Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Desrameaux

Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

How I got to where I am today is not necessarily complicated, but it’s a bit complex to tell. And since I am relatively new at sharing my journey, I’ll start by saying I am a goal-digger. I started chasing straight-A’s in the first grade. I wanted to excel in every subject and make my parents proud. But it wasn’t solely my desire; it was their expectation. I was laser-focused on my studies and rarely appreciated art classes outside of music. Somewhere between 5th and 8th grade I took more of an interest in poetry. I didn’t geek out to it, but there was enough exposure to inspire me to express myself in such a way. In the process I realized how much I loved lyricism, writing, storytelling and communication as a whole. My first (summer) job came along as a junior in highschool at a personal injury and workman’s comp law firm. I worked there through my senior year in college soaking up so much in business communications meanwhile dabbling in the world of luxury real estate as a secretary and cool promotional marketing gigs I’d find through Craigslist. In a span of four semesters I jumped from creative writing to psychology then journalism and finally landed on public relations as my undergrad major. Although I was incredibly grateful for the legal experience and insights, I knew that it was not a passion. In joining the Student Programming Council at F.I.U. I discovered my passion for creating social and impactful experiences that bring people together. When I wasn’t focused on my studies, work, extracurriculars or having a good time, I would turn to writing as my creative outlet and hidden talent. The September following college graduation, I relocated to Las Vegas thinking, it’s a safe bet to begin my career in the Entertainment Capital of the World. I’m bound to gain experience in communications and learn everything I need to know to produce almost any type of event. While I volunteered, interned, and worked with a variety of organizations across a couple of different industries I poured the most of energy into Fresh Wata a small, women-owned business that is also a certified LGBT business. Wearing multiple hats came easy in such an environment, and I was happy to do it. Not only did I meet my goals as an event planner, I established a new vertical for this creative, experiential production and event design company: an event space and bar crafted offstrip in what was once primarily used as office and warehouse space. Meeting every goal felt exhilarating, rewarding and yet somehow not as fulfilling as I believed it would be. So I started to establish more work-life balance for myself, lean back into my creative writing and decided to self publish an artistic anthology as a coffee table book as a debut to a new career path. Handpicking upwards of 60 poems and commissioning a handful of artists to create and submit visual art inspired by my art was no easy feat for this indecisive gemini. But to help me acknowledge myself as a writer and an artist, I wanted to feature my work alongside fellow artists. And that’s where I am today—still juggling operating a venue and emerging as a writer.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

When I look at it up close, for instance month to month, no, it has not been a smooth road. When I zoom out and look back over the past 14 years I have spent in Las Vegas, the road has been relatively smooth. There were struggles along the way and the majority of them were personal and internal. I’ll share a couple of the struggles along the way.

My first struggle was deciding on one course of study or a clear career path and then beating myself up about not being able to stay committed. Yet hopping around was exactly what I needed so I didn’t spend much time dwelling on too many what-ifs. I had a tough time acknowledging and then acting on when I knew it was time to move on from a choice that I was once sure of. My next significant struggle was sacrificing being close to family, friend groups that supported me and missing out on significant events in their lives while seeking to build genuine relationships in a new city where I literally knew no one else in my early 20s. This struggle gave me the opportunity to learn more about myself; how I show up; what I value in connecting with others; and, develop into the person I am today. Overcoming this struggle involved being vulnerable, trusting discernment and making an effort to reach out regardless of it being at a frequency that I regard most effective.

The shutdown during COVID was another significant struggle. I had a major ego death after I accepted that I, as an individual, am more than my successful career in events. In October of 2020 I relocated to Austin, TX for nearly a year before returning to Las Vegas full-time. This time I wasn’t alone and I had previously visited the city a few times. But having let go of everything and attempting to rebuild in a new city was a beautiful struggle. Our industry had no clue when or if in-person events would return and what that would look like for us as event producers and having newly opened an event space. I was reminded that hobbies and pursuits outside of my career play a vital role in establishing my identity.

The last struggle I’ll share is recovering from being a workaholic. As an ambitious person with a lot of valuable skill sets, bright ideas and determination to see things through, I tend to overextend my bandwidth and overlook personal time. At this point in my career, I am fortunate to not have a boss dictating my hours or micromanaging my projects. Between maintaining my workload, taking on more responsibilities, growing our teams and business, supporting the organization outside of my primary role and staying in touch with the community, I didn’t stop to smell the flowers in this vast garden where I had planted seeds. I neglected areas of myself and life that deserved more of my time and attention because there was always a new goal for me to chase and exciting projects to work on. Overcoming this struggle is a constant work in progress, but I am proud of the difference I noticed in myself over the past two years.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I operate an 8,000 square foot event space off-strip in Las Vegas, Nevada named StarBase. I also assist in producing some of the epic client events that take place in our venue or offsite with our parent company, Fresh Wata, an experiential production and event design company. We specialize in private event bookings, and we are known for providing notable customer service, creative solutions, strategic planning, bringing together excellents talent, suppliers and teams to fulfill programs and experiences ranging from corporate receptions to live event productions to bat mitzvahs and even symposiums. What sets us apart from other venues is that we are an event space owned and operated by an events company. That’s rare and invaluable for our industry, so we are most proud of this future-forward setting and service that we offer in Las Vegas.

I am also a writer (specializing in poetry) and I am self publishing a collection of my poems in an anthology. I am known for being an event organizer, a marketer, a compelling communicator, shrewd thinker, problem-solver, social butterfly and a lovebug. And now I am eager to be known as a writer. I am most proud of reaching the pinnacle of my events career and pivoting to invest in building a career in writing before turning 40. They say your 40s are the new 20s, and I’m looking forward to creatively living out my 20s for a second time. I’m also very proud that I nurtured my creative writing along the way; never really put the pen down for too long. What sets me apart from others is how my mind is able to digest, organize and relay a lot of (complex) information and I’m constantly thinking of how to establish or optimize processes for efficiency and sustainability.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?

There is so much to like about Las Vegas. It is truly an exciting town with nearly 80,000 people flying into town daily bringing more of that same energy to pump into the mix. What I like best about our city is it is world renowned and somehow still a small town. There’s no doubt it is growing and happening at an accelerated rate, but it still has a small town feel with more accessibility to virtually anyone or anything your heart could imagine. It’s dumbfounding that so much is within reach or a reasonable distance and yet there are even more opportunities for new developments and untapped business to enter the market. The city’s culture is still burgeoning from a local’s perspective, and a myriad of scenes and communities are still taking root that are well established in cities comparable in size or notoriety. There really isn’t much that I don’t like about the city aside from the excruciating summer heat. If I had to name one thing that I like least, it would be the saturation of superlatives in promotions: the best, the largest, the first, the last, the only…the overkill.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.starbaselv.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbaselv/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbaselv
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meleldes/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@starbaselv