Sponsor Spotlight - Brad Gibson and Ever Clavel, Active Production and Design

Brad Gibson Marketing and Business Development Director				Ever Clavel Sr. Account Manager

 This month we have a (2) well-known and active contributors to spotlight for their roles within Active Production and Design, Inc. as well as their instrumental roles in the events and meetings hosted by MPI Georgia.

The ReConnect team is excited to spotlight Brad Gibson, Marketing and Business Development Director, and Ever Clavel, Sr. Account Manager,, with Active Production and Design, Inc.

• How did you get interested in the Audio/Visual industry?

  BRAD: I really sort of fell into it. I’m not particularly an AV/Production person, but I had a working knowledge of the industry.  Active was one my AV providers when I was a venue manager, and I was always impressed with their work.

  EVER:  I first came into the industry as an interpreter for a music festival. The company handling all AV for these two festivals needed someone to bridge communication between their technicians and the different acts which predominantly spoke Spanish. It was what I now consider the best decision of my professional career!

• What do you consider your biggest business success?

  BRAD:  My involvement in the meetings/events industry and the clients/colleagues I’ve been able to meet and help during my time at Active.

  EVER:  Having been able to find ways to pivot during the first months of this pandemic, being able to sit down with company leadership and help find solutions to the biggest obstacle we had yet to face as a company. It humbled me in the best way possible and showed me that with the right amount of perseverance we would find a way to keep doing what we love.

• What has been your biggest business challenge and how did you conquer that?

  BRAD:  Staying on top of the many functions of my position. I switch gears often between our sponsored events, client meetings, and business development functions. I conquer them by having an airtight calendar, lol, every minute is accounted for. Even things considered non-job functions like the gym and hanging with friends/family goes on the calendar to make sure I make time for it.

  EVER:   Having to navigate such unknown territory during what seemed to be the end of the event industry as we knew it. It was a pivotal moment for a lot of us in the industry that brought our core team closer than ever before. Collaborating with my peers to find solutions to the “how do we meet?” question was our first task at hand. I’m proud to have been part of a team of individuals that rose to the challenge and found ways to provide our clients the solution needed, giving them a chance to stay relevant with their audiences.  

• How did you get involved with MPI Georgia?

  BRAD:  An incentive of mine when I started with Active was to get involved with our associations and MPI.  It is where I found myself spending a lot of my time and energy as I was very engaged by the content and encouraged at how Active could help deliver the content they were producing.

  EVER:  It was an industry night mixer what feels like a lifetime ago! I remember receiving a bingo card that practically helped introduce me to just about every part of MPI in less than half an hour! I have been part of MPI Georgia since then.

• What do you enjoy doing outside of business (i.e. favorite hobbies)?

  BRAD:  I have an illustration business that keeps me very busy and I am also known to DJ on occasion. I used to be a singer for a living before I got into Marketing, so I’m not shy to a karaoke night.  

  EVER:  I found I enjoy gardening quite a bit.  This will be my third year growing my own vegetables and the feeling each time at harvest is one of complete joy. It has been a perfect opportunity to spend more time with my loved ones giving us a fulfilling activity to spend together as a family.

• Top three life lessons?

BRAD:

1. Don’t apologize for the worth you’ve assigned yourself.
2. A rising tide raises all ships, helping others helps yourself.
3. Empathy costs nothing.  Everyone is on their own path and compassion is free.

EVER:

1. This has been part of me long before covid-19 wrecked our daily lives and feels more relevant today than ever before. Spend time with your family, make the time to call your loved ones to just catch-up, find ways to give them as much time as possible and do not take them for granted. They will help make things feel a bit more normal!
2. It is OK to fail at something.  In fact, you should fail at a lot of things. Failing shouldn’t be feared; it just means you’ve found a challenge that will help you grow.  Don’t be afraid of failing and instead throw yourself at the world and try your best, who knows, you might learn something new. 😊
3. Be the change you’d like to see in the world.