- Who/ what inspired you to go into event planning?
Unbeknownst to me, my formative years’ activities were essentially the practicum courses preparing me for a career in events. From organizing and putting on skits in garages with other neighborhood kids to planning and decorating the school dances and parades, learning how to advocate and negotiate during my Student Council years, to a lifetime in the performing arts as an actor/singer/director/designer and studying live theater throughout college. Working odd jobs in the hospitality industry including hotels and restaurants, to finally being introduced to what I consider the perfect mash-up of it all – events!
My first venture into the professional live events scene was volunteering to help execute the Opening/Closing Ceremonies for the 2006 Chicago Gay Games. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of creating and producing event experiences on 5 different continents and in 13 different countries around the world, scripting/planning/directing every move and decision in over 150 uniquely designed events. As an actor/director, I would have only been able to create and show fictitious worlds to passive audiences. In these past 14 years of producing events, I’ve been able to create and live these experiences along with over 121,000 event participants! The ability to bring storytelling to life, creating unique and engaging memories for audience numbers like that is the inspiration that started the flame and will continue to keep it fueled for years to come.
- Tell us one thing we might not learn about you right away?
I lived in Finland as an exchange student my junior year of high school – and yes, I can still speak some Finnish! Bonus Fun-Fact: I was an Ed Debevic’s server for 5 years when I first moved to Chicago – it was a natural fit! Don’t know what Ed Debevic’s is/was? Google It!
- What do you love the most about what you do?
I love the real-time interaction between the story being told and the audience participating in it! My philosophy is that live events are immersive theater for an active audience. I get to help strategize the overall brand messaging by converting it into an experiential storyline, designing the environment, directing the flow to enhance audience engagement, and use all the tricks in the book to keep it all on track when it inevitably begins to veer off course!
- Where did you grow up?
Sterling, IL, a small, rural town of roughly 15,000 people about 100 miles west of Chicago. Essentially, the middle of farm country between corn fields and a few dead oak trees. My first official paying job (when I was about 12 years old) was detasseling corn (cheap farm labor!) So yep, I’m just a small-town boy livin’ his big city dreams!
- What is your event gone wrong horror story?
Oh my…. at this point, am I still supposed to narrow it down to one!? Was it the time we were serving charcuterie (including stinky cheese) at an event following a presidential debate and featuring the candidates in an over-heated and non-air-conditioned gymnasium on an army base in Charleston, SC? Perhaps the crosswinds whipping across the top deck of a cruise ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea while we were installing 2-story projection screens - essentially creating sails out of the screens. Or there was that time in Australia while logistically producing a filmed television segment about snorkeling, and I was the guy they had to boat back to shore because I was ‘feeding the fish.’ Then there was the time the CEO of the company jumped up on stage and interrupted an entertainment act for ‘tanking’ in the middle of their performance – justifiably so! There are so many more than this, and they only get better after a few drinks!
- What made you interested in participating in ILEA?
I needed my ‘peeps.’ When I was waiting tables at Ed Debevic’s, I had my Ed’s family. When I was in a show, I had my cast/crew. In my personal life I have amazing friends, family and a husband who tolerate the insanity this career brings, but at the end of the day, we all need our professional family as well. We need people that understand the walk, indulge in the talk, and are there to help dig you out of a mess you likely didn’t get yourself into… Here at ILEA, I’ve found my peers who confidently walk the walk, geekingly talk the talk, and are selflessly the first responders when I need that help digging out of an event-mare! The ILEA peeps are my peeps.
Thank you cory for being an engaged member!