a.k.a. My Greatly Abbreviated Life Story...
I grew up at a Southern Baptist Girls' Camp called Camp Little Cross Roads, located in the heart of the George Washington National Forest in Amherst, Va. It was a very interesting experience and played a large part in who I have become.
I spent a lot of my childhood alone, being an only child, so I often played in the woods and developed quite an imagination. My parents, Bonnie and Carl, are both incredibly gifted people and I feel blessed with their genes. As my Mom likes to say, "I'm a jack of all trades and master at none." That's very me. I'm always willing to learn and lots of things interest me.
I graduated in May 1999 from Radford University with a B.S. in Technical Theatre and a minor in Music History and Literature. In the summer following my graduation, I worked as a Stage Manager at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA. I ran the bird show (Falcons and Fables) and the dive show (Aqua Extreme.) It was fun and while I lived there in the Newport News area I met the love of my life, Jason. You can learn more about US (as we were married in 2002) at www.jasonandkelly.com
At the conclusion of the 1999 season I moved to Richmond, Va. and began work at TheatreVirginia as their Props Apprentice. I loved that job! I met lots of great people and had an all around wonderful experience. I worked as their "props chick" for three years and then became their Company Manager/Assistant Production Manager in the Fall of 2002...just in time to buy a house, get married, settle in real good...and then have the Theatre close! That was a totally miserable experience...lots of my friends moved away and I was stuck with the noticeable absence of a career.
So I bounced around a bit. I worked at a scrapbook store and then became a stage manager for Busch Gardens' Howl-O-Scream in 2003. I finished out that season and then worked as a Substitute Teacher for a while. Then I took up with a Front Desk Associate position at the Hilton Garden Inn in Williamsburg, which was a nightmare (although I made a good friend there.) I was pleased to leave there in Feb. of 2005 to take on two positions back at Busch Gardens...my main position of HOS Secretary and Housing Coordinator and my money-making position as a Theatre Technician. The Secretary/Coordinator position evolved over the next two years and became an Arts Administrator position, which I enjoyed but which wasn't the direction I wanted my future to go in.
I was lucky enough that at the beginning of 2008 a more wonderful job opened up as Senior Area Supervisor of Props and Theming...a job right up my alley! I'm also going back to school to add some Business Management classes to my resume.
So that's pretty much where my life is currently...