So much has happened in 2020. As individuals, as a business, as a community, a state, and a nation. 2020 has sure been a year we will not soon forget. We took a moment to share our thoughts on what 2020 has meant to Do Good Events.
Kalsey Beach – President & Founder of Do Good Events
As I reflect on 2020 and how it impacted Do Good Events and our industry the word that comes to my mind is rollercoaster. There were endless peaks, valleys, fears to be overcome, thrill to be found where you least expected it and many people experiencing it together.
We sat with our clients through the terror of something new and unexpected, celebrated the successes (that were often pleasant surprises) and kept moving forward when a new curve was thrown our way – again and again.
It was the hardest year I have ever had as a business owner. Having to layoff wonderful employees, having a situation of your control hurt what you had built and needing to think more innovatively and positively than ever before despite this.
But, I will also celebrate this year. Our community has supported each other in ways that make me so proud. You all gave generously to our non-profit clients, our vendor partners and competitors rose together in solidarity more than ever before, we learned incredible new skills that it turns out we are pretty good at and the trust of our clients in this new space created stronger client relationships than ever before.
I can’t wait to be back in the ballroom, conference room, concert hall, park, country club, tent, home (you name the event space) together soon! The energy of in-person events is greatly missed; but, we learned this year that we are ready for whatever ride we are on. For now, let’s cheers to that!
Hannah Hegman – Director of Experience
At the start of 2020, we were talking about event themes such as “our vision is 20/20”, little did we know how untrue that statement would become! This past year has been a hard year as a planner when we hardly knew what the world would look like 6 weeks from any given moment. We had to learn to lean a little less on our skills to proactively be prepared well in advance, and instead live in our ability to adapt, maximize opportunity, and thrive in the current environment, to the best of our ability.
I feel like there were a couple times this year that I felt like things couldn’t get worse, and then they would, but then they would get better! Personally and professionally, I have really learned to ride the waves and know that sometimes the tides are in our favor and we need to maximize it and other times, the tides are out and we need to lean of each other for support.
As I think about this year, I think about the number of times this juxtaposition of feelings happened. Like when we held our first annual RAISE + ARRANGE conference and we were on a high of an incredible full-day virtual event, with curated content by our partners and engaged attendees. This high was cut short as the unrest in Minneapolis occurred just hours after our event. Hearts grew heavy and time seemed to stand still. But then we had the opportunity to do something. We were able to donate the proceeds of RAISE + ARRANGE to the We Love Lakestreet Recovery Fund to help rebuild a community we love. Again and again this year, I have experienced these moments where if we just wait long enough – good will come.
That’s how I feel about 2021. More good will come. I continue to Believe in the Power of Community to come back stronger than before – not only at Do Good Events, but within our state and our nation. We will lead with optimism of what will come as live events return. I look forward to continuing to DO GOOD in our community and to see good do its job of creating beautiful and joyful moments in 2021.
