The Accidental Event Planner

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67820179825797842962011-11-27T15:41:49.433-08:00The Accidental Event PlannerAn online help-blog for those fortunate enough to (accidentally) find themselves chosen to throw corporate events, the annual Christmas party, the bosses retirement reception, and maybe an arena event or two.The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-56596353569304828262009-02-03T11:48:00.000-08:002009-02-03T12:10:02.620-08:00ON HIATUS

Friends - Thanks for stopping by the AEP blog. It's been quite awhile since I posted, so please forgive me. I've decided to put the AEP blog on hiatus for awhile. The event industry has taken quite a hit with the recession. I know some planners that have been laid off, some events that have been cancelled or postponed, and many that are struggling with low ticket sales. I was laid off myself

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-77243463419208702652008-12-13T09:33:00.000-08:002008-12-13T09:57:13.899-08:00SOME FAVORITE PHOTOS OF THE SEASON

My daughter as "The Spirit of Winter"Beautiful Trees The AEP & Family

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-53905954726535478432008-12-13T08:15:00.000-08:002008-12-13T09:31:42.178-08:00"These Are A Few of My Favorite Things"

From our house to yours - I hope you are having a merry Christmas-time wherever you may be!Here are a few things (in no particular order) that make my Christmas bright:SOME FAVORITE MUSIC Vince Guaraldi's "Charlie Brown Christmas" - I've spent many late nights listening to this while working on a big Christmas show that I used to produce.Donna Summer's "Christmas Spirit" - I was not so much of

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-1017548509445288902008-11-11T10:32:00.000-08:002008-11-11T10:47:44.120-08:00The AEP Glossary: What's Your "CQ"?

Doing creative-based work for many years has made me make up alot of my own terms. If you worked with me, you may hear me say things like "Hose down" the room, or "Tweak the order". With this post, I'm going to begin sharing some of my terminologies and the meanings - and - how they may help you in your work.Today, I want to talk about what I call "CQ". NO- it's not "GQ"! "CQ" - as defined by

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-65831698432795839802008-10-30T10:15:00.000-07:002008-10-30T10:22:41.701-07:0017 Things NOT To Do At An Event

I wish that I would have written this great post - 17 Things NOT To Do At An Event. But alas, it was written by Michael Broome - a motivational speaker with Premiere Speakers Bureau. There's a LOT of truth in this humorous, dead-on article.AEP's Read & Learn!

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-62868864130817239482008-10-30T09:20:00.000-07:002008-10-30T09:28:20.060-07:00Halloween Fun

The AEP is finally back in town, back in the saddle and will post some fun stuff over the next few days.We are getting ready for Halloween at our house, having fun with some costumes. Here are some of my favorite costume shots.

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-652451723230111422008-10-10T10:59:00.000-07:002008-10-10T11:42:29.253-07:00Where it all began for the AEP

Today is my dad's Birthday. Eugene Hassell turns 80 years old. Born in 1928, he grew up poor in rural Kimbrell, Alabama. His dad (James Cleon) was a WWI verteran. One of the "Fighting Wildcats" (but I'm not sure of any details other than that.) His mom (Myrtle Iva-lou) was of Irish descent from the clan of McDougal. His grandpa - my great-grandpa lived to be 107 years old.My dad worked hard

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-78811628673118212002008-10-09T17:07:00.000-07:002008-10-09T17:40:22.945-07:00A Word 'Bout N'awlins

The AEP is glad to be home from the N'awlins (New Orleans) mission trip. My church sent about 60 men to help in a variety of projects. Some helped rebuild a church, some did drywall, some worked in a community food pantry. I - the AEP - LAID TILE! I spent the weekend on my knees laying tan 18" X 18" tiles for our homeowner "Kathy" (shown at the left). My team and I really enjoyed watching

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-69054114790702839152008-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:002008-10-01T20:03:03.226-07:00On The Road with The AEP

I will be on the road the next few days. I'm going to New Orleans on a work/mission trip. I'll be with about 60 of my closest friends from my churches men's ministry.If I run across something interesting on the trip, I'll do a brief post from my iphone.Back early next week.Happy event planning!

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-73578216256009000142008-09-30T20:09:00.000-07:002008-09-30T20:36:26.419-07:00Today with the AEP

Today, I helped setup for a banquet sponsored by Nashville's "Operation Andrew Group". OAG is a community ministry organization made up of influential volunteers from a wide range of Nashville businesses. They sponsor the annual "National Day of Prayer", "Nashville Community Thanksgiving Service" and other large events. This event was their annual "Honor Banquet" for area pastors and their

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-17732003251027898032008-09-26T11:33:00.000-07:002008-09-26T12:24:42.468-07:00CREATIVITY

WAAYYY back in the early 80's, I sat in the first day of my "Intro to Music Business" class at Belmont Unversity taught by Dr. Bob Malloy. "I want to ask each of you something" Malloy said. Then one-by-one, he asked every single person in the class "Are you creative?" A few students hem-hawed around, afraid to sound arrogant with their answer. "I think so", "maybe" said some. Several said "

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-68271904509766232852008-09-24T09:01:00.000-07:002008-09-24T10:05:42.076-07:00Timing & Talent

I've been meaning for awhile to post about my take on the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, The Democratic Ntnl. Convention, and the Republican Ntnl. Convention. Now RELAX fellow AEP readers! I've told you in earlier posts that this is NOT a political blog. My point today is about observing these HUGE events with the eyes of an event planner. Observing the critical timing, and volume of talent on

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-13469896167007921922008-09-19T10:56:00.001-07:002008-09-19T11:29:40.812-07:00Today with the AEP

Today, I'm setting up a men's dinner event for my church. I'm guessing that you may often get "drafted" to do similar things. As usual, since it's an event for the church, there's little budget. (I don't know what it is with God's people, but why are they so constantly cheap!)We expect about 200 men and I'm setting tables to seat 8. Since it's a men's dinner, I didn't want to go with flowers

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-14693738626594362392008-09-19T10:56:00.000-07:002008-09-19T10:58:01.815-07:00The MAC is BACK!

Fellow AEP readers - (all 3 of you!) - Glad to announce that my MAC is finally out of the shop and back at home!Stay tuned to the AEP for some fresh posts - starting TODAY!

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-57812691254442458452008-09-07T18:14:00.000-07:002008-09-07T18:16:47.114-07:00

Dear AEP readers - Sorry for the lack of posts! I'm having some kind of trouble with my MAC's power supply.It shuts off - frequently - making it difficult to get much of post going.I'm taking it to the MAC Dr. this week. Hope to be back up and posting on the AEP soon.STAY TUNED!

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-7375929074866844272008-09-02T19:31:00.000-07:002008-09-02T20:22:59.012-07:00Planes, Germs, Hurricanes

I've been watching the coverage of hurricane Gustav merged with all the coverage of schedule changes for the Republican National Convention. I'm NOT going to get political with you here, but I've been watching all this from an Event Planner's point of view. MAN! I feel for whoever the RNC planners are! I'm sure they have had little sleep the last few nights as they've had to juggle the

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-32392611990873371402008-08-29T14:40:00.000-07:002008-09-01T16:31:13.114-07:00"It All Starts With A Song..."

I live in Nashville, TN. "Music City USA" it's often called. "It all starts with a song" is a VERY common phrase tossed around in the music industry here. I think that phrase can also apply to how you put together an event. Music is a proven mood-enhancer & vibe generator. The music you choose to set the mood for your event will set the tone and vibe that you want your guests to enjoy and take

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782017982579784296.post-29805382264214091562008-08-29T10:11:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:16:40.594-07:00WELCOME TO THE ACCIDENTAL EVENT PLANNER!

THE ACCIDENTAL EVENT PLANNERGRAND BLOG OPENINGTUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 2008WELCOME to a new blog for people who find themselves in the wonderful, stressful, wacky position of having to plan a key event for work, church, school. etc. Visit often for great tips on creating 1st-Class event experiences for your friends, family and coworkers.David HassellThe Accidental Event Planner

The "AEP" - David Hassellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15192803507505593275noreply@blogger.com2