Successful Meetings - March 2009 - (Page 40) weeks’ notice for events featured on the world’s stage. “We started planning in the summer without a contract. We were gathering resources and creating a list of event professionals we could bring in from all over the country to help us,” explains McGill. As Official General Contractor to the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), Hargrove set the stage for 18 official events, ranging from receptions and dinners to the Lincoln Memorial concert to 10 official balls and parade floats. In addition, the company handled events for private organizations. In total, the company worked on 44 events in 34 venues over five days. The company was responsible for all staging, decor, graphics, sound, lighting, and video. day, seven days a week. Hargrove’s Lanham com• Acquiring security credentials plex contains about eight can be time-consuming acres of warehouse, man• Stay on top of street closures ufacturing, business, and and secure zones creative offices. “From Christmas on, Carla and I worked, on six employees handling all of our Secret average, 14-hour days. Service credentials for the close to 800 The whole company was people we had on site. It took them five just working on adrenafull 12-hour days, to secure all of our line,” McGill says. internal credentials so we could get into Normally, Hargrove the sites after the Secret Service made employs a staff of 200. their sweeps.” Three weeks before the Intense security also complicated inauguration, 600 event teardown and setup. Candlelight dinspecialists were brought ners were held the night before the in from across the country inauguration in Union Station, the to help. National Building Museum, and the “I feel very fortunate Washington Hilton. “These dinners every time we have the have a completely different environopportunity to be on the ment than the setting for the ball the world stage. Every time next night. We had eight hours to turn you witness something that room from a dinner setting to an like this, the hairs on the inaugural ball setting,” says McGill. “We back of your neck stick had to change the lighting, sound, up, you get chills,” video, decor, and staging by 8 a.m. explains McGill. “But the when the Secret Service arrived. We Tim McGill, co-owner, Hargrove excitement level and used three times the amount of people intensity surroundwe usually use to handle the ing this inauovernight switch.” Obama Ovation guration was unlike Celebrity Scramble “During one of our first days installing anything we’ve ever These were all the staging at the Lincoln Memorial, seen. The crowds minor hurdles says President Obama showed up with his were unbelievably McGill—the family to see the Memorial. This wasn’t generous. They biggest challenge unusual as he is a very hands-on indiwere excited and for Hargrove was vidual. The Secret Service shut down so well behaved.” It the “We Are One” the work crew and had them stand off has been widely inaugural concert to the side to let them enjoy their fami- reported that there held at the Lincoln ly time,” explains 48-year-old McGill. were no arrests or Memorial that featured “Another day, the President showed up major incidents during the biggest names in at PIC headquarters, where Carla had a the inauguration and parade Hargrove also worked on music, sports, and entertemporary office, to thank everyone that followed. President George W. Bush’s inaugural celebrations tainment. Bruce and let them know how much he Another record was that Springsteen sang with a appreciated their efforts.” Obama had the largest gospel choir followed by, among others, The effort made by the entire security contingent of any president’s Hargrove company was Herculean. For swearing-in. This was one of the biggest U2, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, James four weeks leading up to the inaugurachallenges facing Hargrove, says McGill. Taylor, John Legend, and Stevie tion, the company was abuzz 24 hours a First, there were credentials. “We had Wonder. Denzel Washington gave an READER R I “We operate in DC on a regular basis and are used to dealing with security on a heightened level, but this was truly unreal.” 40 I SM I March 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com
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