HOW I DO IT
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WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY
“Heather goes above and beyond the call of duty... she produces a level
of work equivalent to the volume produced
by two to three FTEs.
When necessary, she has no problem asking for help or pitching in to help others."
“Heather’s initiative is impressive. She takes on challenges and gets
things done that I don’t think can be a reality.
She works very hard
and sets an example
for all of us.”
WHAT I HAVE TO SAY
“I grew up on a large horse farm ... I understand intimately what hard work is all about.
I feel fortunate to be creative for a living. When I am immersed in a project I don’t really look at it as work per se, but rather I am focused on what a thrill it will be to see the final outcome!”
Testimonials are direct quotes from 360 reviews.
REAL WORLD EXAMPLES
VIEW PARTNER RETREAT VIDEO
A Compelling Partner Retreat...in Nine Days
One evening in 2009, my new marketing director walked into my room looking quite worried...she explained that with all the changes taking place at the firm, the executive committee had not thought about what to do for a partner retreat program. We needed a theme, speakers, topics, a presentation, signage, collateral, and a good hook. The retreat was scheduled to begin in nine days....
The challenge was on! Our team of three stayed quite late that night brainstorming with the director. By morning, we had an outline of a program. Then we set to scrambling around to make it all happen. Because we did not have time to set up outside speakers as we had in the past, we decided to look inward for inspiration...we needed to really rally the troops. I decided to make the theme coincide with the bedrock ad campaign I had created that year: Frame Your Future. But, I changed it slightly to be Frame OUR Future...to empower the partners to take the future into their own hands... because, it was after all, always their responsibility.
We worked with the managing partner and COO to set up interviews with some key clients, we traveled to their sites and conducted video shoots. I flew to San Francisco, shot video of the VP of Visa USA and flew back in the same day. Another team member flew to L.A. to do the same. We shot an executive from a client in Golden, and arranged a video shoot with our new office managing partner and other attorneys in Dublin, as well as a key player in our SLC office.
Because we were short on substance, I decided we really needed to focus on the packaging of our program...we needed to “wow” the audience. We created an opening sequence video that utilized humor to address the elephant in the room...the impacts of the terrible economy. Then we created an upbeat video including every partner in the firm. (People DO love to see themselves.) Our team also created the entire two-day presentation, complete with interactive PPT discussions, video interviews, and commercial breaks. We addressed everything from music to get the mornings started to ways to queue people to return after breaks. And we produced a closing sequence in After Effects, designed to motivate the partners to implement the ideas that had been discussed and fleshed out during the retreat.
My creative team accomplished all of this within the nine days (and nights) of work ... each late night turned to early morning. We kept our normal workload on schedule and produced an outstanding program in about 1/4 the time it would have normally taken. It was a proud (albeit nervous) moment when we hit “play” on the computer the first morning of the retreat. Feedback and reaction from the audience were outstanding! They loved it! Humor had been a great tool to use. Morale improved. The leadership was thrilled that we had actually pulled off the “impossible” once again, andit never could have happened if every person on the team did not have a “whatever it takes” attitude! A strong team with strong direction, and a lot of hard work is unstoppable!
VIEW TRIBUTE VIDEO
A Covert Operation to Honor 50 Years of Service
The chairman of Snell & Wilmer for the past 50+ years decided to step down in 2015. Appropriately, the firm wanted to do something special to honor his service and the important role he had in its history. I was asked to create a tribute that was fitting to honor a man of his stature, but also heartfelt and touching. I started on the project months before it was to be shown. Per my usual routine, it began with research...of the firm, of the chairman, of his mentors, of his childhood, education, hobbies, colleagues, family, and friends. For a tribute to be special, it needs to celebrate the complete person. So first, I had to really get to know him...without him knowing. We started by visiting his wife and pouring through family photo albums with her.
I later colluded with his wife and grandchildren during a Christmas break holiday...quietly arranging video shoots at the resort with key family members, and swearing them to secrecy.
I traveled on a moment's notice to Arizona to video a former Senator in his own backyard. I flew to L.A. for a day to record the sentiments of one of the firm's revered partners. On another occasion, I set up my gear right in the courtroom of the Arizona State Court of Appeals to capture memories from one of the Justices. This went on for months in the background, while
I was completing my normal workload on a daily basis...it was a labor of love, if you will.
The result was a 12-minute multimedia tribute that was shown in the ballroom during a special dinner at the firm's Partner Retreat. There were smiles, laughter, tears, and a standing ovation. I knew I had succeeded. The look in his and his loved ones' eyes, which I captured in photos, made all the effort more than worth it. It is moments like these that make me remember why I do what I do.