Take a Look at a Week in the Life of a Professional Emcee
Cameras flashing, fans screaming, people fainting — there are a lot of images that come to mind when I tell people I’m a professional emcee living in Las Vegas. The truth is, most of those aren’t accurate. While I am on stage or in front of a camera for the majority of the week, most days, people aren’t yelling or fainting. Though, this is Vegas, so we’ll stick with “most days.”
After a 10-year run on the Las Vegas Strip as a Headliner with Caesars Entertainment, I know the ins and outs of the professional emcee scene like the back of my hand. And with pandemic restrictions slowly starting to lessen, I’m finally leaving my home studio and virtual events behind to rejoin society on the mainstage.
So, what’s life really like for an event emcee like me? Tag along for the past week of my life, from helping raise money for a fantastic cause and dedicating time to my own charity, Win-Win Entertainment, to hosting the definitive conference for dental service organizations. We’ll be hopping on a few planes, so strap in!
Professional Emcee for the SafeNest Fundraiser
I’m from Las Vegas, where our weeks really start on Saturday. This past Saturday, I served as professional emcee for the SafeNest fundraiser “Brew Anew: A Summer Soiree” at the Four Seasons Mandalay Bay. SafeNest is Nevada’s largest, most comprehensive nonprofit dedicated to ending domestic violence. They are the only confidential domestic violence shelter in Las Vegas, and they operate a 24-hour crisis hotline and a text-to-chat line.
What a delight to host their most recent event! Together, we raised over $125,000 for SafeNest’s prevention programs, which are designed to stop domestic violence before it starts by working with at-risk youth in our community. Even better, I was able to see my professional emcee and keynote speaker worlds collide when my friend Marilyn Sherman, CSP, CPAE presented SafeNest with a $10,000 check from the National Speakers Association Foundation!
It was a beautiful night filled so much with hope and positivity. I left the event feeling so fulfilled — which was a blessing, because I was right back on stage the next day!
Corporate Entertainer for PSUG Events
Fresh off the tails of the SafeNest event, I was at it bright and early on Sunday to prepare for a fun corporate entertainment show for PSUG Events at the brand new Caesars Forum. The 10th Annual National PSUG Event was put on by PowerSchool users from districts all over the United States. For those who aren’t familiar, PowerSchool is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. And boy did they put on quite an event!
This was my first live, in-person corporate entertainment show since the pandemic began. However, it was far from my first show with PSUG! I’ve done tons of corporate shows over the years for PSUG, and each has been a fanatic event. One of the coolest parts of this event was that I got to check out the brand new events space, the Caesars Forum, which was absolutely gorgeous inside and out.
I couldn’t stay too long to admire Caesars Forum though, because I was on to Colorado!
A Quick Win-Win Visit Before Hosting Again
After an awesome weekend of being on stage, I hit the airport at the start of the week to head to Denver, Colorado. If you missed it, I’m in Colorado quite a bit for various events — and most recently got to spend a week in Fort Collins on vacation with my brother and his family! To kick off my time in Denver this week, I did something that makes my heart almost as full as my family does.
I was able to squeeze in a visit for my Las Vegas non-profit, Win-Win Entertainment! Over at Win-Win, we arrange in-person and virtual visits from professional entertainers, athletes, and celebrities at children’s hospitals across the nation. I’m finding now that most places I travel to for shows and events have a Win-Win partner hospital there to visit, which makes me ecstatic.
Early in the week, I visited the Children’s Hospital Colorado to perform for the wonderful kiddos there. Two of the children were able to come hang with me while I dished out some of my best tricks, while the others tuned in from the televisions in their rooms. Seeing their smiling faces was all the inspiration I needed to hit the ground running for my next event!
Live Emcee for Dykema Annual Definitive Conference for DSOs
To round out my trip to Colorado, I served as the professional emcee for the Dykema Annual Definitive Conference for Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) from Wednesday to Friday. Dykema events bring hundreds of the greatest thought leaders in the industry, all in the same place, for three action-packed days — and for this event, more than 1,000 people were in attendance!
The event was held at the Gaylord Rockies in Denver, which is by far one of my favorite hotels to stay at while I’m working in Colorado. The place itself is beautiful, plus they have great dining options and the gym is impeccable (yes, I’m the guy that hits the gym while working!). If you missed my experience while at the hotel, be sure to check out my Instagram for the highlights!
Serving as the professional emcee for the Dykema Conference itself was fantastic, packing in professional wrestlers, fireworks, and coolest of all, Olympic gold medalist, FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, and Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, Mia Hamm! It was three days of insightful conversation, meaningful networking, and straight up joy to be around so many people again.
Back in the Air to Do it All Again!
The Dykema Conference wrapped up Friday morning, and by Friday afternoon I was rolling into Denver International Airport ready to head back home to Vegas. As the wheels lifted off the tarmac, I couldn’t help but stop and reflect on how truly amazing the past week has been. From raising more than $125,000 for SafeNest’s prevention programs and spending time with my own non-profit, to spearheading a major conference, this week was one for the books.
So, if you’re ever wondering what a week in the life of a professional emcee is like, this is it! It’s hectic, it’s full of travel, and it’s something I wouldn’t trade for the world. If you ever want to know what I’m up to or if I’m booked for an upcoming week, don’t hesitate to check my Meeting Planners page for a glimpse at my tentative schedule — and if you see I’m free and want me as your next professional emcee, book me today!
