Allison Giehl (L) joined by Founder Drew Dedo and Creative Director Kasey Dedo from Harbor Entertainment in South Florida
Ohio Alum, Allison Giehl moved to Nashville in 2014 after graduating from OU in 2012 with a focus on Restaurant, Hotel, Tourism. Currently, Allison is an Event Coordinator for the Nashville based Harbor Entertainment, which strengthens brand connections through their innovative approach to events, experiences, exhibits, and creative development. Allison shared with NashvilleBobcats.com, that she had been doing independent contract work occasionally in Nashville for Harbor Entertainment since 2014. But recently was offered a more part-time position in August 2018, with a focus on working in their office and traveling with them for larger projects. Recent three projects traveled the team from Harbor to West Palm Beach and Miami from January 27-February 14.
Allison shared, “ The first week we were setting up in West Palm Beach for the Norton Museum of Art Gala on February 2nd. We designed and produced this entire event and acted as an extension of the special events team at the museum. This was our third year working with the Norton and the gala celebrated the opening of the Museum’s transformative Foster + Partners-designed expansion with nearly 800 people in attendance. We were in Miami for the second week assisting with the Market America World Conference at the American Airlines Arena. We oversaw the exhibit design and installation for 20+ booths in the concourse. We also coordinated the show’s special effects and specialty builds. We will be assisting them again at their International Convention in the fall in Greensboro, NC. This show marks our 16th year working with Ashley Events on Market America. We then went back to the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach to transform the tent with an entirely new look to house The 61st International Red Cross Ball February 9th. With a theme of “Salute to the Military” the ball celebrated over 130 years of Red Cross support and service to the Armed Forces with over 400 guests in attendance. My focus was to assist with travel itineraries for all staff, on-site builds and on-site event logistics during events along with managing all social media for Harbor Entertainment at each event.”
For Giehl, it was amazing to see the events come together after almost a year’s worth of designing and planning. And after previously only being involved with smaller scale Harbor events it was really eye-opening for her to see the team’s hard work flawlessly produce an event as large as an 800 person gala. After the event concluded she was left with a the “sky’s the limit” mentality as far as what Harbor Entertainment is capable of producing.
Harbor Entertainment Founder Drew Dedo shared his takeaway from the run of projects in South Florida. “We accomplished a lot in a very short period of time due to our planning and the team I surround myself with. We were faced with an expedited timeline due to the grand opening of the museum and in doing so the site continued to change all the way through the first week of load-in. Being flexible and adapting to change is paramount in this industry and I feel we welcome it and execute it every time. “
We asked Allison how her time spent at OU prepared her for the type of work she is doing now with Harbor Entertainment, and she said, “All of my Restaurant, Hotel, Tourism courses and my position as the Special Events Manager at the Ping Recreation Center paved the way for me to to continue and excel in my event planning career.” Other Ohio Alumni living here in Nashville should know that Harbor Entertainment, would love to act as an extension of your team and oversee your events, from the big picture to the smallest detail. Whether it’s one-of-a-kind meetings, brand activations, trade shows, corporate appreciation events or building show stopper specialty pieces, our passion creates spectacular events. Follow us @harborent! Email me at allison@harbor-entertainment.com if you’re interested in learning more about what Harbor Entertainment can do!
