2008 Woodie Awards
The man behind the music at the ISU
Jessica Lum
Issue date: 3/30/05 Section: News
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As a freshman at ISU, George Casper never expected to be a part of something as big as this. Now as director of events of ISU's new Performing Arts Center, Casper recalls how greatly things have changed since when he was a student.
"I actually started working at the Holt Arena sort of by accident," Casper said.
In 1982, Casper was a resident of Graveley Hall, the present home of many of the University's social sciences. Like most college students, he needed a job. When a fellow resident who worked at the Holt suggested he apply for a part-time position there, he could not think of any reason why he should not go for it.
The first event Casper ever organized and scheduled at the Holt was a Journey concert in the fall of 1982.
After graduating, Casper took jobs at other large venues in various locations including Billings, Montana and Caldwell. He returned to Pocatello in 1991, where he worked as manager of the Holt Arena until 1995.
"It's been good to see different perspectives on how things are run," said Casper, who was most recently director of the Multi-Purpose Events Center Complex in Wichita Falls, Texas for the past nine years.
As director of the center, Casper is now responsible for scheduling events, marketing, ticket sales and budgeting, establishing policies and procedures, overseeing the staff and making sure all the technical stuff behind-the-scenes runs smoothly.
Though hosting groups such as Journey in the new hall are not necessarily out of the question, the Hall was specifically designed more for acoustical performances according to the chair of the Performing Arts Committee, John Kijinski.