events and marketing
I have spent over seven years organizing 50+ events for non-profit organizations that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes I am passionate about. The events that I put together were often in the form of game shows, live variety shows, festivals, or otherwise fun and participatory occasions that brought together people from diverse backgrounds for camaraderie, fellowship, and dialogue. For these productions, I wrote scripts, marketing materials, sponsorship letters, and often appeared as a guest on local television and radio programs as part of the publicity leading up the event.
THE OTHER AWARDS
The Other Awards was a Community Awards Show, honoring unsung heroes in Birmingham in categories like "Best Activist", "Best Birmingham City School Teacher", "Most Passionate Neighborhood Association Attendee", "Funniest Person", "Best Service Industry Worker", and more. . Winners received replicas of Frank Fleming’s “Storyteller” from the iconic Storyteller Fountain in Birmingham’s Five Points South neighborhood, created by ceramicist Katie Elkins. In addition to the awards presented at the event, two special categories were awarded: Most Inspiring Entrepreneur, and Most Dedicated Parking Lot Attendant.
24 presenters participated in the event, with dialogue written for each by Max.
Will: For a city mired in a dark and troubled past, it would be easy for all humor to slowly be sucked out, drained, and systematically outlawed.
Reed: It would be wholly understandable for people to look at each other with malice and contempt, brows furrowed, and hearts hardened, frowning angrily at the mere sight of their fellow man.
Will: But there are renegades among us! Brave souls whose wit and irreverence break us out of our depression, who make giggles out of gargoyles, and whose senses of humor trump our collective sense of inferiority.
Reed: And in a town filled with medical facilities, it’s not the doctors and nurses who restore our health, it’s these clowns who administer the best medicine.
The phoneys
The Phoneys was a satirical music history awards show, featuring over 50 of Birmingham’s most beloved musicians. Each was transformed into a musical legend in this 90-minute scripted stage production. Winners in each category were awarded golden headphones created by ceramicist, Katie Elkins. The event served as a fundraiser for Girls Rock Birmingham.
Max: Good evening!...Unlike that *other* award show, which caters only to the passing trends of current “popular music”, the Phoneys honors those who have shaped the evolution of music into the litigious and petty landscape we now enjoy.
Abbey: With the help of Alabama’s Occult and Pagan Communities, we’ve managed to bring the stars of recorded music, both currently alive, and formerly dead, together for one night only.
Lake purdy clean up>water protector of the century awards>Positively alabama water
While working at a marketing agency as the account manger for Birmingham’s Water Authority, I organized a cleanup event at one of Birmingham’s primary sources of drinking water during a historic drought. The event was attended by over 100 volunteers, who removed thousands of pounds of trash from Lake Purdy. As part of the event, I established a partnership with the UAB Department of Art & Art History to create art out of some of the trash that was found. Professor Stacey Holloway's sculpture class learned to cast metal, and their finished products came out as a stunning visual reminder of the impact of humans have on our environment. Three of these pieces were presented to Frank Chitwood of the Coosa Riverkeeper, Myra Crawford of the Cahaba Riverkeeper, and Charles Scribner of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper as “Water Protector of the Century Awards” at the annaul “Airwave" festival benefiting local riverkeeper organizations.
In addition to these unique pieces of memorabilia, I also organized an initiative that transformed old wine bottles in “Positively Alabama Water”. Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto famously wrote a series of works titled "Hidden Messages in Water" that claimed human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. Building on this theory, my team created bottles in water in 20 different blessing varietals. Each bottle was sold or auctioned off at the festival, and 100% of the proceeds benefited the local riverkeepers.
From the label
“Originating in the Heart of Dixie, our water is filtered using the most rigorous reverse osmosis process, and blessed with the intentional, focused energy of wise women and wise men. Each varietal of our water is permeated with a positive character trait, so you’re not only drinking better water, you’re also becoming a better person.”
