Cheers!

There once was a girl in the Midwest...

Growing up on a farm outside a small town (like Footloose small, y'all) in central Indiana, event planning was not in the vernacular. I'm pretty sure saying I wanted to become a marine biologist would've raised fewer eyebrows than saying I wanted to go into events. Most people I knew didn't (and likely still don't) even hire event planners for their wedding. Corporate events weren't really a thing since there really wasn't anything corporate about the area either.

So I did what every good Midwestern girl does and considered teaching, In middle school, I was introduced to the National FFA Organization and quickly threw myself into every activity possible under its umbrella. This led to me to modify my dream job from special education to agriculture education. I would end up being so active that I deferred college for a year to serve as a state FFA officer and eventually found myself at a land grant university.

College was the first time I felt like I had found "my people." While the university had an enrollment of 40,000+, my degree area included around 100 students all in. I got the big college experience with the benefit of a close-knit cohort of young people focused on the education of slightly younger people. Internships were particularly focused on at school, and I spent the summers after my freshman and sophomore years working in a 4-H program and national seed sales. My junior year rolled around, and I had the opportunity to apply for an internship with an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., which brings us to chapter two. ​

​

...who moved to the big city....

​My internship in D.C. was six weeks long. It was my first taste of that corporate world that felt so elusive growing up. I spent my days on Capitol Hill meeting with the staffs of various members of Congress and walking. All the walking. You want to culture shock a girl from rural America? Put her in a place she can only traverse via public transportation or on foot. The summer flew by and before I knew it, I was back at school moving into my senior year apartment.​

​

As luck would have it, I would receive an email shortly after my return about an opportunity in the U.S. Senate, working on the Farm Bill. I figured I had about a 50/50 chance, since I had D.C. experience now. Apparently that was enough, and over Labor Day weekend, my mom and I packed my 1998 Ford Explorer and headed east.

​

Then I sort of forgot to leave. My internship became a full-time opportunity in the Senate. I became a finalist for Miss District of Columbia, which opened countless doors for me. When my member of Congress lost in the primary elections, I capitalized on those connections to find my next spot. Professionally, things got a bit wild after that (several trial by fire and downright WTF experiences). 

​

In the midst of the job shuffle, I met a guy, we got married. We checked all the "adulting" boxes; got a dog, moved from our cool D.C. apartment to the suburbs, had our incredible daughter. Then we checked one more box; we realized maybe marriage wasn't the best thing for us as a unit and separated.

​

...then started over in a medium city...

I needed a fresh start in a lot of ways. The area of northern Virginia I was living in was really just a series of strip malls and housing developments. It was also incredibly expensive to live there.

A series of events led to me resettle in Richmond, Virginia. I was hired by a growing bank based there as an executive assistant and immediately fell in love with the company and the city itself. It seemed to be the perfect blend of the slower pace I grew up knowing, mixed with the excitement and offerings of a larger city. It was also the first time in my professional life where I genuinely felt I had a clear future. I felt grounded in the best way. And because being grounded was never something I excelled at, I started pitching a new-to-the-bank role as an event planner after about 90 days. Apparently I was pretty convincing, and I started developing the events function for the bank less than a year later.

​

And now I have this new child, my podcast. What the above story fails to highlight is the absolutely incredible, intelligent, unique and generally badass people that I have gotten to meet and work with along the way. So that's where Best Seat Ever enters the picture. To bring the stories of those people to you.