Up, Up, and Away! Event Planning and

Production in Las Vegas

Cheri A. Young, University of Denver Daniel E. Nelson, The International School of Hospitality Kathleen S. Nelson, University of Nevada

Dan Nelson looked at his watch. The time was 10:20 a.m. His company, Dan Nelson Productions (DNP), a Las Vegas-based meetings, entertainment, and special events production company, was producing a dealer appreciation

event for Forum Tires today. The first guests were scheduled to arrive at 6:00 p.m. This outdoor event for 350 dealers and major distributors of Forum Tire products was being held on the Wynn Las Vegas golf course on the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, production was now an hour behind schedule. A sprinkler system water line had been inadvertently punctured with a tent stake, flooding the entrance to where the main event tent was to be erected. Now back in the parking lot where his DNP trucks were being unloaded, Nelson was still trying to figure out what needs to be done about the flood situation. His thoughts were interrupted, though, by another call from his col- lege intern, Eric Puhl.

Dan, you're gonna love this one. Now there's a forklift stuck in the mud with a load of banquet tables right in the middle of our tent entrance. They're from the Wynn cater- ing department. The guys were tracking through the mud trying to get tables inside the tent and then decided to drive the forklift in instead.

"Oh s?$t." blurted Nelson into his phone. "Is there no end to the stupidity? Have you radioed Tracy Richards yet?" "No," said Puhl. "I haven't seen her. I wonder if she knows."

"I'll get her on the phone now," replied Nelson.

Richards was the newly hired director of events for the Wynn with whom Nelson had planned and coordinated set up of the Forum Tires event. From his experience, seasoned event professionals made their work look easy. But to him Richards seemed like she wanted to make herself look important by appearing like she had so much to do. During the planning for the event, however, Nelson believed Richards really tried to keep things on track. But he found she was constantly showing guest rooms and meeting space and up-selling services. She was generally too busy to meet on short

Copyright 2015 by theCase Research Journaland by Cheri A. Young, Daniel E. Nelson, and Kathleen S. Nelson. The authors thank John Lawrence and the anonymous reviewers for their patience and guid- ance in revising the case. A previous version of this case was presented at the 2010 North American Case Research Association Conference.

Sadly, Kathleen S. Nelson passed away during the writing of this case. She gave generously to her family, friends, colleagues, students, and the events industry. Several industry scholarships in her name continue that generosity. She would have been as proud for this case to be published as we are proud of her endur- ing legacy.

notice with Nelson, and was difficult to reach by phone. He was never able to have an in-depth conversation with her about the Forum Tires event, given that Richards was always running to another appointment. Now he feared that because of Richards he had a real mess on his hands.

Nelson immediately told Puhl to get the Wynn personnel to stop unloading the tables off the forklift, which Puhl had already done. He then told Puhl to wait for further instructions.

"I must be cursed by some malicious event devil from hell. What did I do to cause this?" wondered Nelson to himself. But there really was no time to think about whether or not he was cursed. He had to figure out what needs to be done and he had to do it quickly.

DannelsonProDuctions

Dan Nelson Productions had been in business for twelve years. In the beginning, Nel- son did everything. He was the office manager, the sales person, the prop designer and builder, the warehouse manager, the truck loader, and the lead set-up person of lights, sound, and musical equipment. He was also the music arranger, proposal writer, and lead performer in every event he sold that included entertainment as an element. His wife assisted him with contracts, proposals, and other clerical duties. She also designed and constructed costumes. She performed these same duties for Nelson and his band when they had been on the road performing for twenty years.

Seven years after the formation of DNP, Nelson added a personal assistant who also happened to be a very talented designer.1Ten years into the business, Nelson had three full time employees: one sales person, one designer, and one events manager. His sales person prospected for sales, while developing leads through networking with industry professionals. Networking took the form of participation in industry associations and maintaining professional customer service toward external and internal clients. The designer worked with clients and orchestrated ideas into the many elements of event design. These elements included items such as invitations, decor, props, sets, florals, and linens. His events manager oversaw and directed the activities of employees, inde- pendent contractors, and vendors engaged in providing event coordination, technical support, audio-visual services, and security and risk management. The events manager also attended to client satisfaction during the events. The other members of his team included a stable of independent contractors Nelson had worked with over the years. He considered them very loyal, very competent, and highly ethical.

DNP leased an office suite with an attached warehouse of 5,760 sq. ft. in Las Vegas. The suite had a reception area, three offices, and a small conference room. The events manager had an office set up in the warehouse. The DNP warehouse was filled with theatrical lighting systems, sound systems, props, stage sets, costumes, fabrics, beads, feathers, wigs, band stands, sewing machines, pattern cabinets, and tools to design, build, and maintain props. These items had been accumulated a piece at a time, being built or purchased as needed to produce events throughout the years. The perimeter of the warehouse was stacked floor to ceiling with 4' 8' 12' tall industrial steel shelv- ing. This shelving left ample floor space to build props, construct costumes, maintain inventory, and even hold production meetings with clients.

Over the years, DNP had grossed between $350,000 and $1M a year in sales and done between thirty and fifty events per year.2Nelson was proud to say his was a small

company that did huge events. He credited DNP's success to the talented and loyal employees and independent contractors and vendors he had worked with over the years. DNP got most of its jobs through referrals. Nelson's sales person worked on cold calls and networking through attending other local association meetings such as NACE (National Association of Catering Executives), and Nelson developed the proposals in

response to requests for proposals (RFPs). Nelson was the founding president of the Las Vegas Chapter of the International

Special Events Society (ISES), and continued to hold leadership positions in the orga- nization at the regional and international level. He held its industry certification, the Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP).3Additionally, Nelson was also a Certi- fied Meetings Professional (CMP). With these certifications, Nelson had demonstrated his knowledge base in events and meeting planning.4

nelson'sBackgrounD

Nelson believed he was always meant to be an entrepreneur. As a twelve-year old, he did shows on his parents' patio, charging the neighborhood kids 5 for admission. In high school, he and his best friend rented out the high school auditorium and produced a music show that cost them $75. They charged 50 for admission and packed the venue with 600 kids. It was the most successful production in the school's history. According to Nelson, "The school was not happy since Mike and I made all the money."

After graduating from high school, he spent three years working various clubs by playing guitar and singing in a trio. The trio did well and eventually secured a stable gig in a supper club for a two-year run. It was there Nelson met his wife, and four months later he took his passion for entertainment and production "on the road." It took two years and working through forty-four cast members before finding the correct blend of entertainers to make his show band a success. The band typically played six nights a week in clubs, working one to three weeks in a city before moving on to the next job. This went on an average forty-five weeks/year over a period of eighteen years.

When Nelson and his band later settled in Las Vegas, he saw his future in entertain- ment and event design given the skills he had developed on the road as a road manager. After settling in Las Vegas, Nelson's band was hired to work multiple parties. The first was a nurses' convention booked through a company in New York City. Nelson began to see the pattern to provide themed events for corporate clients and realized this was a job he had done all his life. Within the span of about four years of being in Las Vegas he built up Dan Nelson Productions, working as a successful band and

producing corporate shows. Since the inception of DNP, Nelson had produced hundreds of events; written

scripts for trade show booth and stage presentations; composed over 200 songs; pro- duced and starred in a video for MTV; written a television treatment for Paramount Studios; and produced entertainment for every major hotel/casino resort on the Strip in Las Vegas. For nine years DNP was hired to book and arrange three major headliner concerts and produce twenty-four special events per year for the Fremont Street Expe- rience (FSE) in downtown Las Vegas. The FSE was an entertainment venue owned by ten different hotel/casinos and featured a lighted canopy with over twelve million lights and a state of the art sound system (for hourly light and sound shows). Some of the events produced for the FSE included the Downtown Hoedown, the kickoff

party for the National Finals Rodeo, and the United States Air Force 60th Anniversary Air ShowA Taste of Freedom, which drew 150,000 people. According to Nelson, he invented the manner of production, live big-name entertainment, strolling music groups, and showgirls that they continue to use to this day at FSE. He occasionally still consulted on projects for them.

Members of the Las Vegas chapter of ISES noted what working with Nelson and his staff was like.

Dan Nelson Productions has become known for making "something out of nothing" and winning bids for higher risk events based on their record of success.

We were working a high roller function with Dan Nelson Productions at the Golden Nugget with rain and high winds and Dan knew how to keep a clear mind and almost predict each challenge before it arrived. His expertise was invaluable to the success of the event.

A power failure at a "Crush the Competition" event for Hewlett Packard was solved by Dan. He actually predicted we would have the problem if we didn't order another generator. We ignored his advice and we lost power. His connections with the power company and the vendor who rented generators got the party back on track in a matter of minutes. It would have been a disaster if he had not been on-site.

lanDing theForumtiresDealeraPPreciationevent

DNP was not included among those event production companies that received the initial RFP from Forum Tires for its dealer appreciation event. Although Nelson did not know which event production companies were in the original pool of companies sent the RFP, he later found out from Forum Tires that it had narrowed the potential event producers down to five:

MGM Grand Eventsthe event planners for the MGM Grand Casino and Resort. The property had 5,005 rooms and 55,000 square feet of meeting spacejust a bit shy of the square footage of an American football field.

Encore Productionsa twenty-year old independent event and entertain- ment productions company with many big name Fortune 500 clients.

DestinationsbyDesignaten-year-oldindependenteventproductioncom- pany providing destination management and event and design services to the incentive and corporate markets. It was a preferred destination management company of Caesar's Palace (and was often recommended by the Las Vegas Four Seasons Hotel).

Bally'sLasVegasthehotelandcasino,with2,814guestroomsand175,000 square feet of meeting space, had an internal event department. In Nelson's opinion, Bally's tended to sell the same five event themes over and over again the most dominant being an Academy Awards dinner because it owned the props to produce that event.

Baskow and Associatesa twenty-five-year-old independent company pro- viding event, meeting, and destination management services and whose client list was extensive, including many Fortune 500 companies.

The new CEO of Forum Tires, David Oakley, wanted to hold what he felt would be an exciting event for the dealers and major distributors of its products. He wanted an innovative theme and unique venue for the event. He emphasized in his RFP for the event that the "take-away" for attendees should be a "very positive feeling and atti- tude" toward Forum Tires from experiencing "a night to remember."

According to Oakley, the event needed to be special. It had been five years since Forum Tires had held a major event for its dealers and key distributors. The company had operated in the red for the past five years and the previous CEO had not viewed a dealer appreciation event as a wise use of the corporation's money at a time when the company was not profitable. Oakley knew a dealer appreciation event required the talents of a special event producer and a unique venue. He was also aware that when meetings and events were held in Las Vegas, attendance figures increased, and attracting guests to private sponsored events was highly competitive. He believed it was necessary for the company to search for a unique venue as well as an event pro- ducer who was experienced in producing this highly specialized type of event.

Nelson later learned from a person at Encore Productions that Oakley had not liked any of the proposals received from the aforementioned five event companies. The Encore Productions person told Nelson, "I said to Oakley, if you're looking for something creative and different, you need to call Dan Nelson." Nelson received the RFP from Forum Tires and developed a proposal over a ten day period.5

Nelson met with Chloe Beard, vice president of marketing of Forum Tires, to discuss his proposal. He proposed doing Up, Up, and Away! on the driving range of the golf course at Wynn Las Vegas, a luxury hotel and destination casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip. The resort featured 2,716 luxurious guest rooms and suites, an approximately 111,000 square foot casino, twenty-two food and beverage outlets, an on-site eighteen-hole golf course, approximately 223,000 square feet of meeting space, an on-site Ferrari and Maserati dealership, and approximately 74,000 square feet of retail space. Beard loved his idea and Nelson's company was hired to create, produce, and execute the event.

When Nelson came home after his meeting with Beard, he told his wife about having landed the job. Given its price tag, this event represented anywhere from 39 percent to 113 percent of his annual sales (which ranged from $350,000 to $1M); thus, this event was a big deal to him. His wife queried, "How in the hell are you going to pull this off?" to which Nelson replied, "I have no idea, but I know that I will."

thetheme: uP, uP,anDaway

Beard and Oakley chose DNP based on its experience with different venues and on the creative theme it proposed: Up, Up, and Away!6The theme included helicopter rides; tethered hot air balloon rides; a live band with interactive dancers; strolling entertainers; a Toyota SUV giveaway; a chipping, putting, and driving cage; and a fireworks display, custom designed for the event. The proposal from DNP, quoted at $394,602, stated, "What better way to spend an evening than enjoying the view of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip from an upscale golf course with distinctive entertainment, exceptional food, and amazing activities?" (seeExhibit 1).

DNP was chosen to also plan and execute a welcome reception at the Wynn Resort and Casino (where the Forum Tire event attendees would be staying) and a wet-dry tire test drive at a parking lot on the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport property.

choosing thevenue

After the decision was made to go with DNP for the event, Nelson and the people at Forum Tires had to approve the location for the event. It was a collaborative effort between Nelson and Beard, who reported directly to Oakley, the CEO. Oakley had wanted to hold the event in Las Vegas, Nevada, as it was known for its gaming, restau- rants, entertainment, and adult activities. Las Vegas was also known nationwide as one of the most successful meeting, convention, and event destinations.

According to Nancy Matheny, event coordinator of Forum Tires, who worked for Beard, the theme of the event, and the essential elements necessary to execute it, influ- enced their overall choice for the host property and meeting space. Their decision about which casino/resort to choose to book their rooms, food, beverage, and meet- ings business was based on which property would be best to set the stage for the Up, Up, and Away! event that was being produced for them.

Nelson had proposed using Wynn Las Vegas and Forum Tires agreed.

Wynn Las Vegas was considered by Las Vegas residents as one of the classiest hotels on the Las Vegas Strip as it offered Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond award-winning accommodations. The Wynn Las Vegas golf course was the only course actually located on the Las Vegas Strip. It boasted of being the only course in the world to host the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and the Senior PGA Tour.

Nelson thought the accommodations were extraordinary and the golfing was fan- tastic. Surrounded by scores of exotic imported palm trees and tall mature native trees, the highly rated course offered golfers fun, challenging, and incredibly beautiful holes.

The location of the event was to be on the driving range of the golf course. Nelson led his client to this location for multiple reasons. First, the driving range overlooked the Wynn Las Vegas resort and casino and had a fabulous view of the Las Vegas Strip. Second, the theme of the event was focused on being "up" and positive and the venue would provide an excellent backdrop for celebrating a positive fiscal year for Forum Tires. It was a major coup for Nelson to secure the venue for Forum Tires as the Wynn Las Vegas had never held any event on the driving range. He attributed getting access to the driving range to his over twenty-five-year relationship with Caroline Wallace, director of events, the person in charge of all entertainment and events for Wynn Las Vegas. He had first met her when Nelson performed in the lounge in the resort where she worked prior to the Wynn Las Vegas. Later, he produced slot tournaments and high-roller events for Wallace at the same resort. The two of them had built a level of trust that Nelson found to be unusual in the casino-entertainment world of Las Vegas.

Nelson believed the space on the Wynn Las Vegas driving range would hold an aura of distinctiveness. During the presentation to Forum Tire executives, Nelson stated that unique venues were more exciting as they added an element of exclusivity for attendees. A special feeling was instantly created when an event took place in a space where events were ordinarily not allowed to be held such as a public street, the rooftop of a high-rise building, the floor of a basketball arena, or on the fifty-yard line of a football stadium.

While exclusive and spectacular, Nelson also knew of the challenges of unique locations. He had produced many outdoor events in challenging locations like on a driving range with no event amenitiesmeaning no bathrooms, power, kitchen, tables, stage, chairs, lights, sound, or anything else. In contrast, when producing events

in the confines of a "big beige box of a ballroom," the hotel resources and staff were a safety net for all the basics required to execute a generic dinner or reception.

Though to many outside the event industry a unique or non-traditional venue like a beach for a wedding reception (versus a standard or traditional venue like a reception hall) might not seem that "unique," the term was used to convey the unpredictability associated with such a venue. For example, during a beach wedding the wind could start blowing, getting sand in the guests' eyes. The bride's veil could go sailing into the ocean. A flea-bitten, mangy dog could go running through the aisles of chairs. As an event planner and producer, Nelson had to try to predict the unpredictable in such venues.

Although these non-traditional venues came with higher risks, according to Nel- son, the rewards were usually more memorable. Unlike the safe, reliable, and available elements found in a hotel banquet room, country club, or other permanent event structure, many components were nonexistent at unique venues. This often required the producer to literally start with a blank canvas. However, it also necessitated that the event producer act in a responsible manner and conduct a risk analysis, conveying the results to his or her client in order for the client to make an informed decision whether or not to use a unique venue.

Planning, Planning,anDmorePlanning

Planning the Forum Tires event was just one of the five generally recognized critical phases of event management: research, design, planning, coordination, and evalua- tion. According to Nelson, the phases were not sequential. The phases were woven throughout the entire process. For example, one would have already dipped his or her artist brush onto the design palette when the proposal was created in answer to the RFP. Depending on the theme, an event producer would have delved into research so that his or her proposal would speak with authenticity. More research would have been done to accurately cost out the services. The planning would have already begun: vendor lists, spreadsheets, and timelines would have been created as the proposal was being submitted. All of this would have been done and the event manager does not even have the job yet.

For Nelson, event production was all about teamwork. His vendors and indepen- dent contractors were the backbone of his events. He did not even think of them as vendors, independent contractors, or laborers. They were just part of a team he had built through the years. He rarely had communication breakdowns with them. Nelson believed they all "had each other's back." His event manager, Robyn Hadden, believed that everyone in DNP and the vendors and independent contractors had an "all hands on deck, roll up your sleeves" mentality. This mentality came from years of weeding out the vendors who proved to be unethical and working with the ones who, in addi- tion to being talented, shared DNP's value system. Any communication breakdowns Nelson had typically came from dealings with clients.

theteam

Nelson, however, had few problems working with Forum Tires. Over a period of nine months, layouts, designs, and ideas were formulated through many hours of critical thinking and planning with corporate officers from Forum Tires, the Wynn Las Vegas

Event Management Department, and the staff of DNP (seeExhibit 2). Specifically, Nelson had been working closely with Beard (the VP of marketing for Forum Tires) and Matheny (the event coordinator for Forum Tires who worked under Beard). He had established a collaborative working relationship with them both.

Also critical to the team was DNP's event manager, Robyn Hadden. Hadden had a master's degree in hospitality, with a concentration in special events, and had also earned her Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) designation. (SeeExhibit 3for other people involved in the planning and production of the event).

Additionally, Nelson had been working with Caroline Wallace from Wynn Las Vegas, having negotiated all facets of the event with her. He had had to coordinate the production of the event (which was his responsibility) with the production of the food and beverage (which was the responsibility of Wynn Las Vegas). However, six months before the event, while they were in the middle of the planning stages for it, Wallace retired. Her replacement, the new director of events, was Tracy Richards.

Richards was affable and seemingly competent according to staff members and other vendors in Las Vegas with whom Nelson talked, despite her short time in the events industry and her young age. Nelson estimated that she looked about in her late twenties. While he did not know her specific industry experience, Nelson's assessment was that "Tracy didn't seem like 'the sharpest knife in the drawer.'" He noted to his wife that Richards seemed in over her head. She ran around out of breath and was always on her cell phone. While he thought Richards was beautiful, articulate, and outgoing, she seemed a bit overwhelmed at times and not completely in control. She did not seem like a detail person at all.

Despite his reservations about Richards, Nelson felt that, overall, there were some strong players on the team. However, he confided in his wife the night before the Forum Tires event that he had a gnawing feeling lurking in the corner of his mind that if there was a wild card in the deck it just might be Richards. However, given that he was a small, independent event management company, and the event industry in Las Vegas was a small world in many respects, he could not risk irritating Richards by going over her head, complaining to her boss, and voicing his concerns and reserva- tions about her competence. Nelson feared that doing so would be a death sentence as other venues would be leery to work with him. All he felt he could do was to be prepared to deal with whatever consequences might occur if Richards proved to be untrustworthy.

riskmanagement anDcontingencyPlanning

In his twelve years of event production experience, Nelson had produced unusual and big events such as "Welcome Home for the Troops" for the city of Las Vegas. This event recognized the efforts of those involved in the Gulf War and had 17,000 attendees. Other events included "Revolution in Motion" for American Cyanamid, a Fortune 100 Company and "Doki, Doki, Bon Bon" for All Japan Supermarkets, with a Japanese script and cast. Nelson even produced and performed at a New Year's Eve event at Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas for 20,000 people as part of DNP. From his experience with these unusual and/or large events, he knew he always needed to plan for something to go wrong at an event.

He had always found solutions that allowed events to continue safely in the face of adversity. Risk management was part of the planning stage and was a major concern

for all his events. In fact, it was an ethical priority to maintain the safety of his guests. He wanted the guests to have a wonderful experience but not at the expense of some- one getting injured. But, the nature of the business was that things would go wrong. Thus he also had to be a good "trouble shooter"at the same time always realizing the show must go on. The fact was Nelson described himself as more of a "visceral guy than an analytical guy." He believed he had to know in his gut that something was going to go wrong and be confident that he could deal with it.

His goal was to analyze the event and attempt to anticipate all the places where something might go wrong. Contingency plans were part of his planning, but when he was using sixty foot hot air balloons and helicopters like for the Forum Tires event there was not much he could do to accommodate the elements of an event like this.

In terms of placement of the hot air balloons and helicopters, Nelson noted that they were at least fifty yards from anything else. The distance between each balloon was not regulated but the common sense ruleviolated all the time according to Nelsonwas approximately the height of the balloon when inflated. If one had caught fire, damage would have been only to the balloon that was on fire. Very seldom had Nelson seen an entire balloon go up in flames. The balloons were made of polyester fiber treated with a fire retardant, and polyester was not a fast burning fabric. To some extent it was self- extinguishing. However, emergency medical technicians were to be on-site during the Forum Tires event because it was due diligence. Fire inspections had been performed prior to the event because of the tent and the fireworks and the nearest fire station was alerted to the elements of the event.

With the placement of the helicoptersand again this was not regulatedNelson worked with the helicopter company and together they decided to position the heli- copters a bit over 100 yards from the tent and the balloons on a concrete slab that was surprisingly available behind the tent. This minimized the main rotor turbulence and the noise near the tent. He floodlighted the area and the pilots did a test run the night before to insure that the plan would be workable.

When trying to describe how he decided whether or not to develop a contin- gency for each of the elements of the event, Nelson noted that he was a naysayer by natureit was in his DNA. He began with the fun ideas and then immediately went to the possibility of disaster. The best advice of the providers7was usually the best barometer as to the feasibility of a program. Neither party wanted life-changing lawsuits nor injured attendees. Nelson then went beyond that and investigated the fire codes, permits, state and federal regulations, and whatever current laws had been passed relating to the event anomaly. He believed, however, that he could not really have a contingency plan to fly hot air balloons. If it was too windy the balloons just would not fly. The client was informed of this and if it blew too hard that equaled no balloons. Of course, if it was too windy to be on the golf course, there was always the option of moving the event inside the Wynn Las Vegas if space was available. However, then Forum Tires would have just another "rubber chicken" dinner and this was not something Nelson was willing to consider.8

Though Nelson attempted to develop contingency plans for those aspects of the event that he could, he also took out insurance called an "additional insured." This was when a provider put DNP on his/her insurance for the duration of the event only. Sometimes it was mutual and DNP put the providers on his insurance as well. With most insurance companies this was done at no charge but in some cases Nelson had

to pay a small fee for the service$100 to $200 was normal. This was not a blanket provision but exclusive to the service provider of each element of the event as needed. Nelson's main concern with the helicopters was to just keep them flying as he was not overly concerned with a helicopter crash. In terms of the fireworks, the only thing that could stop them was wind just like with the balloons and it was unavoidable. If it was too windy for fireworks, they could not be taken inside. In regard to fire codes, Nelson noted that the fire inspector for events did not cite chapter and verse unless there was an infraction. If it was fixable the inspector would tell him what to do. If not, the inspector would tell him not to proceed or to tear it down; there was no appealing the decision. Additionally, permits were obtained by the fireworks company as it was paid to do. Nelson believed he had a feel for what would work and what would not, but he put the responsibility on the provider of services and it was the fireworks com-

pany who needed to obtain the permits and comply with the regulations. During a site inspection of the golf course at the Wynn, Nelson had begun deciding where he was going to put what feature of the event. He had determined these in pre- event meetings with the providers of services he dealt with during the design phase. As Nelson got new information from them, he tweaked what activities should be where in

terms of traffic flow, minimum safety distances, access for delivery trucks, etc. After the deal was signed with Forum Tires, Nelson developed a draft site plan after multiple on-site meetings, and then sent it to his client. Sometimes Nelson would dis- cuss the developing site plan with Beard and Matheny of Forum Tires on a daily basis, negotiating placement of features and activities. In terms of the placement of food and beverages (F&B), it was a given that the F&B would be either in or immediately outside the tent for this event because that was where the tables and chairs were going to be. However, placement of the F&B was not the first thing decided on the site plan. According to Nelson, he needed to know where the "big stuff" was going to be first and then work out a traffic flow for the F&B from the master placement of the tent and surrounding event elements. Ultimately, the F&B as well as the stage was placed

inside the tent.

coorDination oF theevent

The assembly for the Forum Tires event infrastructure9included erection and place- ment of the tent, bathrooms, generators, water access, stage, lights, sound, and any other pieces of equipment and dcor for any purpose on-site. Usually with an event of this size and nature, DNP would have been given a full day before the event to go on- site and begin setting up. But because it was being held on a driving range of a premier golf course, DNP could not gain access until 6:00 a.m. the morning of the event.

As a result, the DNP warehouse became a staging area for the event.10For example, centerpieces that would normally have had the final stages of construction performed on-site because of their fragility were completed in the warehouse since there would be no time the day of the event to put them together on-site. Steaming of draping for inside a tent had previously always been done on-site, but for the Forum Tires event it was done at the warehouse. Had the staging area been on-site, music and lighting equipment would have been transported in their highly protective Anvil cases. Instead, trusses for lighting and stage dcor were pieced together in the warehouse.

DNP intern, Eric Puhl, a twenty-year-old University of South Carolina college student with some event tech experience, oversaw this assembly and staging process

with Nelson and Hadden on the premises. Puhl was in many respects a right-hand man to Nelson, though he was expected to do "whatever, whenever, for whomever, when needed," according to Nelson. To Puhl, it was a dream job, having the experi- ence to work in a mega-event city like Las Vegas for an event producer like Nelson. By working for a small event producer, Puhl was given the opportunity to learn almost all aspects of event management. Nelson expected him to take initiative and jump right in. If Puhl had interned at a large events facility in Las Vegas, he would likely have been tasked with assembling center pieces all day long.

The assembly for the Forum Tires' Up, Up, and Away! event infrastructure had begun six days before the event. The loading of the DNP trucks with decorations, props, costumes, furniture, on-site diagrams, stage plots, schematics, production schedules, and other integral componentsboth creative and logisticalhad begun the day before the event. Nelson personally oversaw the loading of the DNP trucks at the warehouse. He was especially concerned with loading due to the fragile nature of already assembled components of the event.

Day oF theevent

While Nelson would have liked to start set up the night before the event, he was pre- vented from doing so because the golf course crew had to mow and flag the sprinkler heads on the driving range. Thus, at 4:00 a.m. the morning of the event, Nelson oversaw the final loading of the DNP trucks. Each truck arrived a bit before 6:00 a.m. at the Wynn Las Vegas golf course, ready to be unloaded. Nelson was stationed at the trucks, making sure all items were being properly transported to their assigned loca- tions on the driving range at the Wynn.

Plans for the event included the erection of a new 50' 100' tent that was to house much of the event. Precise details indicating where every element was to be installed, both inside and outside of the tent, were coordinated among the service providers following a site plan created by DNP. This site plan was included as an addendum to the production schedule. The production schedule had been created by Nelson. It was then distributed to the team:

All DNP staff.

Event vendors (contracted by and paid for by DNP).

Forum Tires' CEO David Oakley, and Chloe Beard, vice president of

Marketing.

Wynn Las Vegas golf course management.

The labor pool from the Wynn Las Vegas. The pool consisted of the crews

assembling the dance floor and stage for the band, and the catering crews set- ting up of all F&B infrastructure.

Nelson had begun creating the production schedule for the Forum Tire event as soon as a vendor was confirmed and the footprint of all elements was known (seeExhibit 4).11

According to Nelson, he lived and died by the production schedule the day of the event. When things went wrong there would be a domino effect with his set up. One of the ways he had built a good relationship with his vendors (i.e., service providers) was he immediately let them know when he was running behind schedule, so their time was not wasted sitting around lined up waiting to unload and set up. Everything

was set up in a particular order: Stages got set up first, then the lights, then the sound, then the band, etc. then tables, then centerpieces, etc. Balloons were last.

After arrival at the Wynn, DNP workers unloaded lots of dcor. The dcor included swagging for the tent ceiling (about 100 yards of fabric), materials to build additional centerpieces for all forty-three tables that would eventually be placed inside the tent, and other items not subcontracted including a kind of mobile on-site office for Nelson. This early in the day there were but a few items beginning to arrive on-site. Because most positioning depended on the completion of the tent, not much had arrived but would by around 11:00 a.m. The hot air balloons were scheduled for mid-afternoon set-up around 3:00 p.m. or so. The helicopter company would be using a concrete rectangle near the rear of the tent as a launch pad. It had been a former parking area for the golf carts. Later in the day flood lights would be placed to help the pilots with night visibility of the landing site.

Besides Nelson's employees who were unloading the trucks, random golf course groundskeeper employees were doing their usual daily work. The tent crew from the tent company was there, beginning to set up the tent. Hotel executives were curious as to the nature of the set up and periodically wandered in and out of the area to see what was going on. The same was true with a few people of the Forum Tires group staying at the Wynn. Most of them, however, had already gone to the trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, an event they were attending in addition to the dealer appreciation event.

exPect theunexPecteD

The weather predictions were that it would be a crystal clear evening so the lights of the Las Vegas Strip would form a magnificent backdrop for the Forum Tires event. Despite these favorable conditions, Nelson knew that he was likely to face hurdles commonly associated with events located in unique venues.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., as Nelson was overseeing the unloading of his trucks, he received a call from Puhl. "Dan," gasped Puhl, "we have a big problem. One of the tent guys hit a water line with a tent stake and we are getting a s*%t-load of water right at the entrance of the tent. What do you want me to do?" Puhl was "freaked out by all that water," and was hoping that Nelson would tell him what to do.

"G*d d*mmit!" blurted Nelson into his cell phone. "Get the first groundskeeper you see and get the water shut off immediately. I mean run, call, send up a flare, start shouting, do whatever you can to get some help. Get that water off! I will be there as fast as I can," shouted Nelson as he began sprinting toward his golf cart. "F**k!" thought Nelson, "I need this like a shot to the head. I've got to get over there now!"

While racing to the tent site, Nelson called the head groundskeeper at the Wynn, Terry Cornett, and he and Cornett arrived at the tent within one minute of each other. The water mess looked scary to Nelson. The entrance to the tent and approximately sixteen feet into the tent were now a small pond with a bubbling fountain in the center (seeExhibit 5). Not only was this area flooded, but the event was less than eight hours away from arriving guests. Nelson immediately thought about moving the tent but worried there was not enough time to do that. Despite the "million crazy thoughts" racing through his mind, Nelson looked calm to the random passersby. They did not know what was going on. He was careful to be selective with whom he told about the situation until he could get some kind of a "half-assed solution to sell to the client," or

a real plan to save the mess. He also had a hundred questions. Where was the Wynn on-site management? Who was in charge of these tent workers? As it turned out, nobody was supervising. Frank Moore, the owner of the tent company, was on-site but not at the tent location at the time. Nelson had no idea where he was. Workers had been given tasks and seemed to be doing their best to get them done on their own, however inadequately Nelson thought they were doing.

Nelson queried Cornett. "What the f**k happened? All these tent stake points were flagged off according to the diagram you gave us and your guys did the flagging. So, seriously, what the f**k? Where in the hell did this water line come from?"

"I don't know. It's not on the irrigation blueprints for this part of the driving range," replied Cornett. "My guess is that there were changes made and a line was cut and capped a long time ago and never changed on the plans. This course is over thirty years old and there have been a lot of changes over the years."

Nelson's mind was working in overdrive. "OK. How screwed are we? Is there any way to get this usable for the event tonight?" asked Nelson.

"Well, this drains pretty fast," replied Cornett. "If we can give it about an hour and then compact the soil and lay sand over the top it might be firm enough to walk on." Nelson questioned whether this fix would work. Where he and Cornett were stand-

ing in about two to three inches of water, a predicted 350 attendees would be walking back and forth through the entrance of the tent during the event tonight. Nelson wondered if the entrance would be a mess. How long would the fix last? Though the ground was flat and hence the water was dissipating fairly evenly, the area was still very soggy and there was standing water immediately at the surface. However, Nelson also knew that golf courses were designed to drain quickly because if it rained, manage- ment did not want to shut down the course unless it was absolutely necessary.

At this point, Frank Moore from Moore Tents approached Nelson and Cornett. Nelson was beside himself. "Frank, this is a f**kin' mess!" Moore swore his crew fol- lowed the plan to the letter. He and Nelson lamented their "crappy luck" given that the water line was only one inch in diameter.

Nelson conveyed to Moore his brief discussion with Cornett and made a decision to let the water drain for about forty-five minutes and then reassess the situation.

Nelson turned to Cornett. "You get your guys busy and I will go get my guys busy and we'll take another look at this in about forty-five minutes, OK?" The men agreed. Cornett wanted to do all he could to help, but was angry. Nelson knew he was not mad at him, but Cornett appeared to want to kill the tent crew. About four or five of Cornett's groundskeepers arrived and began to assess the damage. While the water was starting to drain, the groundskeepers proceeded to the equipment shack to get the tools and sand to begin the fix.

Damagecontrol

Nelson consulted his production schedulethe "Holy Grail" of all event documents (see Exhibit 4)which he kept printed out on a clip board. According to him, "While other event planners use fancy-schmancy GANTT charts and software and apps and s%*t, I like good ol' reliable paper. Plus, from all my experience, I just keep a lot of things organized in my head."

Nelson referred to the schedule to determine how the on-site brainstormed fix for the water line break would impact the remainder of vendors scheduled to arrive

throughout the day. Even without looking at the schedule, he knew what the impact of this water problem was going to be on the remainder of the set up. Every minute of time needed to get the tent installers back to work would be a minute of delay for the arriving vendors and the Wynn's event staff.

Back overseeing the unloading of the trucks again, Nelson looked at his watch. The time was 10:20 a.m. and the first guests were scheduled to arrive at 6:00 p.m. Produc- tion was now an hour behind schedule. While Nelson was still trying to figure out what to do about the standing water situation at the tent site and how to make up for lost time, he received another call from Puhl regarding the forklift being stuck in the muddy entrance to the tent.

"Where did I screw up?" Nelson asked Puhl rhetorically. "Do I really need to tell Wynn management that they need to supervise their own workers? I mean, come on. And who had the brilliant idea to drive a 1.5 ton forklift into a sea of mud, because frankly I want that guy removed from the area."

Nelson soon discovered that the delivery of tables had been Tracy Richards' mistake. He could not believe she failed to call her internal departments to tell them to hold off on deliveries to the "mud hole" (as Nelson now referred to it). Puhl had been instructed by Nelson to call Richards' office when the water line was hit. However, her secretary informed Puhl that Richards was out showing the property to a prospective client and was not answering her phone. Puhl left a message to be conveyed to Richards, but it appeared Richards never got the message and, unknowingly, had instructed her staff to start delivering banquet tables to the tent. Richards' staff had started delivering the banquet tables during the time the "mud hole" was supposed to be draining for forty- five minutes.

Forklifts were heavy counter-weighted pieces of equipment, made mostly of steel with small hard rubber wheels. They were not intended to be driven on grass under any circumstances. Now, however, Nelson was looking at one sunk up to its axles in thick mud and loaded with eight-to-ten banquet tables. There was no way it could be driven out under its own power. All the driver had done was to dig it further into the mud by spinning the ineffectual wheels repeatedly, making it one with the ground. What Nelson had thought might have been fixable was now a mess. He surmised that Richards had not had enough help scheduled, and this may have contributed to a fork- lift being used by the catering crew. Regardless of the reason for using it, the forklift could not be moved and the damage to the already wet ground was compounded by the burrowing forklift. Before long a gaggle of supervisors was blankly staring at the forklift.

Soon Tracy Richards arrived and joined Nelson, Moore, and Cornett, among oth- ers who had congregated at the site. Nelson approached Richards. "Did you think to stop all hotel activities and deliveries to the tent until we had figured out what to do next?" She had not since she had never received the message, and the expression on her face showed it when she exclaimed, "Oh my God!" She got on her phone immediately and relayed to her office a directive. "Stop everythingstop all activity and deliver- ies to the golf course driving range until further notice. I will get back to you with an update ASAP." This officially stopped the deliveries from the catering and events department.

"I think we'll be OK," Nelson told Richards, though he was thinking something else.

He was angry at himself for not keeping a better eye on Richards. However, he felt he could not have gone around second guessing her when they had been in the plan- ning stages for the event. And during the set-up he could not go around the golf course and tell her how to do her job. Las Vegas was a small towneveryone in the event industry knew one anotherand Nelson did not want to get her in trouble. Chances were he would have to work with her again, either at the Wynn or another property, and he did not want to ruin the little bit of a relationship they had.

In terms of what to do, Nelson was mulling over options in his head. He said to Richards and the others standing there, "If the forklift had the Forum Tires logo on it, I could decorate the f**kin' thing, put a couple of showgirls on it, and call it a photo op." While his quip broke the tension by making those standing there laugh, Nelson was anything but jovial on the inside. He was afraid that whatever the Wynn had to throw at the problem would not be enough. He was in a real mess and the scariest thing about it was that time was marching on and this bad situation just kept getting worse.

It was now 10:40 a.m. and Nelson was trying to quickly anticipate and plan for the repercussions that would follow from having a soggy tent with a forklift stuck in the middle of the entrance.

Exhibit 1: Forum Tire Up, Up, and Away! Dealer Appreciation Event Proposal

As guests arrive at the Wynn Las Vegas, they are immediately aware that something spe-cial is about to happen. Helicopters, hot air balloons blasting fire into the night, dancingsixty-foot-tall white lighted air tubes, a huge tent, strolling entertainers in fanciful and exotic costumes, the sound of a live band and the smells of food from action stations at the buffet all signal a fantastic experience is about to unfold.

Entertainmentboth musical and dance routines from eight performers in themed costumes augment the strolling characters. Golf games and challenges offer interactive fun for all as attendees stroll across the perfectly manicured grass at this internationally ranked golf venue.

Prior to your president's program, food and drink will welcome your guests and prime them for a good time. Your car giveawaya Toyota Tundrawill be just outside the tent entrance and lighted for photos. Announcements will call all into the tent to hear a message from your president. Then the helicopter rides begin and the hot air balloons continue their tethered rides 100 feet into the air for a spectacular view of the Las Vegas Strip.

The band and dancers continue to perform and as the event nears its end guests will becalled outside for a custom fireworks display choreographed to "Up, Up and Away" by the5th Dimension.

This signals the end of a memorable evening.

Estimated Forum Tires Pricing

100 Venue

101 Wynn Golf Course

102 Tent 50' 100'

103 Tent Permit

200 Utilities

201 Generators (2) 75 KW w 200 Amp Panels

202 Portapotties with SinksTrailers

Quantity Price

1 $112,500.00

1 $12,352.50

1 $487.50

2 $3,300.00

3 $4,350.00

Total

$112,500.00

$12,352.50

$487.50

$6,600.00

$13,050.00

300 Staging

Stage16' Deep 24' W 24" H, Skirted

Dance Floor

Star Curtain

400 Transportation

401 Buses 55 Passengers4 hours

500 Catering

501 Food and Beverage

502 Tables (43) and Chairs (375)

600 Dcor

601 Air Star Balloons with Custom Logos

602 Fabric Swagging

1

1

1

4

350

2

1

$5,250.00

$3,300.00

$1,800.00

$1,461.00

$187.50

$11,700.00

$1,215.00

$5,435.00

$118.50

$270.00

$8,250.00

$937.50

$817.50

$28,125.00

$5,250.00

$18,000.00

$600.00

$3,000.00

$6,150.00

$105.00

$825.00

$450.00

$675.00

$2,950.00

$5,250.00

$5,250.00

$3,300.00

$1,800.00

$5,844.00

$65,625.00

$11,700.00

$2,430.00

$5,435.00

$5,095.50

$1,080.00

$8,250.00

$6,562.50

$6,540.00

$28,125.00

$5,250.00

$18,000.00

$600.00

$3,000.00

$18,450.00

$23,100.00

$12,375.00

$2,250.00

$1,350.00

$2,950.00

$5,250.00

603 Centerpieces 43

604 Buffet Dcor Pieces

700 Entertainment

701 Rockfield Drive Band

702 Strolling Entertainers

703 Dancers with Three Costume Changes

800 Lighting

801 Lights in TentStageand Area Lighting

900 Sound

901 Sound System

1000 Special Effects

1001 Fireworks

1002 Fireworks Permit

1100 Games and Rides

1101 Driving Cage, Chipping, and Putting

1102 Hot Air Balloons

1103 Helicopter Rides

1200 Labor

1201 Production Assistants

1202 Administrative Staff

4

1

7

8

1

1

1

1

1

3

220

15

5

1203 Supervisors 2

1204 Dan Nelson On-site 1

1300 Insurance

1301 General Liability Rider 1

TOTAL

$394,602.00

Exhibit 3: Key Players Involved in the Event

Name Organization Role

Dan Nelson, CSEP, CMP Owner/Producer	Dan Nelson Productions	Nelson was ultimately responsible for everythingas far as his client Forum Tires was concerned. His company was the provider/coordina- tor of all aspects of the event. This included all vendor agreements, licenses, insurances, site inspections, etc. However, DNP did not han- dle food and beverage (F&B). Wynn Las Vegas provided all F&B for the event and worked directly with Nancy Matheny, event coordinator for Forum Tires.
David Oakley, CEO	Forum Tires	There was no contact between Nelson and the Forum Tires CEO regarding production of the event. Nelson had consistent communica- tion with the VP of Marketing, Chloe Beard, and she communicated with the CEO.
Chloe Beard, VP of Marketing	Forum Tires	Chloe Beard was the primary contact for Nelson. She would make a call on a decision if she was comfortable doing so. For the big changes she went to the higher ups in her company. She reported directly to the CEO. Nelson and Beard would meet on average once per week. During these meetings, each would update the other. Additionally, any changes the CEO desired would be communicated to Nelson during these meet- ings. As the planning progressed and the date of the event drew closer, Nelson was copied on all changes, additions, and/or deletions as the process of creation continued.
Nancy Matheny, Event Coordinator	Forum Tires	Nancy Matheny worked directly under Chloe Beard. She was on con- ference calls with Nelson and copied on all e-mail correspondence between Nelson and Beard. She arrived in town early to help with some of the pre-event staging that took place at Dan Nelson Productions.
Robyn Hadden, CSEP Event Manager	Dan Nelson Productions	Robyn Hadden dealt with all vendors in Nelson's absence, updated thetime line and production schedule, and carried the "event bible" (bigbook of paperwork, including production schedule, timeline, master contract with client, and all vendor agreements). She was on-site, and assisted with on-site overview and management of entertainers as they arrived for the evening.
Jasmine Moondance, Designer	Dan Nelson Productions	Moondance created and submitted designs until Forum Tires signed- off on all the design elements. After approval of design elements,Moondance began to purchase needed materials and "test run" thecenterpiece construction to see how much lead time and pre-assembly would be needed prior to on-site arrival. She also ensured that all mate-rials used were fire retardant. Moondance was on-site the day of theevent. Her job was to direct the installation of all signs, lights, swagging, and other dcor elements.
Tracy Richards, Director of Events	Wynn Las Vegas	Tracy Richards' event duties were to coordinate all services for theevent such as F&B, linens, tables and chairs, staging and dance floor,as well as the Wynn Las Vegas Golf Course.
Terry Cornett, Golf Course Manager	Wynn Las Vegas	Terry Cornett was responsible for overseeing the grounds maintenance at the driving range and course as well as marking sprinkler heads andwater lines with flags.
Catering Department	Wynn Las Vegas	Chloe Beard and Nancy Matheny from Forum Tires spoke to them often to determine F&B needs. Nelson was not part of that process.
Meetings and Conventions Department	Wynn Las Vegas	Everything for set-up not involving F&B was handled by this department (including power drops, staging, etc.) The services from this departmentwere directed by Richards's office. Anything having to do with F&B washandled by the catering department because those employees were represented by a different union than those of the Meetings and Con- ventions Department.

Exhibit 4: Condensed Production Schedule12

Production Schedule Forum Tires

Start Time End Time Task Location Person Responsible

4:30 a.m.	5:30 a.m.	Load Trucks	Dan Nelson Productions Warehouse	Dan Nelson Eric Puhl
7:00 a.m.	11:00 a.m.	Setup Tent	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Frank Moore, Moore Tents
9:00 a.m.	11:30 a.m.	Lighting Installation	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Dave Mazur, Mazur Lighting
9:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.	Draping of Fabric from Ceiling of Tent	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Ken Hurdle, Event Designs-Stage Dcor
10:00 a.m.	11:00 a.m.	Stage Set-up and Dance Floor	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Ken Hurdle, Event Designs-Stage Dcor
8:00 a.m.	4:00 p.m.	Hang two Screens and Two Projectors	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Dave Mazur, Mazur Lighting
10:00 a.m.	12:00 p.m.	DeliverySet-up Tables, Chairs	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Wynn Banquet Department
11:30 a.m.	12:30 p.m.	Stage Dcor	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Ken Hurdle, Event Designs-Stage Dcor
12:00 p.m.	1:00 p.m.	Sound	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Sonny Maupin, New World Audio
12:00 p.m.	4:00 p.m.	Set tables, Chairs, Buffet Tables	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Mike Brown, Wynn Hotel Banquet Department
2:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	Furniture Rental for Dressing Rooms	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Beverley Yates, Somers Furniture Rental
12:00 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	Drop Cables for Fireworks	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Tom Gittens, Advanced Entertainment Services-Pyro
12:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	Hot Air Balloons Set-up	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Susan Bray
1:00 p.m.	3:30 p.m.	Golf Driving Cages, Chipping, Putting	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Gary Bordman, Absolute Amusements
2:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	Test Power Point and Prezi Screens	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Eric Puhl, Dan Nelson Productions
2:00 p.m.	4:00 p.m.	Band Set-up	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Roby Turner
4:00 p.m.	4:30 p.m.	Sound Check	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Roby Turner

4:00 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	Environmental Entertainers	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Robin Finn, Premiere Models
5:45 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	Food, Beverage, Catering, Delivery and Set-upWynn Banquet Department	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Wynn Catering
6:00 p.m.	7:00 p.m.	Guests Arrive	South Side Parking Lot	UNLV Students Will Meetand Greet; Eric Puhl
10:00 p.m.	3:00 a.m.	Tear-Down of the Event	Wynn Golf Course Driving Range	Dan Nelson Productions and all vendors
Sub-Contractors: Lantis PyrotechnicsFireworks display; Bob Lantis, owner Up and AwayTethered hot-air balloon rides; Bob Jones, owner Sundance HelicoptersHelicopter rides over the Las Vegas strip Roby TurnerRockfield Drive Band Moore TentsMain event tent; Frank Moore, CEO Absolute AmusementsGolf driving cage Hire Power: GeneratorsGlen Stetson, general manager Top Hat EnterprisesLuxury Bathrooms; Sue Bussell, owner Air Dimensional DesignsSixty foot dancing cylinders

Exhibit 5: Tent Site Map

notes

A designer was responsible for designing the look and theme of an event or exhibition and/or implementing the look of an event.

Small event companies typically produced anywhere from one to twenty-four events/year, depending on the size of the events. A medium-sized event com- pany might produce twenty-five to seventy-five events/year, and large event companies, like Harmon Events in Washington, D.C., or MGM Mirage Events in Las Vegas, Nevada, produced anywhere from 200 to 500 events/year.

The CSEP designation required a rigorous examination as well as an events portfolio. It also included a prerequisite of three years of continuous industry experience before one was granted permission to sit for the exam.

The event industry consisted of gatherings or public assemblies for the purpose of celebration, education, marketing, and reunion. It included firms involved in the process of research, design, planning, executing, and evaluating such events.

Although Nelson was given ten days to respond to the RFP, most event planners would be given two to three days to respond.

"Up, Up and Away" was a 1967 song written by Jimmy Webb an