Event Solutions Event Industry Hall of Fame 2006

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Ask event planner Paulette Wolf what she believes is the true measure of her success, and she won’t hesitate: It’s not the money, or the accolades, but the many close relationships she has cultivated over her 35 years as the head of Chicago-based Paulette Wolf Events & Entertainment.

A country club friendship with a McDonald’s executive led to her first account and the establishment of her own company. She then produced all the 20th anniversary events nationwide for the fast-food giant. In the ’70s, woman-owned businesses such as hers were anomalies, so she worked hard to prove her worth. McDonald’s rewarded her with event contracts over a 13-year period. Along the way, she made many new friends who opened door after door.

During the ’80s, her events became bigger and more complex. She decided to parlay the relationships with high-profile talent she had met through McDonald’s by adding talent production to her repertoire. To date, she’s worked with more than 300 major acts, ranging from Tina Turner to Sting to Stevie Wonder.

The early successes in the ’80s paid off in the ’90s when Paulette went after the entertainment production at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. A chance meeting on an airplane led to her winning the coveted account, which had her producing 250 live performances over 33 days in six different venues in the Athlete’s Village. And yes, she still keeps in touch with many of the people with whom she worked during that magical month.

As Paulette has become more successful, she has eagerly sought ways to help the next generation of planners. She has a proven talent for finding talent — be it entertainment, vendors or staff — and she takes pride in the fact that these team players are also close friends. That includes her daughter, Jodi, now president of the company, whom she regards not just as a vital member of the team but her best friend.

As Paulette looks back on her successes, and forward to many more, she holds close to her heart the friends she has made, the places she has been and her passion for events that remains to this day. This is why she still loves what she does!

First year in the industry:

1971, back when corporations were filled with men, not women.

What I thought I was going to be when I grew up:

Interior designer. I always loved creating a look and feel in a space and I still get to use this talent for creating an environment for events.

I got into the business because:

I belonged to a country club and thought the parties were stale and uninventive. The club asked me to start planning them and one of the members happened to be a major owner-operator of McDonald’s and thought I would be perfect for planning the McDonald’s corporate events as well.

Biggest event success:

The Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. We put together a program that spanned 33 days with 250 live performances in six different venues inside the village where the athletes, coaches and officials from all over the world lived for the duration of the games. Watching language, cultural and political barriers crumble as they went through this unique experience and then enjoyed a program that we put together was incredibly rewarding.

Worst event disaster/biggest event save:

Super Bowl XXIII — Mother Nature would not let up and we had mini oceans in our corporate hospitality village with only a few hours to restore our event site before guests arrived. We pulled it off, and the event went off without a hitch, but it was extremely stressful.

Most valuable lesson learned:

Kindergarten sandbox rules: Treat people with respect, always say thank you, and you will find that together you can move mountains…or dry up oceans in a hospitality village.

Best piece of advice I ever received:

Challenge yourself to be better — you are never too experienced to learn something new.