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF) Senior Practitioner and served as a director of SPRF.

Danny Blanton
Danny Blanton serves as communications manager for the nuclear fleet of Entergy Corporation, which includes seven nuclear plants in five states. In this position, he is responsible for managing both internal and external communications and working with on-site communicators to ensure that information is provided to all stakeholders in a timely manner. He has worked with Entergy since January 2007.

Prior to joining Entergy, Danny served as a public affairs officer with the Mississippi Military Department. He has served three tours on active duty. In 1990, he was mobilized with the 155th Separate Armored Brigade for Operation Desert Storm. In 2000, as a member of the 102nd Public Affairs Detachment, he was deployed to Bosnia, where he served for eight months at Eagle Base. He completed a year-long deployment to Iraq, where he served as the Brigade Information Operations Officer for the 155th Brigade Combat Team. He received a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq and retired with the rank of colonel in 2007.

Danny has worked in a variety of positions in journalism and public relations including communications director for the Trent Lott 1988 Senatorial Campaign as well as editor of the Aberdeen Examiner and the Brookhaven Daily Leader.