THE NEWS from EventWorks, Inc.

  We consider ourselves lucky to have a number of great friends and partners in the event industry with whom we have worked on many projects for many years. So we thought: let's check in with our friends and see what they are up to while much of the nation is relaxing over the summer. First up: Douglas Johnson, owner of EPlus Productions, creative director, choreographer and entertainment producer. It turns out that it's a busy summer! Doug: "We just closed our live show of "Maleficent" at the El Capitan a few days ago. Creating this for Disney was a wonderful opportunity to produce a spectacular show for children. I had the chance to choreograph, direct and costume the show and to retain ownership of the production." "But closing doesn't mean that we spend the rest of the summer at the beach. Besides working on events for the rest of the year, we are already preparing for New Year's Eve. We will be back in Las Vegas, of course, but...

Did you know that Janet started her professional life as a teacher? We are reminded of this fact by Janet’s grammar corrections in our Monday morning meetings and around the office in general. And we agree with Janet that English skills are lacking nowadays! Leave it to our beloved Weird Al to sum it up musically in the most brilliant manner! Just in case you think our blog writing is spastic - we apologize for occasional typos and grammatical errors! ___________________________________________________ We are thrilled and grateful to be nominated for a 2014 ISES Esprit Award for "Reaching New Heights" in the 2014 BEST ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION $25,000 - $75,000 USD category. We look forward to seeing colleagues and friends at the Esprit Award Presentation and Celebration on Wednesday, August 20th in the Grand Ballroom at the Westin Seattle Hotel.

The journey continued! Janet and Steve visited good friend April Gulley in Kampala, Uganda. After all, it was "only" a good 300 miles through Central Africa - an all-day car trip. You may remember: April started her non-profit The Bernie Project in June 2013 to assist children at the Wakiso School of Hope in Uganda. This visit was just in time to say "Happy Anniversary"! Many of our friends in the event industry support The Bernie Project. So we thought it's a good time to get an update on April's courageous adventure. Here the official report: So what has The Bernie Project accomplished in a year with your help? -We have provided 7 months of food: 3 meals a day for 300 children. -We have provided 100 AFRIpad Menstrual Kits. - Provided 10 Tiva Water Filters to WSH to ensure the kids have access to clean drinking water.  -Paid Secondary School fees for 4 children.  -We have provided basic hygiene supplies bathing soap, laundry soap, toothbru...

Can you imagine Janet hiking for 6 hours a day, through muddy mountains, fighting off stinging nettles and poisonous vines? We didn't think so either! But we guess it's all about motivation - and Janet and Steve Elkins have a bucket list they feel passionate about.  "Steve has been interested in nature and preservation for years and we both want to experience some of the World's Wonders before it is too late. Few animals are as endangered as the mountain gorillas. Only about 880 are left in the wild and we found a responsible, sustainable way of visiting and experiencing these wonderful animals in their habitat. The country of Rwanda has made a spectacular recovery from the genocide 20 years ago. It is a great place to visit and we were very impressed how proud and protective Rwandans are of the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains. Poaching and hunting are severely punished. They only allow 80 visitors a day into the mountain range, under the sup...