We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Ellison. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents did a lot right. I was incredibly blessed to grow-up in a home with a strong faith where we were taught the value of morals and ethics and a strong sense of family and connectedness. My parents encouraged creativity, independence, hard work and dedication. They showed us how to be kind to others, inclusive and caring, and instilled a strong sense of generosity in me and my siblings. Their door was always open and their love of entertaining was my first introduction to hospitality. I always loved helping my mom set-up for parties or cook for friends. When she later opened a catering company, I got my first taste of event planning and was hooked from the start. Her catering company eventually transitioned into a restaurant that has now been open for 20 years. My parents showed us how to be successful small business owners, the ups and downs of owning a business and the tireless effort it takes to run a business. I will forever be grateful for all they did right.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ellison Event Productions is a Texas-based firm specializing in events that are truly productions. Whether it’s an intimate dinner for 15, a wedding for 200, a fundraising benefit for 500 or a concert for 7,000, EEP can do it all. With more than 18 years of experience in the events industry, I have planned events of all sizes across the country. I began my career in the events industry, planning events in the higher education and non-profit world for thirteen years. Since then, I launched Ellison Event Productions and have coordinated countless events, including formal occasions such as weddings and corporate events, non-profit galas, fundraisers and music events such as the River and Blues Festival, Rhythm & Roots and more. I’m also the co-founder of Crowded Table, an invitation-only women’s supper club designed to form connections, expand palates and build relationships among women in Fort Worth.

Although based in Fort Worth, Texas, I have formed lasting relationships with venues and creative partners worldwide and look forward to our continued growth.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One word: COVID. I moved to Fort Worth and started Ellison Event Productions in 2019. As a new business, I focused a lot of energy on creating our website, building brand recognition, social media awareness, and gaining new clients. 2019 was promising and our efforts were paying off by booking a number of events scheduled to take place in 2020. But of course, we all know what happened in March of 2020. Within days, our entire spring calendar was wiped clean. Before too long, our summer events had all canceled or postponed to a later date.

EEP was a young company in 2020, so it didn’t qualify for the majority of grants or COVID government assistance programs. To survive, I had to pivot and broaden our scope of work. Like many event companies, I focused on virtual meetings and gatherings. EEP assisted with creating virtual corporate retreats where I mailed attendees event boxes that contained everything needed for an event including branded swag, full meals with china and silverware, and printed materials so each guest received the same experience. The demand for virtual events skyrocketed and Zoom became our best friend, but I still needed to do more.
My family owns a restaurant in East Texas so we partnered with them and created social distancing events like drive-thru crawfish boils and tailgate concerts. Eventually, by the end of 2020, we were producing a full scale festival with social distancing guidelines in place. It wasn’t until the summer of 2021 that we really felt like things were starting to feel somewhat normal and people were ready to gather again. What we found is that by the time we hit 2022, people were beyond ready to socialize and so our calendar has been packed non-stop.

We weathered the storm. We were resilient and bounced back after 2020/2021, but it took a lot of faith, determination, creativity and support from family and friends. We didn’t come out unscathed. No one did. But we have a bright future ahead and are excited about what’s happening at Ellison Event Productions.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Well, first and foremost, we’re still building a reputation. I believe building a reputation is all about growth and expansion, so for me, this will always be a work in progress. But when I say “growth and expansion,” I don’t necessarily mean that a business has to be growing by the number of employees or expanding into new markets, although both certainly help. Ellison Event Productions has been building a reputation in our market by growing the number of events we produce and expanding the amount of people we know. We focus on making sure our customers are not only satisfied, but pleased to the point that they share our name with friends, they talk about us in corporate settings, they recommend our services to their family. Building a reputation for us truly comes down to who you know, so getting to know more people in and around the community definitely impacted our reputation and therefore attributed to our growth. But it’s not over. There are plenty of people in our community and beyond that haven’t heard of Ellison Event Productions. That continued growth is key to building a reputation and expanding our clientele. Our goal is that more people are talking about EEP, and our company is what people think of when they hear phrases like “festival production,” “non-profit gala,” “wedding planner,” etc. It’s a work in progress.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ellisoneventproductions.com/
• Instagram: ellisoneventproductions
• Facebook: ellisoneventproductions
• Linkedin: Ellison Event Productions

Image Credits
BJD Photography, Crandallography Scott Delony, Hannah Ruth Photography, Caitlyn McWeeney Photography, Two Pair Photography.