how did he get here?

the positions

The Upper Room
Minneapolis, MN
Technical Arts / IT Director
2007 - 2009
Initially responsible for all technical aspects of weekend services. Recruited and trained a team of volunteers to manage sound, lights and presentation. When I arrived, the bulk of my job was fixing, upgrading and replacing equipment in the sanctuary that had been improperly installed or mistreated. I developed procedures, trained volunteers and re-engineered all A/V equipment to produce services with the highest levels of technical excellence. As Upper Room moved from a sub-ministry to a church plant, my role expanded to also include IT, phones and other office technology.

what i actually did...
• Re-engineered sound, lights, video and presentations systems in the sanctuary, accomplishing the task within a tight budget and balancing the needs of two very different communities.
• Developed processes and procedures that led higher quality services, and significantly less stress for tech teams.
• Installed a completely new sound, lights and video system when Upper Room was planted as an independent church.
• Managed the migration from our parent church's IT infrastructure to our own, configuring and maintaining the server, and overseeing the transition to a new church-management software package.

Crosswinds Wesleyan Church
Canandaigua, NY
Technical Arts Director
2006 - 2007
Responsible for maximizing the use of technology to enhance the worship experience while making it unobtrusive to the congregation. I lead a team of 40+ volunteers in supporting 6-15 piece worship teams, drama teams, video and preaching. I also supported and trained leaders in the children’s & youth ministry; configured, maintained and upgraded all AV equipment in our 5 theaters, and developed a technology strategy.

what i actually did...
• Designed, built and wired a custom, portable cabinet for the FOH sound desk, enabling sound technicians to hear for the first time what they were mixing.
• Tuned & time aligned the speakers, optimized
gain structure and developed standards and protocols for sound technicians to follow.
• Re-distributed AV equipment throughout the
church to make better use of all the gear.
• Developed a comprehensive training program,
from basic to advanced so that the volunteers from our church as well as surrounding churches are properly equipped to do their job.
• Saved an expected $5,000 over 4 years by switching to rechargeable batteries and developing procedures for their effective use.

LaBarge Media
Canandaigua, NY
Production Specialist
2006-2007
LaBarge Media is a small media production company with a national presence. While there, I was instrumental in helping to win and develop an extensive project with Adobe Systems. My job description included photography, editing, digital media development, database development, new technology strategy, and facilities improvements.

what i actually did...
• Produced nearly 2 dozen projects for Adobe Systems; I wrote the scripts, developed the graphics, created the animation and programming which lead to an extremely successful online marketing campaign.
• Wrote, shot, and edited many projects for local and regional clients. Created trade show, recruitment and marketing projects. I was consistently praised by clients for being easy to work with and well prepared to make their projects more than they imagined.
• Created an extensive database system to streamline and simplify the quoting process and track jobs, clients, assets and billing. Shortened the time to create a new quote from 2 hours to 15 minutes

Parkside Church
Chagrin Falls, OH
Sound Engineer
2004-2005
I was contracted part-time by Parkside to support the technical staff during a time of leadership change. Primary responsibilities included ensuring a consistently high quality FOH and recording mix each week; stage set up and system configuration; mixing FOH and recording several weekends a month; and troubleshooting equipment.

what i actually did...
•Solved an ongoing “bad sound” problem with the main speaker system when I discovered the Turbosound processor had been installed and configured incorrectly.
• Overcame an extremely difficult time of transition as the former media and music directors left the church. It took several months of persistent effort to earn the trust of the music team.
•Re-tuned and re-configured house and monitor systems for vastly improved sound (credited for “The best sounding Christmas program I’ve ever heard here in 7 years,” by the music director).
•Trained volunteer staff of sound technicians on maximizing the use of both analog FOH (Yamaha PM3500) and digital recording (DM2000) desks. Ensured all equipment was hooked up and gained properly.

Vision Media
Twinsburg, OH
Creative Director, Partner
1996-2002
I co-founded Vision Media with the idea to bring excellent video production within reach of churches, mission agencies and other religious groups. More than a dozen national awards, hundreds of successful projects and 75+ satisfied clients later, we felt we succeeded. I traveled the country capturing and crafting the stories of what God was doing in the lives of people through HIs Church. From an inner-city rescue mission in Kansas City to a Navajo reservation in Arizona; from persecuted believers in Burma to Christian schools in India; from church planting to missions to music festivals I saw up close and personal the greatness of God.

what I actually did...
• Raised millions of dollars for capital campaigns and outreach, working alongside development directors at various missions.
• Supplied live, multi-camera video packages to the
Alive Festival, Creation, Franklin Graham, The Christian & Missionary Alliance and the Newsboys (Step Up To The Microphone tour).
• Filmed over 200 concerts as stage camera operator; credited on Audio Adrenaline’s Worldwide live concert DVD.
• Engineered and built a multiple seat edit facility as well as four-camera live production fly pack.
• Wrote, directed, filmed and edited hundreds of videos, both in-studio and on location.
• Won 14 national awards for my work.

CE National
Winona Lake, IN
Media Coordinator
1994-1995
I was hired to start the video department from scratch, produce marketing materials, video-based courses and coordinate media at the national youth conference.

what I actually did...
• Produced over 40 projects in two years
• Wrote and developed a 6-part video-based Adult Sunday School program called, “Who Is The Holy Spirit.”
• Re-designed all brochures and marketing materials within a common theme.

(less)relevant experience

Gutter Helmet
Albany / Rochester, NY
Sales Consultant
2004-2005
I took a sales position because I never liked sales, and wasn’t good at it. After 15 months, I still didn’t like it, but had gotten better at it. I chose in-home sales because it is the toughest to master, and would afford the greatest learning experience. Along the way, I developed key skills such as the ability to quickly build rapport with strangers, instilling confidence and trust in both me and my product, and learned to discern real needs as opposed to stated needs, not to mention honing my presentation skills. It was a great learning experience that I hope I never have to do again.

Beach Club Tanning Salons
Youngstown, OH
Co-Founder & Construction Manager
2001-2004
My business partner and I decided to take a break from video production and pursue another venture. As Construction Manager, I was responsible for the design and build-out of the five-salon chain we developed in 2 years. Very quickly, I got an education in commercial construction, building codes, electrical design (I can load balance a 800 amp three-phase service in case that ever comes up) and dealing with sub-contractors. I also developed operations procedures and marketing materials, trained staff, and installed equipment. Working in retail taught me valuable lessons regarding branding, delivering an exceptional level of customer service and marketing strategy. After several years of growth, I sold my interest in the company to an investor.

CPS Productions
Cleveland, OH
Producer / IT Director
1988-1993
Hired right out of college, I was immediately thrust into the world of corporate sales meetings. I traveled the country producing and directing large-scale presentations for companies such as Stouffer Foods, Applebees, Matrix Hair Care, Sherwin-Williams and Nestlé USA. The lessons of preparation, planning and execution to create a perfect show will never be forgotten. It was complete immersion into live production; staging, projection, show timing, managing talent, crew and presenters, producing media under tight deadlines, staying up late and getting up early. Wait, it sounds a lot like church...