Since the Courtways moved out of the President’s Home across the street from Wingo Hall, the house has been vacant to all but one – Director of Special Events Ashley Love. The office President Tom Courtway once used for his business, Love now spends her days planning lunches, events and dinners.
Love, a spring ‘07 UCA alumna, began working at Reynolds Performance Hall eight months after graduating.
At Reynolds, Love managed finances and marketing for seven years alongside Public Appearances Director Amanda Horton.
At end of this year’s spring semester, previous Director of Special Events Don Bingham left UCA to return to his job in the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Love applied to fill his position.
“Don’t get me wrong, I loved working at Reynolds,” Love said. “But after seven years, I was excited for something new. I was even more excited when I found out I’d be in the President’s Home. Normally the office is in the Alumni Hall, but with the Courtways moving out, I don’t think they wanted to leave the house empty and a lot of the events I host are in the house, so it just made sense.”
Apart from the new office, the differences in Love’s previous job and her new one are drastic.
One difference is the team Love works with. While Love was a part of a team of seven at her Reynolds position, she now is the only person on the job.
“It’s kind of cool, though, because my team changes with every project,” Love said. “If I’m doing a banquet with alumni, then the alumni department is my team. If I do an event with the board of trustees, then they’re my team. It’s neat because, in a way, I work with everyone.”
Not only is Love constantly working with the entire campus, but she is constantly planning events.
“I’m rarely in my office past nine,” Love said. “Yesterday I planned a lunch in the music room, next week is a banquet for the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame.”
Instead of marketing for already planned events, Love now decorates, schedules and organizes the events herself.
“One big thing I did while I was at Reynolds was make the shows more student-oriented,” Love said. “When I went to school I didn’t know what Reynolds was. I’m hoping to bring a different perspective to this job, as well.”
This article originally appeared in the Sept. 9, 2015 print edition of The Echo.
image via www.uca.edu
