Today we’d like to introduce you to Grier Donald.
Hi Grier, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After many years in the Music Industry producing and promoting music festivals and concerts from San Francisco to New York to Birmingham, I took my passion for events, controlled chaos and creating lasting memories for people to the Travel Industry and started a career as a Travel Advisor which brought me to Atlanta. I loved the travel industry and the company I worked for; however, I felt a major pullback to live events.
I started dipping my toes into the Atlanta festival and concert world. I also started helping a local brewery manage their private events on a contract basis. I really enjoyed what I was doing and decided to make a break from travel to move back into events completely. A position opened at Three Taverns Brewery as their Events Manager, and I was fortunate to be offered the job. I then took over as their Tasting Room and Events Manager. After two years, there was a major shift in the Georgia Craft Beer Industry with new regulations allowing GA breweries to sell beer directly to consumers. This was a game-changer for the small local breweries in GA and changed my role with them. Three Taverns no longer needed a full-time events person as they were going to be open more days and hours and did not want to close their taproom all the time for private events. I proposed that I continue my partnership with Three Taverns as their events manager on a contract basis as they still wanted the revenue from private events, but it was not a full-time position nor should it fall on the Taproom Manager who really did not have the time or desire to take on this responsibility. I decided that if they needed this service maybe a few other breweries did too. I reached out to other owners I knew and they did! From this need came Spirited Event Group. We now manage the private event sales for 12 venues (mostly breweries) around the Metro Atlanta area. We allow these venues to stay on brand and focus on what they do best while we grow and maintain their event business generating revenue and brand awareness for each of our partners.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part, we have been fortunate with a fairly smooth road, however with any business there are ups and downs and struggles along the way. We have a unique position where we have to straddle a fine line of being customer first focused and also being advocates for our venue partners. These goals do not always line up and we have to navigate difficult conversations with both our event rental clients and with our venues for the most fair outcome for everyone involved.
Events by nature are unpredictable. Even the most planned out and organized event can have hiccups and unforeseen circumstances arise which can cause additional stress on the general operations of the brewery and the taproom. Part of our job is to try our best to mitigate these situations and their impact on the brewery management and staff. This does not always happen which can have a trickle down effect.
Overall, everyone we work with is great and understanding when issues arise and we cannot be more grateful for our partners and our event clients.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Spirited Event Group?
Spirited Event Group (SEG) is a full-service venue representation company. We manage private event sales for 12 venues in the Atlanta Metro area. All but one are local craft breweries. Our partners are Delphi Gardens, Elsewhere Brewing, Gate City Brewing Co, New Realm Brewing Co, Orpheus Brewing, Pontoon Brewing, Round Trip Brewing, Second Self Beer Co, The Lost Druid, Three Taverns Decatur, Three Taverns Imaginarium, Wild Heaven Avondale and Wild Heaven West End.
We manage events from inquiry to set up, as well as actively market and promote these spaces to corporations, DMCs, event planners, wedding sites, trade shows, conferences, and more. As private event sales professionals, we can handle as little or as much of the private event process as needed.
SEG was created in response to the changing beer laws in Georgia to assist brewery owners who see the value that events provide both in revenue and brand awareness for their product but may not have the resources or desire to hire a full-time employee to manage these events. Spirited Event Group is the answer. We are proud that we saw a need and an ability to help small local businesses to generate revenue without a ton of extra effort or resources on their part. We help our partners focus on what they do best.
What’s next?
We are really excited for what is in store. We just hired our second Venue Account Manager to manage three of our venues. This will open us up to be able to bring on 2-3 new venues this year and another Venue Account Manager by the end of 2022. Our goal in the next few years is to expand into a new market. We have several cities in mind and are starting to research these areas to determine which direction to go.
Contact Info:
- Email: grier@spiritedeventgroup.com
- Website: www.spiritedeventgroup.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/spiritedeventgroup
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/spiritedeventgroup
Image Credits:
Taryn Shultz Photography Photosynthesis Studio Alyson Jarvis Photography
