Herding Cats

For Event Managers & Show Directors

Thursday-night fires already have a plan.

Pre-plan and tech-advance flawlessly, execute a seamless on-time event — that's the posting. This is the system that makes it survivable: one event record, a run-of-show that holds, and a written plan for every way the weekend breaks.

  • Free for up to 5 events
  • No card
  • 2 minutes to start

The worst week of the season

Thursday to Sunday, fire by fire.

Thu

The fire

A staffer drops for the weekend — the flight's booked, the room's assigned.

The plan

The swap hands you the cancel-and-rebook list; replacement candidates are already screened for conflicts.

Fri

The fire

You're in the lobby. Which version of the schedule is real?

The plan

There's one event record — timeline, people, hotel contact — current, not version seven. Every change re-sends the sheet.

Sat

The fire

Finals run long. Awards, load-out, and Sunday flights all sit downstream.

The plan

Move the timeline once — everything that depends on it follows, and the schedule-slip playbook opens with the airline's free change window first.

Sun

The fire

A no-show at the awards table, doors in two hours.

The plan

The no-show plan says pull from the sales table first — because that's what actually works. Call, reshuffle, tell the director. Done.

The show itself

The show runs on time because the plan was written down.

Wearing the Show Director hat this weekend too? Same page, literally. Try it — move the staff brief and watch everything that depends on it follow.

Move the staff brief — watch what follows

Sunday · Nashville Fall Classic

Staff brief

  • Arrive-by times · recomputed

    Dana Whitfieldflying, rental car5:35 AM

    Marcus Reyesdriving from Atlanta6:50 AM

  • Worksheet note

    “brief 7:45, doors 8”

  • Sheet current · sent Tuesday

One change, made once. Nobody re-types it into three documents, and nobody works from the old version.

From tech advance to awards

Everything the weekend needs, before doors open.

6 AM, in the lobby

The event page has the timeline, the people, and the hotel contact — current, not version seven.

Venue details live here too: dock, floor, power, the manager's cell — captured the first time you run the building, autofilled the next. The venue-coordinator hat doesn't need its own binder.

Nashville Fall Classic

Oct 17–18, 2026Good to go

Event timeline

Truck departs
Wed 5:00 AM
Load-in start
Fri 6:00 AM
Staff brief
Load-out end
Sun 9:30 PM

Event details

Venue
Music City Center
Address
201 Rep. John Lewis Way S
Total staff
14
Total judges
3

Hotel details

Hotel
Gaylord Opryland
Rate
$189 / night
Breakfast
Included, from 6:00 AM
On-site contact
Dana Petrillo

Roster · 14 assigned

  • Dana WhitfieldJudge
  • Marcus ReyesJudge
  • Priya AnandJudge· return unbooked
  • Kelsey MooreEvent manager
  • Ray WhitlockTruck driver
  • +9 more

Something changed?

Report a mid-season disruption and get a plan

Coming next for you

  • The show-day schedule builderBuilding now
  • Event-manager broadcastsExploring
  • Live scoring, judging & tabulationExploring

Start your season

The 6 AM question used to be 'where's the sheet?' Now it's just 'good morning.'

Your week, shorter. Free for up to 5 events — bring one weekend in and see what it catches.

  • Free for up to 5 events
  • No card required
  • Cancel any time