Miss Dancing Queen

Performer: ABBA Mania
Venue: Hart Auditorium
Date: September 17, 2010

Q: How do I do this on my own?!
A: I don't. We took 8 volunteer students to assist me in event management, attend weekly meetings, form a marketing campaign, read a book and look for performers for next semester and receive school credit for it. (I will blog about that later.) So I had them all to help at the event but I needed an assistant that night so I had a friend come and help and I do not know how I would have done it without her!

Q: How do I feed 25 people!?
A: Bajio's! Bajio's is a local Mexican restaurant that has SUPER good food. I ordered their salad buffet and it was a hit! It went a looooong way and the performers loved it. At my events I feed the performers, my helpers and the tech crew and so making everyone happy is a little daunting. I struck up a pretty good deal and was able to feed them all for under $9/person! And they even delievered. For a "tip" I gave the cater tickets to the show. That made him really happy :) For dessert I got a big bag of Swedish Fish and put it in cups on the table. It was PERFECT because the original ABBA band is from Sweden.

Q: How do I dry a pair of leggings?!
A: With a "dryer". About 30 min before the show one of the performers ask me if we could dry a pair of her leggings..."Uhhh...I can do that." I was too busy handing out assignments to my board and putting together my intro script so I figured that we were in the Hart building (where the gym is) and told my assistant to go to the locker room and ask to use the dryer. She came back with them dry! *whew* I asked her how she got them dry and she said that they wouldn't let her use the dryer and so she went into the bathroom and used the hand-dryer! Genius. She was so helpful!




Towards the end of the show I escaped to go to the bathroom and catch some fresh air to get rid of my headache and as I headed back in I heard my name being called over the speakers. They were getting ready to play their last song and they wanted me to come up on stage to thank me!
So-this little girl name Mallory thinks they are talking about her and she goes up on the stage and so they ended up inviting all the little girls and then me and my assistant went up there and we sang and danced to "Dancing Queen". It was so fun! (See the video on my youtube channel.)

This was so a great concert! The tribute band were wonderful to work with and very appreciative of all I did. They even called me a few days after to say that they had made it safely and that they were very thankful for all I did. How gratifying?? It was worth every second.

Principle #1: Ask for HELP! Having others help you and delegating is a great way to BE a leader.
Principle #2: Leave everything you do better than you found it. I want to set new standards of hospitality and management for the CenterStage program and leave it better than I found it.

Miss Bob the Builder

My blog is currently UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Yep. Don't judge its current state because I have just been pressing buttons for the past hour.

I want to make it super personalized but very professional and applicable to it's purpose, which is to display the events that I have planned and projects I am currently working on. I need help. Please leave comments with any instructions, ideas, websites, or criticisms (if they are nice).

I am also willing to let someone go in and work on it if they please...

Let me know. I am a desperate woman and I have goals to meet with this thing!

Thanks.

Miss Novice

Performers: Jon Schmidt with cellist Steven Sharp Nelson
Venue: BYU-Idaho; Kirkham Auditorium
Date: September 10th-11th

I couldn't have asked for a better first event to host. Working with Jon and Steven was a blast! They were so funny and easy to please and the performance was awesome. Both shows were sold out!

I started prep at 2 pm after my classes and I went until 1 am that night...It was crazy.

Hospitality Requirements:

• Dinner (2 nights)
  
• Meet & Greet
• Merchandise Sales
• Hotel (2 nights)
• Transportation

Solutions:

• Friday Dinner: We fed the performers and tech crew New Fongs (local Chinese Restaurant). I got a variety of meats and rices and was able to negotiate down to $100 for 13 people! For dessert we got pumpkin and raspberry lemon bread from Great Harvest. Kind of random but everyone loved the combination and I will be made fun of for life because of it I am sure. I filled up a cooler with soda and water. Saturday Dinner: Rumor has it that Jon loves Wingers sticky finger salad. I thought it would be a simple solution for dinner. I ordered 2 hours before pick up and asked if it was possible to get a salad and 2 platters of wraps. They said it would be fine and I said I would be there at 6 because I had to be somewhere by 6:15....by 6:45 I had the food and I was STEAMING! I will NEVER use them for catering ever again. AND, they didn't even apologize. Sorry to bash Wingers in Rexburg, but you are kind of lame.

(Ps-I have NOT been given a budget. I asked and he said, 'use your best judgment...' Good thing I know how to get more for less! People love when you go to them for catering. They will do anything for you! You bring in the biggest chunk of money they will see all day. Negotiate... )

• For meet & greet and merchandise sales we set up the room next to the venue with tables in a 3 sided square. People entered through one end of the room and followed the tables to pass by the merchandise and then see Jon and Steven. I had volunteers help me with sales and the ticket office with the event coordinators (my previous job) help me with crowd control. The concert ended around 9:30 and we were there till almost 12 on Friday...it was crazy! These fans LOVE Jon and Steven.
  
• We booked them a hotel at the Marriot Springhill Suites for Friday and Saturday. Jon was staying in Pocatello because he had to get to his sons football game in the morning so he wanted to get a head start. I offered to take them out to eat (on CenterStage of course) and we went to Applebee's with a few people and Steven and the tech guy, Garrin. Too bad I got terribly sick or else I could have enjoyed it better :( That is a whole other story which I don't consider 'blog worh
  
• As for transportation, I ended up having to do a little hosting on Saturday. I felt better waking up in the morning and we went to a movie and to lunch in Idaho Falls and had a blast! Then I got them back so they could get ready, took them to sound checks and then I ran around Rexburg and got ready in and hour and 1/2 time. Whew. That was a miracle.

I worked 10 hours each day and slept really good on Sunday....so worth it! The shows were FABULOUS and they loved their crowd. I wonder how we could control or increase the chances of another crowd like that? ...

PUBLICITY+AMAZING PERFORMERS=ENERGY!
Principle #1: Observe. The guy who had my job last semester came to the show on Saturday to help me out and I told him that I just needed him once and then I would be good to go. I WAS! I observed everything he did and asked a lot of questions. On Saturday night I felt completely confident. This job is interesting because I am not really being regulated much. I decided many things and I am able to make decisions and do much of the actually event management. It is such a dream!

Principle #2: Make it your own! So I decided to add my little touch on my events and get them cupcakes from The Coca Bean here in Rexburg with a little thank you note attached. Jon and Steven were very grateful and I had quite the experience.

Miss Director

I now start my new adventure in event planning! My new job this semester is known as the best job on campus...I am the student director of Center Stage. The Center Stage Performing Arts Series features concerts and entertainment for BYU-Idaho students and residents of surrounding communities, including Rexburg, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Jackson, Wyoming. Artists they've had in the past are....The Beach Boys, 1964 Beatles Tribute, David Archuletta, Paul Cardall, BYU Young Ambassadors and many more well knows artists!

Background on how I got this job...I was in the library designing a poster with a friend for an off campus event and this guy next to us asked if we were in the event planning class. I said I wasn't but that is what I want to go into and he explained that he did too and so we started chatting. He told me he had this job on campus being the director of the Center Stage events. I had previously just met the current director only a week or so before this so I was kind of familiar with the position. He told me it was paid and a lot of work but that they may be looking for applicants so I should apply.

The next day I took in my resume. I got a call a few hours later and set up an interview for the next day. The interview was very interesting. I wasn't sure if I still wanted the position and they said I would have to drop a few of the volunteer activities that I was currently part of. I was nervous about it, I stated what I can do and what I would like to do and left. That was Friday, and on Monday I received an email offering me the job. I took it! It has been a great adventure so far.

Principle #1: TALK TO EVERYONE. If I wouldn't have conversed with that guy and asked about the job or what he was doing, I would have never got this job. I have mentioned this before but NETWORKING IS KEY!

To see who is coming this semester check out our website! http://www.byui.edu/centerstage/

(Disclaimer: This blog is obviously super late, I am behind on all the frills right now.)

Miss Walkie-Talkie

Me and Isaac! BFF's :)

Me and the mascots!

Cooking Demo. Super cool.

Best Mascot Friends Forever!!

Author of Leven Thumps, Obert Skye, reading to the children!

One of the stages. My friend Stuart designed all the signage. He is great.

Set-up the day before. You can see those rain clouds coming through!

The day before the event. 3 cars, 1 van and a huge truck later...

So the Book Festival happened! I was recovering this week but I think I am healed now, finally. How do I feel? Words can hardly describe. I think I felt every emotion that exists in my body. Every sense and every whit was: Book Festival. I couldn't think of anything but that! I don't even remember going to the bathroom, thinking about the next day, scratching my nose...nothing!



S.W.O.T
Strengths-Booking great authors and presenters.
Weaknesses-Communication.
Opportunities-Experience GAINED.
Threats-Lack of impact in community, maybe?

Miss Checklist

Here is the signing schedule for Saturday! In addition to this, all the authors and artists that are presenting are also signing. Check out http://www.readtoday.com/ksl-book-festival/.

It's crazy to think that we could work 7-8 hour days and be constantly working on details of the festival. Today at the end of the day we kind of looked at each other and took a deep breath of relief. We think we have thought of everything! Today I even thought about making up clipboards for each stage manager so they will have everything that they need to run the stage. Little details like that are what is going to make this event go really well.

Principle #1- Checklist's are pointless until you check it off! There is power in being able to cross something off :)

Miss Project(s)

The stickers, bookmarks and programs I copied and am currently cutting out. Whew. It is a gem.
How many projects am I working on?? Possibly 10 or 9. No joke! Excuse my messy desk but I had to document how non-stop busy I have been the past few days at work.

We are of course getting everything finalized for the Book Festival which is one Sat. from 10am-6pm (PLUG) If you are in SLC or in the Utah area, or if you love me (yes, I just pulled that on you) then you will come! We are going to have so many great authors come and cooking demos with samples and a giant mouse will be walking around. It will be great. I will post the author schedule and stage schedule tomorrow.

Today I made about 20 plus calls to different schools around the U.S to offer a free presentation by Obert Skye, author of Leven Thumps. I hardly got a hold of people but I practiced some good sales skills. He is a great author and is promoting reading and using your imagination. (http://www.abituneven.com/)

Principle #1- Practice BEFORE you preach. I ran over in my mind a few times before I would pitch to each phone call because I didn't want to ruin professionalism! Tone is important too. I didn't want to get robotic or seem like I was selling something. I needed to fight for the cause. I have learned something about myself. If I believe in something, you don't need to convince me to sell it, just show me the info and once I believe it, my heart will sell it for you. This is why I would personally like to stick with one company instead of working in a firm.

Principle #2- Take notes and always stay tuned. With this book festival we have had so many details come up that we didn't ever expect because we are pioneering our way through it. My handy-dandy notepad has been helpful and constantly thinking about the event helps too. Becoming an effective note taker came from my 11th grade history teacher. She taught us how to letter and number outline notes. Thank you Mrs. Wong.

Miss Singing In the Rain

This morning we met with Allied Signs to discuss the banners for the KSL Book Festival and right as we pulled back into the parking garage it started pouring! We went into The Plaza Hotel, on South Temple, and asked if they had bags we could put over our heads. (See image on right) then we ran out the doors right in time to be in the 'eye of the storm.' We ran outside and had to cross two crosswalks and we were laughing so hard we could hardly breathe and we looked so ridiculous! We got to the office and the rest of the day proceeded with comments about how we should have grabbed one of the 20 complementary umbrellas that Deseret Book has at the front doors. We're thinkers...I was dry around 3 O' clock but my feet are still a little cold. :)

I felt like the HUGEST weight was lifted off my shoulders today after we met with Allied. Figuring out the signage has been so much harder than expected. I am really glad that I have got to head it up because it has taught me a lot of skills. I found the designer, printed up maps, formed excel documents, met with the sign company a few times, corresponded with the event specialist concerning placement and the policies at the U and have spent a lot of hours re-configuring and thinking outside of the box.

We also have been working on what we are going to do for our Shadow Mountain booth at the event. We decided on bookmarks that kids can color and then we were going to laminate them afterward. I have been searching for a cheap laminator that would meet the needs in our about $200 budget. I have been searching and making phone calls and discovered a good link and also suggested that we make stickers. I had the designer make a draft and they look great so we are doing stickers now too! I got a bid that was about half the price of the normal cost and it is being shipped to us now. We went out and got all of the other materials as well and we only spent $225. Pretty good :)

Principle #1: Thinking in marketing involves a lot of strategy and analytical thinking. I feel like you always have to know the worst and best case scenario. For example, with the signage we wanted to make sure to secure the fonts and logos and even placement of the date so we can use these in future years.

Miss Clipboard

Don't get mad...I haven't blogged in a year and a day and I apologize. Life is busier than expected but here is the LDSBA update:

LDSBA went SO well! We set up the day before in the hot, hot warehouse but it left way less work to do at 6 am the next morning. We set up for the breakfast and then bookstore owners, buyers and employees came in at 7 am for the breakfast. I had personally been working on the schedule for the the program so I was watching the clock...we definitely did not run on time. Surprised? Not really. We had a full blown program. Jericho Road, David Osmond and Alex Boye all performed and we had Paul Cardall speak as well as Heidi Swinton....author of President Monson's new biography To The Rescue. In case you didn't know...this is monumental! It is the 4th biography written about a living prophet. CEO Sheri Dew announced it at the breakfast. It was a great event and people reported that they could have stayed longer because they enjoyed it so much! They all received a bunch of free items including a few chapter teasers from President Monson's biography.

My responsibility for the event was to hand out the tickets. Once we cleared up the confusion of where I would hand them out, I got in the mode and went to town. I got to meet so many great people including amazing authors such as Gale Sears- The Silence of God, Chad Hawkins- The Mountain of the Lord, Wendie L. Edwards- Hidden Light (the first book of a volume 10 series!) and many others. I had the fortunate opportunity to chat with Gale while I was eating lunch and she was signing books. She is a great lady and very humble. Wendie is a creative genius who knows the scriptures so incredibly well! Her series is similar to the Left Behind series. So, if you are a fan of that, check her out! She is a super woman. I also got to chat a lot with Catherine Rae Purves, author of Libby Boom: I Want To Be Baptized. This is her first book and she is a DOLL. The book gave me chills when I read it. Before I even met her I looked at her poster with the book on it and thought, "That book will sell." I believe it will and we exchanged information and I will be blogging more about it in the near future.

The event lasted two days and it went way to fast. I was busy the whole time talking with people, answering questions, and dealing with some pretty cranky people who wanted a free book and signature. One of the executives reported that the marketing department did a great job and that they were impressed with the image that we displayed for the company. That is why I LOVE marketing. Job satisfaction is incredible. Looking back on that weekend I learned so many principles about preparation and delivery.

Principle #1: Being over prepared is important. I had the schedule in hand and I knew who was going up next and so anytime Roberta had a question she could ask me and I could answer. I am glad I brought that clipboard :)

Principle #2: If you don't know the answer to a question, GET IT! People would ask me questions that I didn't know the answer to but I would do everything to find it out including running across the convention center in 3 inch wedges to find whoever they needed to speak to.

Principle #3: Customer service pays off. There were people who missed their author signing and so I turned down a few people and apologized and then realized I could probably do more. I had the authors signs extra books and I would keep them with me to give out to the stragglers. I even ran back to the storage room to grab a book for a man and he thanked me profusely and even pulled me aside later the next day to thank me again.

Miss This & That

Tomorrow is finally the LDSBA! We spent a few hours the other day setting up for the event. All the prep going into it is finally going to go into play with very few errors or room for mistake. David Osmond is going to be performing and informed us he was using a guitar so I had to call the sound equipment guys to see if we could get a DI box. So I was able to take care of that and confirm final details for A/V equipment.

Then we had another mini crisis... We ordered sweaters for us to wear at the event with our logo on it and we got them back and they had Deseret Book in RED not WHITE like we had ordered. After a few brainstorming ideas we decided to wear those in the morning and wait for the new ones to come in the afternoon.

I have been able to work on the tickets for LDSBA. Each author will be giving away 75 free signed copies of their book or CD. I made tickets for all 17 authors and printed them but on different color paper. An hour before each signing, the first 75 companies can claim a ticket for the authors product. I have an excel document with over 100 different book companies that are to claim these tickets. I played around on the excel sheet and was able to make a document with check boxes for each author. It made me start thinking about if one of these authors were to come up to me, I don't know if I would even recognize them?? So I made another sheet. I made a table with two columns and a row for each author. I put in the right hand column the authors picture and a picture of their item, so I could recognize them. In the other column I put their signing time and what time ticket claim starts at. I will be manning the ticket station and I am super excited.

It's been fun to be a part of this event because it is annual and they basically fill in the blanks and follow the same format of the prior years. Starting a new event however is more difficult. Pioneering the way for future book festivals has been intersting. I try to think of that every time we order a new product to sell or print. How can we be the most resourceful? How do I get more with less? Speaking of printing...The signs are struggling for the festival. It is a mess trying to coordinate BUT we do have a graphic designer! My friend Stuart from BYU-I was in Salt Lake this week and I remembered and pitched that we use him to design. They agreed and he is getting paid to design on the banners. I am really excited for him. He works quickly and efficiently and that is why I knew I could refer him.

Principles Learned: Be willing to help with anything! Whether it be this, or whether it be that, showing that you can help in any way is important. Even if it is taking miscellaneous items back and forth to a storage room.

Oh! I started using LinkIn as well so search me out and add me!

Oh, Oh! I am LOVING Driven By Larry H. Miller. I realized that I don't think I have ever read an autobiography before. It makes me think about my life and if it worth writing down. I read at Temple Square during my lunch break today with the storm clouds rolling in and thunder roaring. It was risky but relaxing.

Miss Cry-baby

Before My Heart Stops by Paul Cardall...Here is a Deseret Book product! Grab a box of tissues. I have been working on his tour for the fall. He is an incredible man. His book comes out in September.

Principle #1: Deadlines are great for me. The pressure behind having to turn in sign quota sheet and typing up a touring schedule is an adrenaline rush with a 5 min lunch in between.

Miss Independent

I didn't estimate that my time would be dispersed the way it has been but I have been utterly busy! At work and outside of work.

( <---me waiting for the trax)

The projects that I have been working on...

They have allowed me to work on a few things independently and I have been really surprised. I am currently working on press releases for two books that are coming out this fall. Writing a press release for a book is very difficult. I am learning a lot about how to state unique and brief facts. Today the publicist taught me to think like a reporter. Good advice.

Two huge events are happening for Deseret Book. We have LDSBA (Latter-day Saint Book Association) next week in Provo! Its going to be compiled with bookstores that sell Deseret items from all over the country. I have been working on the breakfast that is happening Thursday morning. I have been editing the schedule and working on the room arrangement and A/V.

We are also getting ready for our HUGE Book Festival on August 28th at the University of Utah. This will be the first book festival that DB sponsors and we are basically pioneering the way. I have been in charge of configuring the signage. We have to put in a bid for costs and so I configured how many signs we needed after a walk through on campus yesterday. Lots of work and we have a great team.

Principle #1: If you take your job seriously, it will pay off! Working in event coordination on campus and planning events has really helped in preparation for these events. I am familiar with the type of venue and it is proving to help me be valuable in planning the event.

Miss Carpe Diem

Ever since high school I envied college students. I enjoyed schooling and learning and thirsted for not only education but for experience. Television displayed false realities about 'college life' which I understood but still hoped to attend a university where I could succeed. At my current university, Brigham Young University--Idaho I have received arm-fulls of opportunities to gain experience. I have participated in planning 3 major events on campus as well as being employed in event services as a student event coordinator. I also conducted all fan contests for the competitive sports program on campus wide. These opportunities gave me not only experience but a sense of purpose that has changed my vision.

I heard about the opportunity of an Internship Expedition that would take place in June this summer. On these expeditions they visit with several companies where questions, business cards and resumes are exchanged. I searched out the cities they would be visiting and noticed Salt Lake City, Utah and that interested me. I applied the day before and was accepted to attend. During our 3 day and 2 night journey through the concrete jungle of Salt Lake City, I paid close attention to the companies we visited and asked several questions. Not every place interested me and I left my resume with those that appealed to me on different levels. My goal was to find a company where I could intern and gain experience in public relations and especially events marketing.

Now let me flash back...

Memorial Day weekend I came to Utah to visit friends. While staying over at a friends cabin I was able to talk to an inspiring woman about her career in the communications field. She is very well known in the Salt Lake market and she really impressed me. I asked for her contact information and for her to keep me in mind for any opportunities she knew of as far as internships. I emailed her to follow up and sent her a list of the companies that I would be visiting with in Salt Lake this June. She listed names of people she knew at the majority of the companies and gave me permission to use her name. The power of a name is incredible. During our visit with Deseret Book, I asked for a specific person, offered a name, submitted my resume and receive an email one week letter with an invitation to interview for an internship. Now I stand here today, in Salt Lake City, ready and able to embark on what feels like a literal dream.

Principles learned: 1. Dreams CAN come true. 2. Network, network, network. 3. Experience equals evidence. And of course 4. "Seize the day."

Follow me and see...