GARY MUSICK PRODUCTIONS

GMC PRODUCES "U.S. BUSINESS HALL OF FAME" INDUCTION FOR

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT USA

Many of our Gary Musick team members just returned from Tampa where we helped the JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT organization with the production of the U.S. BUSINESS HALL OF FAME induction ceremonies. This is our second year to work with J.A. on this major event designed to honor the accomplishment of entrepreneurs and business leaders from every phase of American business. The show was produced by GMC staff producer Bert Hensley, with assistance from Jim Sheridan, Jonathan Yeaworth, Chris Lyle, Chris Arsenault, Don England, Greg Tipton, Gabe McCaully, Kelly Evans, Rebecca Shubart, Johnny Jones, and Jimmy Davis. Junior Achievement is a worldwide organization that teaches young people about business, personal financial responsibility, and entrepreneurship. This year's inductees included the founder of Publix supermarkets, the founding partners in Outback Steakhouse (and several other national restaurant chains), the founder of AOL, the first female member of the New York Stock exchange, and the visionary pioneer in cellular technology for AT&T. More than 800 leading executives, sponsors and members of the national business community gathered in Tampa to celebrate the accomplishments of these individuals. It was a great evening that also succeeding in raising substantial funds that will be used to support J.A's nationwide efforts to educate kids in all things business.

The show was held at the Marriott Waterside Tampa Bay. This is a photo of the Tampa Bay Convention Center taken from the window of my hotel room.

The day began with a luncheon to honor J.A.'s Leadership Awards recipients.

One of the great things about the J.A. program is its nurturing of promising young leaders. This is a photo of 14 year old Ben Carpenter. Ben is confined to a wheelchair, but is one of the most dynamic and engaging young men I have met. He acted as the MC for the luncheon program - congrats to Ben for a fantastic job!

The featured speaker at the luncheon was Tiffany Bolden. She shared her inspiring story of accomplishment in spite of difficult economic times. Awesome job!

Several Leadership Award recipients were honored for their contributions to JA's activities across the country.

The stage was transformed to an elegant look for the evening awards dinner. The event theme was "Portraits of Achievement", so we designed elegant projection screen wraps that looked like portrait frames.

Banners featured the five laureate organizations.

Here's a shot of the stage just before doors opened for dinner.

Special entertainment was provided by "ENTERTAINMENT REVUE", a musical group comprised of talented young women from the Tampa area. They were fantastic!

A shot of the orchestra just before the show began. In a time when so much music is pre-recorded, it was nice to have a live orchestra for background music and awards play-ons. It really made the show have an Academy Awards feel!