It's no secret that MANY (if not most) companies have experienced extended time apart since 2020. Our client, Georgia's Own Credit Union, hadn't gathered in person in over 2 years! When they decided to plan a retreat for their leadership team, they called Elevate to help bring a high level of engagement and LOTS of meaningful moments to their event.    In this episode of the Mic Drop Events Podcast, Billy breaks down the Georgia's Own Leadership Retreat experience and shares some of his...

Can supporting/producing an event from a remote location actually work?  In this episode, Elevate team member Sarah Cait Sawyer shares how she best prepares to support our clients and their events, even from across the country. Spoiler Alert! It all boils down to 2 powerful questions we ask when planning any event:  1. What do you want your attendees to feel when they leave? 2. What do you want them to remember? In this episode, you'll also learn about one of our amazing clients,...

Heart For Africa is an incredible organization that focuses on fighting hunger, helping orphans, decreasing poverty, and providing education in the country of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland). Throughout the year, the organization hosts several fundraising events. We recently partnered with Heart For Africa to help them bring one of their annual fundraising events, a comedy night, to life!  The annual comedy night event is focused on bringing people together in a fun way to raise...

Ever wonder what it takes to plan and produce the SAME event in multiple different cities? If so, you'll love this episode where we share specifics of producing several events for one of our favorite clients of all time -  All Pro Dad.  One of the reasons we love working with this organization so much is because of the ability we have to partner with them from the initial content creation phase to the actual experience execution. And most importantly? Their mission of helping Dads (and...

We recently partnered with Home Depot to create a remarkable event with the purpose to welcome their 200+ summer interns. This event took place at Home Depot's home office in Atlanta, GA, and provided a fun space for the interns to connect and enjoy time with one another.  In this episode, we share all the details on how this event came about, the logistical considerations that went into the planning process, and WHY it's so important to welcome interns in a celebratory and unique way.  Be...

Preferred Apartment Communities knows how to throw a party, and we loved producing a fun, energetic event for their 11th birthday celebration! This episode breaks down how this event offered the best of both worlds - a 45-minute virtual hangout and an in-person carnival-themed celebration for local team members. Oh, and the one thing you might not imagine would play such an integral part in the success of the event?  A DUNK TANK! Give this episode a listen to hear more about how this fun...

“If I had known more about the event, I would have brought more of my team.” - William Crum, Chick-fil-A Operator from Redlands California In this episode, Billy recaps a one-day team member appreciation event we produced for 800 Chick-fil-A Team members who came from stores all across Southern California! The Operators of the restaurants wanted to celebrate their teams and inspire their best leaders. Our team planned and produced the entire event from scratch, bringing Chick-fil-A’s ideas...

In this episode, we break down a recent event we produced for the Mueller Water Products team. This group was planning a fun "back to the office" event for their staff after working remote through the pandemic. Just two weeks before their event, they had to find a new event planner and contacted us. It was a quick turnaround, but we helped them put together an unforgettable rooftop experience for their team, full of awards, celebration, and LOTS of dancing! Give it a listen to hear all about...

In this special episode of Mic Drop Events, Billy breaks down a recent event we helped produce for Merry Maids. This team was looking to add energy and engagement to their event in a way they had never done before. Our initial consultation gave them some ideas around accomplishing this goal. From there, we were able to compile a complete run-of-show for everything from an awards show to group sessions to a final dance party. When the event day finally rolled around, our team had worked out...

Listening, Learning, and Leading. This week's episode features Ken Sobaski, CEO of America's Thrift Stores, who breaks down some of his powerful leadership strategies. Ken does a great job of connecting with his team and making each individual employee feel celebrated. In this conversation, he breaks down some of the leadership principles he lives and leads by, as well as some of the event lessons he has learned over the years.  If you're looking for some great leadership insights and how...

Engaging your audience is crucial to not only keeping a group of people's attention but also for creating lasting impact.  On this episode, we break down the three parts of events that must coexist for optimal engagement: Energy, Community, and Connection.  This episode comes from a Clubhouse conversation facilitated by Billy and Sean and gives personal anecdotes and valuable ideas that you can implement right away for your own events.  For more event tips and tricks, check out our YouTube...

Let's face it, planning an event can be stressful. There's a lot of pressure to get all of the details right leading up to the event itself. On this week's episode, Sean breaks down ten things you can do in the planning process to create less stress and more confidence in executing the event.  Get a team of talented people together Meet regularly Create a minute by minute plan Rehearse Test the technology Watch the videos before the event Gather the materials Rehearse again if...

It's never too early to start planning a holiday party! This week's episode comes from a recent livestream event we hosted on our YouTube channel about holiday party ideas for 2021.  One of the main questions you should ask yourself when thinking through this type of event is: How do you want your team/customers/audience to feel as they are attending. In this episode, we break down the five emotions you can think through when planning a holiday party:  Inspired: Give a longterm vision of...

This week, Nina Butler joins the podcast to talk all things event creation. Nina is an experienced director with a demonstrated history of working in the event and hospitality industry and start ups and serves as Director of Events and Experiences at Alyce.  Nina's team specializes in creating "unexpected" events or as she calls them "Pattern Disruptors" that surprises an audience and captures their attention.  She breaks down some of the ways their team thinks through events for Alyce and...

Kim Walsh Phillips joins us this week to talk about her experience with planning and executing events. After working for a short time in the event industry, Kim transitioned to more of a marketing and consulting role but used her event experience to stand out in marketing her business and converting more sales... so much so that she recently generated over a million dollars in revenue from virtual events in less than a year! By using virtual events as a step in the conversion process for...

This week, Cord Sachs and Josh Swing of Wildsparq join Billy to talk about leadership, connection, and the power of events. This episode covers a variety of topics from Wildsparq's mission to some valuable event insights from their team and ours.  One of our favorite takeaways from this episode was the idea of aligning purpose, passion, and production for optimal impact. When your purpose and passion line up, production is exponential.  Want to learn more about Wildsparq? Check them out...

Many companies are looking to host engaging events with their team but aren't sure how to make it happen. Field day events are a great way to engage your team with games and intentional conversations around particular topics. From establishing the basics to building on the theme, this episode breaks down the principles you should live by in planning a field day.  Most field days revolve around a certain amount of fun and a certain amount of conversation. How much of each is up to those...

As we round out our Clubhouse conversation with Crystal Garcia, we talk about considerations for groups planning hybrid events, including pricing and moments of engagement. When it comes to hosting a hybrid event, reinvesting money that is not spent on travel or hotel expenses is a great way to draw in the virtual audience. This can be done by sending them something beforehand to make them feel like they're a part of the experience without actually physically being in attendance.  In some of...

In the first part of our conversation with Crystal Garcia, we discuss the difference between livestream and hybrid events, along with some examples and ideas for each. This discussion touches on the importance of including both audiences and the way that breaking up into smaller groups allows moments of engagement for everyone involved.  Crystal is a Digital Strategist, Virtual Events Producer, Online Business Manager, AND the founder of Propelcon. Don't forget to check out her company...

With Covid numbers once again on the rise, many businesses are questioning their Fall plans and unsure of how these circumstances might affect scheduled events. On this week's episode of Mic Drop Events, we discuss the ways a company can transition their event from in person to virtual. We break it down into four steps: Cut the Fluff - Save time and keep the presentation engaging Shorten the Total Time - You don't have people's attention for as long as you normally would Add Virtual...

This week, Sean and Ricky are in the studio talking about something our team has found incredibly helpful in the event planning process: clarity meetings. These meetings are essential to a team looking to stay on the same page when it comes to planning an event.  Some questions we like to ask during a clarity meeting include: What is the organization and what is the event for? Who are the main contacts and what are their main responsibilities for the event? What did we promise them...

In this episode of Mic Drop Events, we're joined by our friend Natalie Born who gives her valuable insight on facilitating both audiences during a hybrid event. Natalie put these skills to the test during a recent hybrid event and did an amazing job recognizing not only the group in the room but those tuning in online too. This is a skill that many people don't talk about but one that is absolutely vital to the success of a hybrid event.  Natalie Born is the Founder and Podcast Host of...

This week on Mic Drop Events we tackle the question of whether or not virtual events are relevant past the pandemic. Considering so many people were introduced to this type of event for the first time during the pandemic, it's only logical to wonder if they will go away once COVID has ended. Recorded during a group discussion in one of our recent Clubhouse rooms, this episode draws from many different voices speaking into this same topic and gives a variety of insights into this concept. We...

Team building is an important part of maintaining a cohesive team, whether they are in-person or remote. This episode of Mic Drop Events features a conversation had on Clubhouse between Elevate team members Ricky and Sean as well as Robert Dunsmore who offers his own insight on team building in the current workplace.  The conversation jumps through a variety of topics like team building at a banquet or awards ceremony and the idea of virtual team building with icebreaker games.  Beyond...