We’re excited to introduce this week’s Event 360 Teammate Spotlight. Enjoy a glimpse into the personal and professional life of Emily Anderson!
Position: Event Production Manager
Start Year: 2004
Emily is pictured second from left
What job did you hold right before you came to work at Event 360? Event Production Manager with the Special Events Team at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and Pallotta Teamworks on the West Coast Production Team.
Was there anything in particular that brought you to Event 360? The people.
If you weren’t working at Event 360 what would you be doing? Working as a mental health professional specializing in PTSD. As someone who lives with the disorder, it can be a lonely place. I’m passionate about learning more and helping others in a world where the number of PTSD cases will undoubtedly (and sadly) increase. The disorder is still very widely misunderstood, undiagnosed and can be debilitating which is personally both challenging and fascinating.
Favorite part of your job? Working together in partnership with local police, fire, city officials, schools, churches and the community at large.
What do you like to do in your free time? I enjoy opportunities to engage with my community, friends and family which includes laughing and adventuring with my 6 year old daughter (I mean at 6…even every trip to the grocery store is a new adventure).
Most memorable event experience? On the first event of the season—the Boston 3-Day—I was sent on a special ops mission to the Day 1 lunch site. The weather had turned from hot to hotter – pushing 100 degrees. Obviously walking 20 miles in such heat can be depleting, exhausting and dangerous. As a team working with the local authorities we quickly relocated lunch from its original location to a park closer to the campsite – thus shortening the distance of the day’s route while still allowing the participants to eat and get some much needed rest and shade. So many moving pieces in a short amount of time and the staff and volunteers on site hustled under extreme conditions. One of our staff members – Bridget Spence – hustled above and beyond. Talking to participants, giving direction and encouraging others who may have been disappointed to realize the day’s route was to be cut short. She helped load buses to bring participants back to camp safely and stayed working up until the bitter end – cleaning up trash, moving boxes of water and supporting the volunteers breaking down the site. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I learned Bridget’s cancer was back and she had been sick during the event. Hustling right along with the best of them in the heat…going above and beyond to cheer others up and take care of them. I remember being awed, humbled and grateful – to have known her, worked alongside her and been given such a strong and selfless example of service.
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? Not the Space Needle. Instead save a pretty penny and go to the observation level of the Columbia Tower (tallest building west of the Mississippi!) and grab a Starbucks with an incredible view! After a morning view and coffee break you’ll want to hit up Pike Place Market (of course) as it is the city’s unique and thankfully unchanged treasure – fish flying, buskers entertaining, local food tastings and every sense awakened by the sweet smell of flowers from the Snoqualmie Valley. From the Market you can walk DOWN (not even an uphill in this walk!) to the Piers along the waterfront and catch the water taxi for a trip across Elliott Bay (for the greater Puget Sound and city of Seattle is almost ALL water!) to West Seattle – the first neighborhood of Seattle and my home! A free shuttle will greet you for transport to Alki Beach or you can walk, rent bikes, stand up paddle board or kayak around the Duwamish Head Peninsula. Enjoy the journey as you will likely see bald eagles, sea lions, orca whales (at certain times of the year), fish jumping and ferries passing with the majestic snowcapped Olympic Mountains as your background. Visit the Log House Museum (first homestead of Seattle) for a bit of local history and then saunter over to Duke’s to savor a cup of chowder. Finish off your meal with melt in your mouth fish and chips at the iconic Spud’s and then walk across the street to the only sandy beach in the city to relax at a bonfire while watching the sun dip behind the mountains.
On event, what three things are we guaranteed to find in your bag? Headlamp, coffee, lotion/chapstick
One word to describe Event 360? Courageous
