Team Approach to Events
Track: Business Administration

Thursday, April 30th | 1:15 - 2:30pm
Speakers: Pat Harris, City of Bellevue; Andy Heider, City of Bellevue; Barry Martin, City of Everett; Jeff Orswell, Orswell Events; Ryan Popke, City of Bellevue and Jon Wilson, City of Bellevue
Room: Ballroom A

Description: After the Recreation staff has scheduled a fantastic event, what challenges does the field staff face?  Site preparation, sani-cans, water, litter and garbage removal, irrigation and many other considerations must be planned out far in advance of the event to help it be successful.  A panel of field staff from different agencies will educate the attendees of these challenges and their success to meet them.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how to work cooperatively with event planners.
• Participants will be able to identify the challenges to the event.
• Participants will gain the logistics to make it succeed.

Speaker Bios: Pat Harris, City of Bellevue

Pat Harris has spent the past 19 years as the Park Operations Manager for the City of Bellevue. As the Park Operations Manager, Pat manages contract administration, park operations, sports field program. Pat has previously worked as the Director of Parks and Recreation for Bremerton, WA and six years with the City of Edmonds as Parks Manager.

Speaker Bios: Jeff Orswell, Orswell Events

Mr. Orswell got his start in the special events industry in 1999, producing events for Seafair, Seattle’s largest summertime festival. As Seafair’s Director of Operations, he produced and directed the Hydroplane Race, Air Show, Torchlight Parade and Run and oversaw all operations on the month-long festival. Jeff then transitioned to corporate events, managing operations and logistics for Microsoft’s largest events around the country. In 2005, he formed Orswell Events, LLC offering planning, promotion and production services for large-scale outdoor special events.  Orswell Events produces over 40 events a year in the Pacific Northwest including the Seahawks 12K Run at The Landing, the Whidbey Island Marathon, the Mercer Island Half, the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K and others and partners with the Rock  ‘n’ Roll Marathon series, managing operations on their events nationwide.

Speaker Bios: Barry Martin, City of Everett

Barry Martin is a Recreation Coordinator for the City of Everett parks and recreation department. He currently supervisors 2 recreation supervisors, a park ranger supervisor and is the department special events and safety coordinator. His experience includes working with numerous small groups from neighborhood Easter Egg Hunts to coordination for the Susan G Komen 3 Day. From Ground breakings for the Comcast Events Center, freeway dedications with Symphony music, ribbon cuttings  or providing sound for the 4th of July parade his experiences are varied and vast. With 30 years of experience for the City of Everett and over 1000 events to his credit, he has seen the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.