Meet Aaron Ingersoll: Event Production Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Ingersoll and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting the company, which celebrated 5 years this year, was the desire to be the one calling the shots and to do something different than my competitors. The company was started after I spent a long stint working in the live events industry. I went from the corporate audio/visual world to the venue management world to the theme park entertainment world. While working in each industry, I couldn’t help think about all of the what-ifs; what if so-and-so was done this way, what if we did this instead of that, and what if it was my event. When I was first thinking about starting a company, I vowed to do things differently. I feel like a lot of companies, as they grow larger and larger, start to lose sight of why they were started in the first place and their focus changes. I started the company to provide top notch service for my clients, and after 5 years, clients keep coming back. I am truly blessed to be doing what I love. 

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As I said, the company was started out of a desire to call the shots doing what I love. One of my favorite things to do is to work with clients who have ideas that other companies have told them are not easily doable. I also thoroughly enjoy proving people wrong when they tell my I cannot do something. My favorite story since starting the company came from a conversation between my father and I in which I expressed my desire to him to provide production (ie. audio/visual services) for the DeMolay International annual session, which travels to a different city in the United States every year. At the time, the company was just over a year old. His response to me was that it is good to have dreams although that was a dream that would take a long time to achieve. My second year in business I got the call and was contracted to provide everything for that event in San Diego. While that sounds like an amazing “cinderella” story, I didn’t know then what I know now and I was nowhere near prepared to tackle an event of that size that far from home. While the client was happy with everything we did, the setup and teardown of the event did not go as smooth as I had hoped and the drive to San Diego and back to Dallas was a nightmare and we were met with challenges all along the way. All in all, we have since done every annual event for that client and have traveled all over the country. It is now an event that we know inside and out and I am so grateful for that first event to get my foot in the door. From that event, we have been able to secure similar events with other clients all over the country as well. I tell my clients time and time again that I will do whatever it takes to get the job done. One of the things that I strive for on a daily basis is to give my contractors the ability to make some decisions on the show site that either make their job easier or that will make the client happy without making any major changes to the show. That is something I never had with any of the places I worked prior to the company. I think that is one of the things that sets us apart.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being based in Ellis County, Texas, I have a list of my favorite places to go. First, I have to take them to see the company warehouse. I recently moved from a basic storage facility with several units to an actual warehouse and I enjoy showing where I came from and where I am. I would have to show off my church, Stonegate, and take them to a Sunday service, where I will probably be working. If we were in the mood for food, some of my favorite places around are: BBQ – The Vault Smokehouse Chicken Wings – Jimmy’s Wings Cheesesteak – Straight From Philly Fajitas – El Mexicano Grill When I am needing to relax or blow off some steam or if some friends want an adventure, you can usually find me at either the gun range or taking the Jeep to the Northwest OHV Park to hit some trails or take on some mud holes. At the end of the night, we fire up the grill and throw on some steaks or make a pot of chili (without beans), turn on some music, and get a fire going in the fire pit. There’s nothing like it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There is no way that I could possibly give credit to everyone that deserves it and I do not want to leave anyone out. First and foremost, I thank God for giving me the skills and opportunities to do what I do. My wife, who takes on all of my crazy ideas and takes risks right along side me, and my parents, other family, and friends that have supported me and the company since before it was started. I also want to thank the naysayers that didn’t think it was possible and made me think long and hard and give up more blood, sweat and tears than I thought I had in me to make sure it was possible. I also give so much credit to DeMolay International, a whole different family and group I grew up around. That is where I was able to hone my skills a little and meet people that have given me more opportunities than I can recall.

Website: aaroningersoll.firstclasspro.net, www.firstclasspro.net
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Linkedin: aingersoll2010
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Image Credits
Diamond D Pyrotechnics, Repertory Company Theatre, D and Chi