I grew up with parents who loved to entertain guests. As an only child in the country, I loved the opportunity to dress up and serve hors d'oeuvres and cocktails to their friends.
Between the ages of 17-35 I hosted numerous private parties ranging from intimate gatherings to parties for 150 with multiple live bands. Any time someone mentioned having a party, I always offered help, arrived early
and stayed late. It was the same at my various jobs throughout my 20's. Thanksgiving potluck? Retirement or birthday party? I'd offer to handle all planning, decorations, vendor research and booking, setup and clean up. It wasn't long before people started coming to me for help.
I eventually took over the banquet and catering division of a local restaurant that I was working at part time. Our minimum guest count was 100 and some events got up to 500. I rewrote the training materials, contracts and created all new processes for them. I was the first employee in the 20-year history of the restaurant that was asked for by name for catering events.
I spent nearly 10 years working for a custom printing company where my job duties required me to help individuals and business pick out the perfect branded items for their events, within budget, and in time to meet deadlines. Throughout this decade I was exposed to tens of thousands of ideas, negotiated pricing with vendors, built and nurtured long-lasting relationships, and helped my customers create lifelong memories.
The last two years I have volunteered my time and services to help my daughter's marching band with their annual marching competition. As the Concessions Lead it has been my responsibility to create the menu, buy the food at the best price without sacrificing quality, setup the concession stand, oversee the students and parents throughout the event and ensure cleanup. A day can range from 14-18 hours and attendance from 2,000-5,000. I look forward to continuing with them until she graduates.
Most recently I have become involved with the local electronic music scene. I have put on 4 events myself and helped with numerous other ones, from planning, marketing, decorating, booking talent, venue procurement, client engagement and follow up, talent relations, setup, clean up, and overseeing the event.
I was asked to help with an event recently and the more I discussed the details with the promoter, the more I realized that this is truly my passion. Nothing makes me smile more (excluding my kids, of course) than putting on an amazing event. I decided it was time to turn it into a career. I woke up the next morning after only 4 hours of sleep with the entire concept all figured out. I hopped online and the name wasn't taken anywhere so I knew it was meant to be.
I'm a Leo, my birthday is on the 23rd, and proper planning is the key element to a successful event. Leo23 became the name and the logo needed to look like a chemical symbol representing the elemental theme.
