Shane Eubanks - Interactive Media Specialist

08/22/06

I have to say that the people I work with at Fee / Hedrick Family Entertainment Group are amazing. Because of them, I don’t see working there as a “job”…they honestly make going to work incredibly enjoyable. I had an overwhelming reminder of that today as I had a HUGE surprise for me at lunch. A few of us typically go to lunch every Wednesday and some of them wanted to eat at The Alabama Grill today. As we walked in, there was a massive table where about 30 employees were sitting. I thought they were having a meeting, but all of a sudden they started clapping and cheering when i walked around the corner. I was puzzled at first and then I saw “Congratulations” on a banner, a chocolate cake made by the executive chef of the company’s catering division, and a rather large giftbox. I suddenly realized they were all there for me!

Kathy Turner, the Creative Director of the company, had organized this massive get-together to celebrate my recent graduation, upcoming wedding, and impending departure from the company to start my new life in GA. I have never seen this many people in the company together in one place at the same time…ever…not even the Christmas Party! I was completely floored. People from at least two theaters, three shows, and three businesses showed up…over 30 people in all! The president and vice-president were there along with general managers, marketing and sales directors, etc etc. A lot of great things were said and it’s something I’ll never forget. The people that came and that I work with every day are simply amazing. I love them like family and hope that the career I take in GA will have people that are just as great. Kathy has been an incredible person to work with and the company is extremely fortunate to have her as their Creative Director. I just can’t say enough about her and the rest of the staff!

As for the giftbox…well…I went to open it up and it was FILLED with dollar bills! I thought for a minute that it was tissue paper, but I then realized it was real! Everyone had pitched in to create this huge box of money. I just don’t know how I’m going to get this thing through the teller window at the bank…

Whew…WHAT a day! The money was a great gift, but the amount of people that showed up and signed the card meant so much to me. I know everyone had a ton of things going on at each business in the company and knowing they took time out of their day to be a part of this is simply amazing. I’m still floored. So yeah, this was one of those moments when you realize just how much an employer likes you! It’s a day I’ll never forget.

08/21/06

Project Description:

Having lived all of my life in Pigeon Forge, TN I often get asked by visitors where the best places to eat, see, shop, stay, etc are. Having answered these types of questions more times than I can count I decided to create a website with reviews of some of the most popular places in Pigeon Forge. What I came up with was Inside Pigeon Forge and it’s already bringing in quite a chunk of traffic from people looking for reviews of certain places. Now you’re probably wondering why I’ve given 5 star reviews to some of the places that I am associated with as I might look biased. Well, the truth is, if I didn’t think they were 5 star places then I wouldn’t be working with them! The reviews are 100% honest (I’m not paid or influenced at all for any of them) and I will be adding tons of other reviews in the future. The site also allows visitors to add their own comments to any of the reviews, which will be a nice addition once the site is fully rolling along.

Project Details:

Inside Pigeon Forge was created with the following:

• Wordpress 2
• K2 Theme
• Adobe Photoshop
• Flash 8
• EditPlus
• CSS, PHP, mySQL