Lexington, KY - If you have attended any of a broad and diverse list of events in Central Kentucky, you have experienced the results of what is imagined and then takes shape and form in a workshop tucked into a one-story brick building along Lexington's North Ashland Avenue.
The client list of Sam White's MSI Production Services reads like a who's who of area businesses and organizations, as well as an impressive list of very high-profile local, state and national political leaders: individuals, businesses and groups who search for production creativity and savvy that ensures their event is a memorable affair that sells a message or entices repeat attendance, year after year.
"I'm a huge fan of Sam," said Lori Armstrong-Wilson, an event manager for UK Healthcare. "Sam really started this business doing mainly lights and sound, but he loves events. He's passionate about events."
White caught the bug for the production of live events in his late teens and early 20s, handling sound and lighting for such local bands as The Torques and The Classics at clubs, bars and other venues around town. He came by it honestly. Sam's dad, Walter White, owned and operated Modern Sound & Communications on Bolivar Street. In fact, the "MSI" in MSI Production Services is an acronym for Modern Sound Industries, an homage to his dad's business.
His career path took White to a stint with Rupp Arena Technical Services from 1994 to 1997, a major stepping stone to building his own stand-alone company with more than $2 million in assets purchased "one piece at a time," because financing for such a business was non-existent.
"I've been a cash, pay-as-you-go company because bankers didn't understand the business I'm in," White said. "And because we run a lot of seven-to-eight weeks here (on projects), it was hard for me to even stop to talk to one, because I go from job to job while building the business model the best I know how." Ironically, White now counts Fifth Third Bank and Whitaker Bank among his clients.
MSI is a three-person shop, with White serving as president and CEO while also wearing the creative director's hat. His wife, Alexandra, serves as office manager and keeps the books, with graphic artist Ethan Mills holding down the role of logistics operations manager - and about anything else that comes along.
But the company's complex projects create work for many other businesses and freelancers in the region. They include executive producers; production managers; event managers; audio and video engineers; video directors; lighting designers; prop masters; and suppliers of all of the tables, chairs, linens and myriad other items that must be assembled.
With UK Sports as its first major client, the fledgling company's production of such popular events as "Midnight Madness" was an important attention getter. And among the impressed was a Kentucky congressman with 2004 gubernatorial aspirations.
"We were a contractor to Gov. Fletcher when he was running his campaign," White recalled. "When he won, we did the election night event, and from there he asked me if we would be interested in producing the inauguration. It had not been done to this level. They decided not to take any state funding, except for the mandated events such as the swearing-in ceremony. They raised about $1.5-to-$2 million in 30 days, and we produced 27 events. To this day, it was the largest inaugural that we know of, from the quantity of balls to ceremonies and other related events."
White had also produced events for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as Senators Mitch McConnell and Elizabeth Dole. And he has since worked for President George W. Bush and then presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Things were humming along when, a couple of years ago, White began spotting early signs of the impending economic downturn and responded by embracing flexibility.
"We were doing mostly nothing but corporate events, and our corporate clients were saying, 'We're cutting back,' 'We're scaling down,' 'We don't have the budget.' So, we started getting into social events like fundraisers."
That meant taking on a lot of pro bono work, White said, "but we still get revenue. We're not usually doing it at (union) scale, but at least that augments the difference of the lost corporate revenue." And in the meantime, struggling nonprofits are thrilled. Brian Slate of Aids Volunteers of Lexington (AVOL) said his organization functions on a very tight budget, so White's pro-bono work for last year's Red Ribbon Ball and fundraiser was critical.
"Sam is incredibly professional and totally went over the top - I mean, over the top. Our board of directors still talks about what he did for us," Slate said.
MSI was there again this year, producing "The Red," a big street party in Cheapside park that followed Lexington's second annual Gay Pride Festival.
Many plates in the air
Armstrong-Wilson, the UK Healthcare event manager, had a huge challenge on her plate when in 2008 her bosses decided to throw a mid-summer, black-tie fundraising gala for 1,000 at Donamire Farm, featuring entertainment by singer Johnny Mathis. "Just the logistics in dealing with a big artist and being in a tented location in the middle of the summer with VIP guests in black ties and gowns are a challenge," she recalled.
The event was a study in details and moving parts, from making sure an ambulance and medics were on hand, renting and decorating restroom trailers, and tending to the needs of Mathis and his "backup band," The Lexington Philharmonic, to securing storage containers for safely stashing guest gifts, having branding banners made, lighting trees and lining up a $100,000 air conditioning system - just a fraction of the myriad items on White's checklist.
"With the groundbreaking gala, it was very important for us to do messaging about the new hospital that's being built," Armstrong-Wilson explained. "We really wanted to show this in a way that would be much more than just a TV screen in front of everyone." White responded by building "these beautiful kiosks, right down to using the exact same tile and wood that will be used in the new hospital. He built these around TV screens to really give people a feel for what that building's going to feel like," she said. "He understands that events are about the senses. If you can drive people to feel a certain way, then you have a successful event, and he's very successful at doing that."
The event raised $350,000 for an Art in HealthCare program at the new hospital.
Also figuring prominently among MSI's clients is the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit.
"He's fabulous to work with," said Shannon Byrne, the Chamber's director of seminars and publications. "At last year's event, everybody walked in and could not take their eyes off the stage. It's the 'wow factor', which is what you want. ... We consider that our signature event."
MSI is producing the event again this year on July 14-15 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. With zero time for a deep breath, the company will then immediately turn around and produce Keeneland's` James Bond-themed Concours D'Elegance on July 16-18, capped by a "Hangar Bash" on July 18 at Air 51, the fixed-base operator located across Versailles Road at Blue Grass Airport.
Avoiding the same ol', same ol'
Producing many events in a market the size of Lexington throws down a tricky gauntlet for White and his team. Many clients have not increased their budgets for up to 10 years, even as labor costs have steadily risen.
"We're running into some events now where we are having a major challenge with that," White said. "You do not want it to look like the same event (as the last one), or like someone else's event. We go back and look at all the photos from the different events to make sure that we're not re-hashing."
White said avoiding repetition means constantly working to hone his craft. "I have to study and see what people do in other markets and go to trade shows and subscribe to all the trade magazines and try to see what the next big thing is."
Cost-effectiveness is key even in a flush economy. And in these times, White encounters plenty of budgetary anxiety.
"He's savvy with these committees in letting people know what's possible and what's not," noted Armstrong-Wilson. "And usually his answer is, 'Anything's possible with the right amount of money.' And that's true. I don't think I've stumped him on anything where he says, 'No, that's not possible.'"