From the Streets to the Sidelines
Idea Stage to Feature Speakers on Industry’s Hottest Topics
by Vicki Carson | Published in May 2007 Departments
Chameleon Designs, with Jon Adcock as the executive producer, has been named as the production company for the Idea Stage during the 2007 Idea Factory in Miami.
“Chameleon Designs is excited about this opportunity to be a part of presenting these inspiring speakers at the Idea Factory in Miami,” said Adcock. His company has been a full-service lighting, sound, video, special effects, rigging and production management company since 1987.
Adcock’s hands-on approach to overseeing all aspects of event production, from entertainment to technical and operational excellence, will provide a winning combination for this exciting lineup of featured speakers at the Idea Factory.
Chef Jeff — From Cocaine to Foie Gras
The Idea Factory’s opening featured speaker on Tuesday, Aug. 21, is Chef Jeff Henderson. Now a chef at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, Henderson once earned as much as $35,000 a week dealing cocaine in San Diego. Not the usual Idea Factory speaker, this dynamic chef offers an inspiring message that will resonate with event professionals across the industry.
Although he has achieved a great deal of success, it didn’t come easy. In 1998, Chef Jeff wound up in prison. “People say I got arrested. No — I got rescued,” he says. At the time, he likes to say, the only thing he had ever cooked was crack. But while incarcerated in six different prisons for over eight years, he worked in prison kitchens. His recent New York Times best-selling memoir “Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras” tells the story of his dedication and a dream that became a reality.
A highly visible mentor and motivator, Chef Jeff provides a voice of change and transformation. Through his company Urban Educational Consulting, he spreads his message to corporations, nonprofit organizations, educators, schools and young people that you can prevent past mistakes from limiting your choices and opportunities.
As Chef Jeff says, “Dreams create motivation. Motivation creates opportunities. Opportunities turn your dreams into reality.”
Executive chef at the Café Bellagio and the recipient of such accolades as Las Vegas Chef of the Year and the Culinary Award of Excellence, Chef Jeff is the first African-American chef ever to run a restaurant at the Bellagio.
And his reality doesn’t stop with cooking and consulting — film rights to his powerful memoir were recently optioned in a pre-emptive, seven-figure deal by Will Smith and James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment, the team at Escape Artist, a film production at Sony.
Michael Cerbelli — Hot Event & Entertainment Ideas
Michael Cerbelli, operations and creative director for Total Entertainment, will return for an unprecedented fourth year to the Idea Stage at the Idea Factory on Wednesday, Aug. 22.
As an industry pioneer, Cerbelli travels the world helping to produce events by bringing his talent, experience and enthusiasm to every event he touches. At the Idea Factory in August, Cerbelli’s program for the coming year premieres with the new ideas and trends that he has researched and discovered during his globe-trotting visits.
Cerbelli’s energetic program has been presented now in over two dozen cities as he visits MPI, NACE and ISES chapters with an abbreviated version of the Hot Entertainment Ideas session.
Don’t miss the action when he presents his latest Hot Event & Entertainment Ideas in a fast-paced, highly entertaining program. You will leave the session with a complete list of the ideas and contact information to put to use in your own amazing events.
Frank Supovitz — Mega-Event Trends and Sideline Stories
On Thursday, Aug. 23, featured speaker Frank Supovitz, senior vice president of events for the NFL, will present from the center stage at the Idea Factory. Supovitz, a member of the Event Solutions Event Industry Hall of Fame, will tackle some of the industry’s hottest topics related to mega events.
In this exciting format, he will discuss trends from the Super Bowl and the direction of mega events. Capitalize on Supovitz’s insight into the world of sports marketing as he explains the U.S.O. (Understanding Stakeholders’ Objectives) principle for meeting the expectations of your stakeholders as well as the expectations for the event.
Supovitz will share winning strategies along with stories that demonstrate many of his key components for event success, including:
• Decisiveness, not reactivity
• Red flags = more contingencies
• Plan with your brain and gut
• Communicate or die!
For more information about the 2007 Idea Factory, visit www.event-solutions.com/idea_factory.
About the author: Vicki Carson
Vicki Carson was Event Solutions’ trade show director through the 2007 show.