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.

Links & Notes

Kristine Neil

Fractional Web Partner

I'm Kristine Neil - a communications strategist who has spent 20+ years designing websites, first running a full-scale design and marketing agency, and now leading my own studio. I've been the creative director managing the work, the coder quietly fixing what others couldn't, and the strategist in the room asking why before how. Somewhere between the MBA and the other degrees, I decided web design was just one tool in a much bigger toolbox - the real work is figuring out what you're trying to say, who needs to hear it, and what's getting in the way. A website is just where all of that comes to life.

I mostly build on Squarespace, and after years deep in the platform I know how far it can go and when to push past its limits. These days, I'm especially drawn to working as a fractional partner - getting to know an organization over time and helping with whatever moves them forward, whether that's a full redesign, an ongoing hand with content and strategy, or just being the person who knows their site best. I write here about AI, UX, eCommerce, web strategy, and making the complex feel a little more human.

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Food for All with Jackie DeCarlo