Our Next Speaker

John Hagerty, Spokesperson & Public Affairs Specialist for Virginia Lottery

John Hagerty has been with the Virginia Lottery since 2001. As  Spokesperson and Public Affairs Specialist, he works with news media,  often speaking on camera for the Lottery. An important part of that job is interviewing lucky winners of large prizes for news purposes. John has met  nearly all major Virginia Lottery prize winners in the past 21 years and has  heard some very interesting stories! 

John spearheads the Lottery’s Play Responsibly campaign, working to  help raise awareness of gambling addiction. 

Prior to joining the Lottery, John was a television news journalist for 14  years. During that time he worked at WJLA-TV in Washington, DC, WTVR TV in Richmond, Fox8-TV in Greensboro, NC, and KFDA-TV in Amarillo, TX.  He earned two Associated Press Broadcasters awards and was  nominated for an Emmy.  

John graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Political  Science and History. When he’s not working, John is a musician, and he  plays guitar in the popular Richmond-area band “Shades of Gray.”