How CLEMCO.AV, Gallagher Staging, Stage Ops, & Reel Impact are Making the World a Little Brighter
It is hard to believe that we are already in our third week of our “Give Back” initiative! Thank you again to everyone who has been following this series and contributing stories to share. If you have not been reading our posts before now, LASSO has partnered with companies across the event and entertainment industry, sharing what they are doing to help their communities and bring a little bit of light into what has been an otherwise dark time for many. We have received so many amazing stories, so keep an eye out for even more!
CLEMCO.AV: Creating Resources to Help Freelancers Learn How to Build a Future
CLEMCO.AV is a Labor Consulting and Networking Resource for Independent Contractors in the Live Event Production Industry based in Tampa, Florida. With an array of Career Guidance, Individual Brand Management, Tax, Financial and Insurance Services, CLEMCO.AV was created to help freelancers lay the groundwork for long-term stability.
Clem Harrod, the founder of CLEMCO, has been in the industry for about 20 years. When he first started out, he realized quickly that the industry was filled with freelancers who were living job to job. Many who never had an option to retire because they didn’t have all the same tools that people in full-time positions are provided by their employers. Clem had to learn how to set himself up for success the hard way. Now he’s dedicated to making sure other people in the same position have a resource to turn to, so that they never have to find themselves struggling with the same challenges he did.
When the industry came to a halt during the pandemic, it became even more apparent that freelancers needed some better tools in place. The CLEMCO team had more demand than ever to work with industry professionals on their financial health. People who had always been employees needed to learn how to be freelancers and long-term freelancers who had never been out of work needed to figure out how to better manage themselves to stay afloat in times like these. To help accommodate the ever-growing necessity, Clem published a book called Career Projection 101 to help guide as many people as possible through these challenging times and make sure they are well-equipped to be successful. CLEMCO also provides coaching and mentorship to those looking for individualized help in navigating their path and rising above whatever challenges come their way.
Career Projection 101 written by Clem Harrod
Gallagher Staging: Building Relief Structures and Providing a Safe Event Experience
Gallagher Staging and Manufacturing, based in La Mirada, California, provides the foundation for premier events across the nation. Creating a safe and reliable experience for audiences is their number one priority.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Gallagher wanted to do what they could to get ahead of the anticipated stress on hospitals and pivoted all resources to provide relief structures for health and government entities, PPE face shields, and sneeze guards for retail applications. Check out the press release here.
They also collaborated on an initiative called Social Sanctuary which was founded by industry professionals who saw an opportunity to carve out a safe space for creatives during COVID-19. All personnel (talent, crew, and media) are registered in their database at check-in and undergo a brief medical screening prior to entering the performance space. PPE is required to be worn at all times, and communal areas and technical equipment are regularly and professionally disinfected. Social distancing (a 7-foot minimum) is also enforced for attendees on the premises.
The focus of Social Sanctuary is not only to produce an experience that far surpasses any in-home production, but also to provide the safest environment possible for everyone involved. Learn more on the Social Sanctuary, the process, and the collaborators here.
To see the product, click here: twitch.tv/socialsanctuarylive/videos
Stage Ops: Providing Resources for an Important Cause
Stage Ops is a staffing, production, and rental company based in Los Angeles, California. Even when the live events industry and their state were hit hard by COVID-19, the team at Stage Ops still wanted to find a way to contribute.
With all of the social justice movements sweeping the nation, Stage Ops decided to help the cause by donating all of the stagehand resources and festival radios required to an event in their hometown, Junteenth: A Celebration in Watts held by Black Out the Ballot. The event was held to showcase black-owned businesses and to get people to come out and register to vote (while practicing social distancing of course).
Reel Impact: Making Masks and Helping Deliver Meals to Their Community
Reel Impact is a technology provider specializing in event Audiovisual, Video Production, and Interactive Kiosks based in St. Louis, Missouri. They have been an industry leader for over 30 years and their team is dedicated to providing a seamless, high-quality experience in everything they do.
In the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Reel Impact team decided to confront a season ravaged by event cancellations to give back to their community. In addition to pressing on to stay as close as they could to ‘business as usual’, some of their team worked even longer hours to make masks for frontline workers when they were running low on these supplies.
Katrina Whaley, one of the producers at Reel Impact, also realized that many of the people in their community who volunteered time to Meals on Wheels were retirees who could no longer leave their homes to provide assistance with deliveries. To make sure people would still have access to this much-needed resource, the Reel Impact team also decided to step up and volunteer to help bring meals to the hungry.
