The Future of Gathering with Corey Briscoe
About This Episode
What’s the purpose of events?
It’s a big question, and heavy is the weight on those whose industry shifted overnight in the era of COVID. Opportunity might be too generous a word for the experience, and pivot too slight. What happened in our efforts to understand gatherings during the pandemic marked a transformation in how we as human organisms express our desires to connect with one another. We could have simply walked away when events were cancelled. We could have gone into social hibernation.
But we didn’t. Because we need one another.
Our guest today is a testament to that. Corey Briscoe serves as managing partner and chief operating officer for ABCD and Company. Their work is rooted in bringing people together. They’re based in Rockville, MD, and, as it is written on their website, the are a “national, award-winning, full-service marketing and events firm specializing in stakeholder engagement and multicultural communications.” That line might be true in practice, but in spirit it serves to minimize so much of the hard work of change Corey and his team have lead in the last year as their entire world shifted.
So, what is the purpose of events? When we gather, we express and engage in our own purpose. We elevate one another toward a higher good. We organize. We transform. We lift and inspire. As you will hear in this conversation, the practical aspects of managing an events business might have changed dramatically. But when we remember why events exist, we weather change, level up, and press forward.