We’re excited to introduce this week’s Event 360 Teammate Spotlight. Enjoy a glimpse into the personal and professional life of Devin Trezise!
Position: Chicago Office Coordinator & Event Merchandise Coordinator
Start Year: 2013
What job did you hold right before you came to work at Event 360? I worked at an international steamship line called MOL (Mitsui OSK Lines) in the exciting world of export documentation customer service. Highlights included reviewing bills of lading, reviewing said bills with foreign customs, and explaining to customers why their shipment of “miscellaneous items and materials” got flagged for inspection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was actually a pretty decent job to start off when I first moved to Chicago, but needless to say, Event 360 is a bit more fulfilling.
Was there anything in particular that brought you to Event 360? I had been looking to get into a line of work with more impact and meaning for a few years, and heard really good things about Event 360 from a friend of mine who worked there. She directed me to the website, and after reading up on awesome events like MuckFest® MS and the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, I filled out an application. A few weeks later, I was sitting at the front desk as the new Chicago Office Coordinator.
If you weren’t working at Event 360 what would you be doing? In my dream world, early retirement. I would definitely not object to spending my days sipping iced drinks on the porch, playing cards, enjoying dinner at 4, and being in bed by 8, haha. But in actuality, if I weren’t working here, I’d look into teaching English abroad again. I spent my first year out of college as a teacher in Taipei, Taiwan, and it was a blast! I think I’d like to hit up someplace like Sweden or Denmark and explore a little of that part of the world while I taught.
Favorite part of your job? Working with the people here, definitely. Everyone I’ve had the chance to meet and talk to at Event 360, whether via email or in person, has been friendly, positive, and genuinely interested in taking the time to work on a project with me, explain a process, or just catch up on what happened over the weekend. The work culture is great, and I’ve made a lot of amazing friends here. Makes coming into the office or flying out to an event lots of fun!
What do you like to do in your free time? Generally, you can find me exploring Chicago. I grew up spending a lot of time outdoors biking, hiking, running, and camping, and while the hiking trails in and around the city here are, ahem, rather limited, I still go on walks around the different neighborhoods, parks, and of course, by Lake Michigan. My coworkers know my Tuesday evenings are dedicated to the 2 hour walk from the loop downtown to my weekly trivia league in the Lakeview neighborhood. Otherwise, I love reading, movies, foreign languages, swing dancing, and a good cup of tea.
Most memorable event experience? Probably when the command RV burned down at MuckFest MS New Jersey this year. One minute I’m selling t-shirts, the next I’m watching smoke pour out of the top of the vehicle’s roof a few hundred feet away. Surprisingly, the participants seemed not to notice, and of course, the on-event staff sprang into action and handled it like champs! Even more surprisingly, the two iPads I was keeping inside for the afternoon survived to tell the tale. If that’s not a positive review for Apple products, I don’t know what is. 😉
You’re showing off your hometown to a friend who has never been to visit before. What’s on your must see/do/eat list? I grew up just outside of Madison, Wisconsin in a town called Middleton. My folks’ house is right by the Pheasant Branch Nature Preserve, which is a great place to enjoy the woods. The Hubbard Street Diner is about a 20 minute walk down the road, and they have the best pie and milk shakes. I’d also recommend driving over to Madison, about 10 minutes away, to see the state capitol building, weekly farmers market, University of Wisconsin campus (Go Badgers!), and then finish up the day with a beer on the Memorial Union Terrace overlooking the lake.
On event, what three things are we guaranteed to find in your bag?
- Leatherman (makes short work of the various stray zip ties and boxes lurking in the merchandise tent)
- A good book (never leave home without one)
- My brand new smart phone! I finally joined everyone in the 21st century this fall and now communicating with everyone on event is a snap, especially considering I used to communicate mainly via carrier pigeon… uh, I mean with my pay-as-you-go flip phone.
One word to describe Event 360? FUN!
