In this episode of The Best Dam Podcast, Jill sits down with the multi-talented Holly Wittwer, the mastermind behind Events with Holly and the newly launched Home Educated Foundation. Together, they pull back the curtain on the invisible art of event planning and explore how a local need sprouted a rapidly growing national initiative to support homeschool families.

The discussion dives deep into the high-stakes world of wedding and festival logistics—from managing over-the-top family emotions to handling wild day-of emergencies like car pile-ups, casino drama, and unexpected event crashers. Holly also breaks down the rapid growth of her non-profit foundation, sharing how she balances her strict Type-A personality, her thriving businesses, and homeschooling her three energetic young boys right here in Boulder City.

DISCUSSION

The Invisible Talent of Event Planning: A great event coordinator works completely behind the scenes so the client never notices a single problem. Holly reveals that she often acts as a day-of counselor or therapist to ground stressed-out brides and families so they can actually enjoy their big day.

1. A Sudden Homeschool Pivot: After traveling to a massive multi-day homeschool convention in Arizona, Holly immediately realized she had the exact skill set needed to bring a similar, high-quality educational resource hub to Nevada families.
   
   
2. Launching the Home Educated Foundation: Now in its third year, the convention has morphed into a full-scale non-profit foundation. The initiative features a digital and physical magazine with youth-authored articles, a nationwide podcast, and financial scholarships to help underprivileged families purchase curriculum.
   
   
3. Local Micro-Schools and Collaboration: Holly emphasizes that homeschooling isn't for everyone, but options are exploding locally. She collaborates with local spaces like Grace Christian Church and Burning Bush to offer thriving drop-off classes, including chess and photography clubs.
   
   
4. The Entrepreneurial Balancing Act: Transitioning to working for herself has unlocked immense creative freedom, allowing Holly to wake up with dozens of new ideas every night. She maintains healthy personal boundaries by strictly homeschooling her kids in the morning and tackling work in the afternoon.
   
   
5. Handling Extreme Day-of Emergencies: From a 10-car freeway pile-up delaying every vendor by two hours to wild off-site casino drama during her first convention, Holly keeps a cool head by reminding her team: "Unless the building is on fire, it's not an emergency."
   
   
6. Harnessing Teen Energy: Holly loves hiring local middle and high school students to assist with event day logistics. Giving local youth a chance to rise to the occasion provides them with high wages, great experience, and solid recommendation letters.
   
   
7. The"Dating Convention" Crasher: Holly shares a hilarious, memorable story from her first homeschool convention where a solo male attendee crashed the event, recorded families without permission, and tried giving Holly's husband dating advice before being escorted out by security.
   
   
8. Leaning into Type-A Strengths: While Holly used to criticize herself for being a "control freak," she has fully embraced it. She points out that a hyper-organized, Type-A personality is exactly who you want managing the complex moving parts of a wedding or festival.
   
   
9. An Event Planner's Secret Confession: In a surprising twist, Holly admits that she actually dislikes attending events that she isn't running. On a Friday night, she would much rather be snuggled on the couch with her kids and a good book.
   
   
10. A Hyper-Active Nightstand: Holly is a self-proclaimed voracious reader who cycles through up to 10 books at once. Her current rotation ranges from business classics like Dave Ramsey's EntreLeadership to deep fictional fantasies like Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive, and even reading The Iliad and The Odyssey with her kids.
    
    
11. The Unbeatable Value of the Chamber: Holly Credits the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce as an instrumental force in building her business. She fiercely defends the value of a Chamber membership online, viewing it as essential marketing, networking, and a vital community resource.

LEARN MORE

• Events with Holly: Keep up with Holly’s local Boulder City wedding and festival coordination by connecting with local businesses like Village Floral House and Twist and Shout DJ. https://eventswithholly.com.
• The Home Educated Foundation: Look up the foundation’s official launch materials online to find step-by-step guides on homeschool paperwork, daily family rhythms, and upcoming curriculum scholarship applications.
• Business Leadership Resources: Pick up a copy of EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey to explore the delegation and team-training philosophies Holly utilizes to scale her operations.
• Boulder City Chamber of Commerce: Head over to Chamber website or stop in to chat with Jill and her team to find out how local business owners can utilize Chamber resources to market their next big community initiative. https://www.bouldercitychamber.com.

KEYWORDS

Holly Wittwer, Events with Holly, Event Planning, Youth Entrepreneurship, Home Educated Foundation, The Best Dam Podcast, Boulder City Chamber of Commerce

#HollyWittwer #EventswithHolly #EventPlanning #YouthEntrepreneurship #HomeEducatedFoundation #TheBestDamPodcast #BoulderCity

Podcast Transcript

Jill: Listeners, we have a special treat today. One of my great friends, Ms. Holly Wittwer. She is with Events with Holly and Home Educated Foundation.

Holly: That's right.

Jill: And I can't wait to get a little bit more into that because that's a little bit more of a recent 

Holly: Yes

Holly: turn of events. So welcome, Ms. Holly.

Holly: Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

Jill: So Holly, you have a skill set that many don't realize because a lot of times it's behind the scenes. People aren't paying attention. They just come to an event. They have a great time. They don't think about all the details that go behind it. So please share with us a little bit about what it is you do at Events with Holly.

Holly: Yeah, absolutely. I started Events with Holly whenever I moved to Boulder City, a few years ago, and I've always just planned events. 

And so I moved here a few years ago, and I saw a need in the community for, like, a small business event planner.

A few of the different places that I was, a few of the different small businesses that I was attending, or just participating in were like, "Wow, you're really good at this, you know, organization and this event planning thing." And I'm like, it just, it's just something I've been doing my whole life. So people started to hire me to do different little events, and then it has just exploded over the years and changed and morphed into so many different things.

So now I have Events with Holly, which is my event planning business, and I'm focusing now mostly on, weddings, on large scale parties, festivals, conventions, staff appreciation type of things. But the ones that I- I'm choosing to do are primarily for Boulder City. 

Because I, I have small kids, and I'm like, I ca- I'm not traveling into Vegas to do any of those events if I don't have to.

And so I'm like, I love, especially I love being able to get to know everybody here in town and support them. So it's been really cool, and thankfully everybody's been so supportive, so it's been really easy to be able to stay busy and, have a good time,

Jill: People don't realize what they don't need until they get 

Holly: Yeah

“ill: into the middle of it, and they're like, "Oh, man, I totally needed that."

Holly: yes. 

Jill: And so I would imagine that they have often said to you, "Thank you so much. You saved my bacon."

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: I could not have done it without you.

Holly: Absolutely. Yeah. Yes. It's so funny 'cause I actually have people who will, the day after be like, "We didn't know what we would've done if you weren't there."

But I think up until that point, they were thinking, "We probably could've done this on our own." But then afterwards they're thinking, "Oh, there's no way we could have done this on our own." And I've had people come afterwards, you know, they give a, complimentary, thank you card or something, and then a few weeks later they're like, "I feel like I just needed to give you more because we just are keep thinking about how much you did that we just didn't see." 

Jill: That's true.

Holly: Yeah. It's-

Jill: Yeah ... it's so funny. And that's really, that is actually that hidden talent is- ... that they shouldn't see. They shouldn't know. 

Holly: Yes. Yeah. 

Jill: They shouldn't be involved. They shouldn't have to worry about any of the problems, and you just, you're solutions-based.

Absolutely. You figure it out. You're detail-oriented, so you take 

Holly: Oh, yes 

Jill: care of everything. And so it, there really is- It's not something everybody can do. And I hope people really understand that it is not something that everybody's gonna be great at. And so the idea that they have a professional that they can go to

Holly: Yes

Jill: Even if it's just minimal, even if all you did was just help them outline what it is that they were gonna do and charge them some minimal fee just to kinda consult.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: I don't think people realize the value of consultation.

Holly: Yeah, absolutely. And I've done that for a lot of people who live out of state and things like that.

They're like, "I just wanna know what colors I should use", and I'm like, "That's easy. I can do that quickly. Please, let's hop on a call. You know let's make that happen." that, is, like you're saying, one of my strengths, and so I really like to be able to do that as well.

Jill: Yes.

I can imagine. 

Holly: Yeah. 

Jill: Okay, so this has evolved into The Home Educated Foundation.

Holly: Foundation. All right. Yes. So the Home Educated Foundation. So I actually, so as I was planning events, I had a dear friend of mine, Tammy Grable, we were just talking and we're entrepreneur girls and so we're always talking about, ideas and what's coming next and, what would you do if this was the case?

And so she said, you’ve been planning events for people and you're great at that. You're really good at making sure that they are satisfied and that you're going, 100% into what you're doing." And she's "What if you could build an event that was for you? what would you want to do if it was your event?"

And so it didn't even take me three seconds. I was like, "It would be a homeschool event, 100%. I would do a, some sort of a homeschool event." So after I thought of that, we actually traveled down to Arizona to go to a giant homeschool convention that they've been doing for, I think it's, over 50 years.

Jill: Wow. 

“

“Holly: And so we went there. We saw it. We were... It was three days, fun girls trip, with our homeschool moms and stuff. And I was there and I was like, "I could do this. I could 100% do this," which is not something that a normal person says. Usually, they look at it and they're like, "There's no way I could do this."

And I was, "I can do this. this is doable," especially in Nevada. because the issue is that everyone is fleeing the public school system right now, and they have nowhere to go. And so we're trying to build a place for them to be able to go if that's their choice. So we did the convention.

We're on our third year now, and it has been fantastic. We have had thousands of attendees come, and it has just been huge and it's growing. So now with that being said, our team, we have morphed into something even bigger. And so we are actually just launching the Home Educated Foundation, which is a non-profit- that is going to be able to educate homeschool parents through, We have, a website that has, how to sign up for homeschooling, what paperwork do you need to fill out, what kind of curriculums should you be looking into, what do other people do, what does a normal daily rhythm look like?

How do I do this, right? Yeah. All the parents are out there kinda freaking out, "This isn't the norm. What do I do?" And so we are starting a whole foundation to be able to do that. We're looking into giving away scholarships for families that are underprivileged that are like, "I wouldn't be able to afford this curriculum."

We are also starting a, physical and digital magazine which I'm really excited about. We have a ton of- 

Jill: Oh, that's Tammy's influence.

Holly: Yes, yeah. So we have a ton of kid authors that are gonna be in there. Oh, neat. Her kids are actually gonna be in the first issue, so I'm really excited about that.

So we've got kids that are writing, you know, stories, they're drawing pictures, they're making recipes. We've got, like, a teens corner that is gonna be all about entrepreneurship and how to apply for college, and then the parent education section. So that I'm really excited about.

Jill: Yeah.

Holly: And then I just am not ever gonna stop rambling, 'cause it's all just so exciting.

Jill: That's okay. Keep going.

Holly: So we are actually starting our own podcast that is gonna be nationwide.

Jill: Cool. 

Holly: So that way anybody in the nation who is like, "I just don't know what I'm doing with this whole-" "homeschool thing," can hop on and be able to get some advice from

Jill: That is awesome

Holly: moms who are real, really doing it, really on the ground,

Jill: That is very cool.

Holly: I know. We're so excited,

Jill: So going back to your initial statement 

Holly: Yes 

Jill: of, having your best friend with Tammy, and really being able to You know, I always find it fascinating that people come into our lives just at the right time 

Holly: Oh, yes 

Jill: That there's always a purpose there.

And she is such a phenomenal. I knew her long before I ever met Seth. 

Holly: Oh, yes. 

Jill: We had advertised with her many, many, many years ago when she had her ma- her women's magazine 

Holly: In her women's magazine,

Jill: yes. Oh my gosh, she was fabulous. We all loved her back then. And

Holly: Yes

Jill: Then to have her move to Boulder City was such a I know she's a treasure.

Holly: She really is.

Jill: She really is. And so I find it fascinating

Holly: Yes

Jill: That you have aligned with somebody as strong as that 

Holly: Yes

Jill: That has created this dynamic relationship, that has put you into a position to advance this initiative to such a state that it is.

Holly: Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. Well, and the fact that she is a homeschool mom.

Jill: Yeah.

Holly: Like, I just am... I'm, "Tammy, what do you do with your kids with this?" And she's like, you know, sometimes she's "I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing." And I'm like, "None of us know what we're doing. It's okay. It's just, it's the same as raising kids, you know?

We're all just trying to figure it out together." And so it's been really fun. Between her and Jean Palmer, the three of us when we get together we are just bouncing ideas off of each other. And I'll tell my kids, I'll say, if Jean's family is doing it, then we're doing it. If they're not, then we're not."

I love that. And so we... Yeah. I'm like, "If they're not watching this movie, then we're not watching it." And so it's just funny how we definitely, there's a camaraderie amongst the homeschool families. 'Cause everybody's always so worried that your kid is gonna be alone, sitting at home sad in the corner.

They're not. They're so busy.

They always have friends over. I mean, we had a whole gaggle of friends over just yesterday, and I'm like, "This is just what it is." We're attending classes. we're always out and about doing something,

Jill: I think parents just are looking for options.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: They just wanna know that there are options out there. And homeschool may not fit their agenda 

Holly: Totally, yes 

Jill: but it... And public school could be great for them. But also private school could be great for them. 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: So there's just... I love the idea that we have options. 

Holly: Yes.

Jill: And we just need to educate ourselves on what those options are.

Holly: Yeah, absolutely. And that's what we're looking for as well. We're not... We, homeschool really isn't for everyone, but if it is for you, we wanna make sure you feel supported. If you're looking for, a micro school like the one that is in town, we...

I love directing people, "Hey, go and check out the micro school"- ... "if that's something you're looking for." There are fantastic charter schools. I've actually started hosting homeschool classes at Grace Christian Church.

Jill: Oh.

Holly: And, and they're just drop-off classes. Like, it's just, "Hey, we're having Harry Potter club.

We're having chess club." You know what I mean? And so we've hired teachers, and we've got 50 families that are participating in it. Oh, that's great. And they just go to drop-off classes. 

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: You know what I mean? And that is popping up- Everywhere.

Jill: No, that's great

Holly: Everywhere. All over the Vegas Valley, everywhere in the country.

But yeah. But they 

Jill: What a great people 

Holly: are just, they just need the options, like you said,

Jill: Great collaboration, too.

Holly: Yeah. Oh, my gosh, yes. With Burning Bush.

That's awesome. They've been fantastic.

Jill: Yeah, they are such a great school.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: So I would imagine you have a favorite part of your day with the tasks that you have at hand, whether it's in, working with the education side or whether it's working on the event side.

What's your favorite part?

Holly: So I honestly love it all. Because I feel like because I've built it, that's the, been the most beautiful thing about switching from working for somebody else to switching to working for myself.

Being an entrepreneur, I'm like, I wake up every morning and I'm like, "Okay, I had 20 ideas last night as I was falling asleep and I'm ready to implement all of 'em," and it's just exciting. And I'm like, it doesn't, you know, there's no clock in, clock out. I just am like, "Oh, I wanna do this. I wanna write a book. I wanna start a podcast. I wanna, do..." I just, it's never-ending. It's 

Jill: That's awesome 

Holly: so exciting.

And I'm like, the events that I even, the weddings that I have right now, I'm like, "Okay, sweet, we get to do flowers today. let's go talk to, Autumn at Village Floral House." Yeah. I wanna make sure we got our flowers done. And it's, all of it, it's just, it's fun. It's exciting.

Jill: That's awesome. 

Holly: It's fun to have that freedom to be able to, choose what I want to do, and-

Jill: I would imagine get to do ... you're a healthier individual too, because of

Holly: Oh, completely 

Jill: having this mindset and

Holly: Absolutely 

Jill: energy as well. But it also, it just, it provides you with purpose, but yet 

Holly: Yes, yeah

Jill: it's not drudgery.

Holly: Yeah, no. There's no drudgery about it. Yeah. It's almost the opposite. It's like working too much. I have to find how to, the time to slow down to be able to be like, "Hey, kids, I'm focusing on you."

Jill: There's balance.

Holly: I love you. And so I do, I try to do all the homeschooling in the morning, and then I do work stuff in the afternoon, and the kids know that now.

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: It's taken a long time to get to that good balance. but now, they know that we do our learning in the morning. We have our friends in the afternoon, and Mom's gonna be working her butt off to In between to go do the things that she wants to do,

Jill: So I would imagine you've also had an aha moment in all of this. Can you share something that opened your eyes or really, set a tone for why you were inspired to continue?

Holly: Yeah, absolutely. So there's a lot of different things. I think just honestly over the years just planning different events. Every time that I plan an event and I, it's the day of and I just get to sit, not sit back, 'cause I am running around like a crazy person, but to see it all come together every single time, whether it's a wedding or a festival or convention, whatever it is, I'm always just "Okay." This is what all of that work was for and look around at everybody enjoying it. Okay, everybody's having a good time. Okay, we did this. It happened and that is what motivates me to get to the next one.

Holly: You know what I mean? I'm like, "Okay, that was worth it." Even if some of it was hard or there was bumps in the road and stuff, I'm like, "That was 100% worth it." So- and every time, the day of is just, what gets me going,

Jill: They're... You're dealing with events that have a lot of emotions tied to them 

Holly: Yes

Jill: right? Yes. So

Holly: Absolutely

Jill: I would imagine, you and I have shared, stories in the past.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: I can remember mother-in-laws were always my strongest concern because 

Holly: yes

Jill: they, are they feeling left out? Are they concerned? Are they very- they have a strong opinion about things.

And y- you're dealing with high emotions and people who are giving away their kids in their mind.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: or kids who are, trying to start something new, and it's all an unknown, so they're a little emotional as well.

Holly: Yes,

Jill: yeah. And, there's always other factors there, too, so y- trying to make sure that you are taking care of their psyche and their- emotional health

Holly: Yes ... 

Jill: as well as doing the event. 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: don't realize how many levels of skill is actually needed in what you do. 

Holly: Yes. No, it's a lot. I didn't realize how much of, a- therapist I would need to be sometimes or counselor, where, the day of and I've had to sit down and look at brides, or look at the mother of a bride, or the person who has hired me to host their festival for them, and they're stressing out, and they're freaking out, and they

Holly: I'm like, "Hey, this is what we've been working for."

If you spend your whole day feeling stressed out, you're not gonna enjoy it.

You've put all of this money into it. You've put all of this time into it. let's, let's ground ourselves a little bit, and let's enjoy the time.

You don't want this day to fly by and feel like, "I was stressed out the whole entire time."

So I have to do that with all of the... even the convention that I held for the homeschoolers, I've got people coming up to me every, 10 seconds, "We've got an emergency." And I'm like, "Unless the building is on fire, it's not an emergency."

"Something that we can handle, so go ahead and tell me what's going on. Okay, I hear you. Okay, awesome. Why don't you go send so-and-so to go and handle that?" it's... There's nothing that we can't handle. I think that's, the attitude that I try to have is just there- there's nothing that is gonna happen that we can't handle.

Can figure it out. we've had, we had on our first year at the homeschool convention, there was, like, a shooting in the road right beforehand. We were doing it at Sam's Town, which we are not doing anymore. So it was very, we were like, "Once we get in the building, it's great." But- That's the thing.

But you know what? But but, it was a little scary. We had somebody pull a gun in a bathroom on s- somebody totally completely different. It was just casino drama that was happening.

And so I was like, "As long as we're in our room, we're good. We have extra security." But it's big things like that where you're like, "Okay, that's a little bit of a big problem." all of our vendors are two hours late 'cause there was a 10 pile-up on the 10 way, car pile-up on the freeway, so everybody's late. Somehow all the families are here, but none of the vendors are

Jill: Oh, no. 

Holly: You know what I mean? And so we just, we figure it out. It's okay. 

Yeah. It's all gonna work. You got it. we're not gonna let anything ruin this day. 

Jill: Wow. 

Nothing will ruin it. 

Jill: So Well 

Holly: it's fun.

Jill: I would imagine, too, as the leader, though, you need to keep a cool head. 

Holly: Yes, yeah. 

Jill: and, that takes a lot of ability.

Holly: Yes, yeah.

Jill: So smart that you, are able to- find solutions and also be able to delegate within that timeframe.

Holly: Oh, yes. That's a tough one. The first year, I was not back a long time ago, I was not great at delegating, so by the end of the day, I would be wiped.

Jill: Yeah.

Holly: I still am wiped by the end of the day, but now at least I'm not physically doing all of the running myself.

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: I have a great team. We get tons of volunteers. I love to hire high school students for the weddings that are here and stuff. 

Jill: Oh, yeah. 

Holly: And I just have them run. I'm like, "Run. Go put the candles on that table. Go put that tablecloth over that..." Yeah. Go set up that sign. and they love it.

They have such a good time. I love hiring the teens to be able to- Oof ... help on the day of and stuff like that,

Jill: Speaking to that

Holly: Yeah 

Jill: so just this last weekend was the Dinner on the Avenues. Oh. And we had the junior high and high school 

Holly: Oh, nice.

Jill: Yeah cheerleaders Oh, very fun that were serving everybody.

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: And oh my gosh.

The people loved having

Holly: Yes 

Jill: those cute girls

Holly: Yes 

Jill: doing this. And they were- 

Holly: Yep 

Jill: just so friendly and just and they helped each other, and it was really it was very fun watching that part of it.

Because, you get... That's the next generation. 

Holly: Oh, absolutely. 

Jill: Soon they'll be sitting at that table.

Holly: Yes. Yeah. And and the thing is I'm like, we don't give them enough opportunities to, rise to the occasion, I feel like. So it's very nice. I love hiring the teens 'cause they have so much energy. They take direction great. 

Holly: Yeah. 

“Jill: You know what I mean? They, I think, teens sometimes get such a bad rep, and I'm like, "If you find the right teens, they are doing way better than I'm doing."

I'm like, they've got tons of energy. They have, you know

Jill: And they wanna please ...

Holly: they want to. Yeah. They want to. They want to do a good job, and I'm always... I'm like, "Hey, if I hire you and you do a good job, I'll pay you well, and I will give you a letter of recommendation for any job that, you ever want ever," you know?

That's a great experience. And so I'm like, it's been fun. That's one of my, big joys is getting to do that,

Jill: Have you ever had a funny experience that you'd like to share, where you talk about funny professional experiences- Oh, man ... or something that has happened that, you look back on and go, "Man, that was a stressful event, but oh my gosh, remember this?"

Holly: Oh, yes. Yeah. So we... There's always something that happens. I feel like I could tell you 20 different stories. But the one that comes to the forefront of my mind is the first year of the homeschool convention. Everything was going well. We were like, "Okay, this is turning out better than we expected," "This is great."

And we had a guy that was walking around like... He was solo, which was just you were like- Weird ... "Why are you just here by yourself?" So we were kinda keeping an eye on him anyways. And he was younger, he didn't really... we were like, "If you have a kid, they're gonna be, like, two," So we were like, "This is kinda weird." So he started recording himself, and I had some people come to me being like, "Hey, do you wanna keep an eye on this guy?" I'm like, "Yeah, we'll have our security follow him and stuff." So they did. So turns out that he was there, pretending like he was at a dating convention because, he's got all these like young, cute moms like walking around, and he's the only guy out of all these, There was- we did have a good, decent amount of dads, but they were usually with their wives and stuff. 

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: Anyways, so he's there all by himself pretending like he's at a dating convention, and I legitimately, as I was following him around, he walks up to my husband and starts telling him how he can pick up chicks.

Like he was giving him advice on how to date. That's awesome. A dating profile or something, and I was like, "Okay." So we had to kick him out. I was like, "You need to be escorted off of the premises, sir." He was standing up in classes, like saying weird things and just recording himself with all these people, like without their permission.

It was just hilarious. We laugh at it now, of course. 

Jill: Yeah. You know what I mean? Like in the moment, I was like, "Yeah, we just need to get him out of here." But yes, looking back we're like, "Remember that one guy?"

Jill: I absolutely can see that. 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: And it also plays into one of the layers of the checkboxes 

Holly: Oh, yes 

Jill: as you're preparing, is making sure you have security.

Holly: yes. '

Jill: cause you never know, and especially when you're doing events in town.

Holly: Yes, absolutely. You can imagine. yeah. And we've got a lot of, more, prominent people in the community coming lately as well, so we definitely are upping our security for next year.

We're excited,

Jill: That's smart.

Holly: Yeah.

Jill: Okay, so how can local businesses better support families and community building efforts in Nevada?

Holly: That's a great question. I, honestly, the people in Boulder City I feel have been so absolutely supportive. so the homeschool classes that I was saying that we were running earlier, like I was saying, Grace Community Church, they have, opened up their space to us.

Reuben and Dixie, they, host their homeschool classes and, we work together with them. We've got, I've got people contacting me all the time that are like, "Hey, I saw that you do these classes," "Hey, can I, could I teach a class?" And I'm like 

Jill: Oh, very cool 

Holly: Yeah, let's talk about it."

You know what I mean? So all the time, just 'cause I wanna do a photography class. So we have, Candice and Cory Klier, who I think that, you met recently. They are, professional photographers. They've been traveling all around the world doing their elopement wedding photography and stuff.

And he's teaching a teen photography class, and we've got

Holly: That's cool 

Jill: a whole bunch of teens signed up for it, and they wake up at 8:00 on Friday morning to do their photography class with him because they're excited about it. You know what I mean? That's cool. And I'm like, it's been phenomenal.

So I honestly think that the people of Boulder City, it's, and even with events, so you know, I started off doing, Flow Fest with the Studio Mind Body, and then I was doing events for Snap Fitness, for Lend A Hand, and everybody just spreads the word of mouth. "Hey, Holly's really good at what she's doing."

Yeah. "If you need her for something, I would recommend her." And that honestly has been the biggest help. Yeah. So I'm like, I just do that for other people, I love recommending other people. If I find somebody that is good at something, I'm like, I will scream it from the rooftops.

You know what I mean? I'm like, if you're good, you're golden. we got you.

Jill: And you tend to start having your own, the people that you work with, the professionals 

Holly: Yes 

Jill: that you find your niche and you're like- ... "Man, I can always count on them." 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: "They're fabulous." 

Holly Yeah, absolutely.

Jill: And so it makes it easy to do a recommendation because not only have you worked with them, but you've seen them work with the, whomever is hiring them,

Holly: Yes. Yeah, exactly. Like Bill Tobler with the Twist and Shout DJ, mobile DJ. Yeah. He is my DJ for everything. So at first it was just DJ for weddings, and I was like, man, this guy is funny.

Jill: Yeah.

Holly: He, can work a crowd. I was like, this is fantastic. So then I started having him, so he does Wolfstock now that we do in the fall with The Damn Doghouse, and he was like, "I've never done an event like that before. That was really fun." And I was like, "You were really good at it.

that was fantastic." So now I'm al- I'm constantly asking him, "Hey, do you think you could DJ for..." We had a panel about, public funding for homeschoolers.

Jill: Yes.

Holly: And I was like, "Do you think you could do something like that?" And he's "I don't know. Let me figure it out." So I'm always asking him to do weird things, and he's just figuring it out.

That's perfect. And I'm like, I love having people like that just, at my fingertips to be able to be like, "Hey-" I've got a whole myriad of weird things that I plan. Can you help me? So 

Jill: And he, as an educator, completely gets it. 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: And it's a perfect fit.

Holly: Oh, yes. 

Jill: Oh my gosh,

Holly: Yeah. He's fantastic.

Jill: We love him, and Jackson.

Holly: Yes, yeah.

Jill: So they were, they did, Lawrence's wedding, and 

Holly: Oh, nice. Yeah 

Jill: Yeah, it was fabulous. And 

Holly: yeah 

Jill: the two of them, they're just a great team.

Holly: Yes, yeah.

Jill: We just love Jackson.

Holly: Yeah. I've never... So the last wedding I did that Bill DJ'd for, I was like, "I've never seen a wedding where everybody just stayed on the dance floor the whole time."

It's usually, everyone's just sitting, and there's, three people dancing, and I was like, "This was phenomenal. I am so grateful that 

Jill: So much energy ...

Holly: so much energy." And I'm like, "What is the difference between him and the other people that I've seen in the past?" and he really just... Anyways, I could talk about it all day.

He has a knack for it, and he's phenomenal. He prepares so much, and he does a great job.

Jill: And I think

Holly: it's

Jill: So I don't think people realize how important an MC-

Holly: Yes

Jill: slash DJ is yes for events

Holly: Yes

Jill: to keep things moving. So you don't have to. You're in the background- Oh, no. I worry, yes making the next thing happen.

Holly: Yes, yep.

Jill: They need to keep things moving Yes, yeah ... with the crowd.

Holly: And so I don't wanna be on a microphone being like, "Hey, this is what's happening," 'cause I don't know the right things to say,

Jill: No. Yeah. That's why we hire

Holly: Exactly, yeah

Jill: and align ourselves with good professionals.

Holly: Exactly,

Jill: yeah. I love it.

And so what really is the long-term vision for Events with Holly?

Holly: Yeah, I want to... Okay, so here's the thing, is with all of the things that are coming up, right? I'm one person, and I have a fabulous team, and I am gonna limit myself to probably two to three weddings a year in Boulder City. that is as much as I can put on my plate, and then I want to be able to really focus on the Home Educated Foundation.

Because that is going to be nationwide, and it'll help so many people. But I love doing weddings.

Jill: Yeah.

Holly: So I'm like, I have to find a balance that, that fits my life, I've got three young boys who are very young and very, They take a lot of my time and attention, so trying to balance out all of that.

I'm really trying to limit and grow at the same time. 

So yeah, it, I mean- It's a lot ... 

Jill: you know how to set your boundaries.

Holly: Yes, yeah.

Jill: You know what will work for you.

Holly: Working on it.

Jill: Well, that is awesome. Okay. So tell me a little bit more about Holly. What was your first job?

Holly: So my first job was the second I turned 16, I was like, "I need a job.

I need a car. I need money." I need freedom, right? So I started working at a sandwich shop, just, a little mom-and-pop sandwich shop, and within, I don't even know, a few months, they made me the manager at 16 years old. So I'm out there interviewing, hiring- Geez ... firing people who were, like, my friends in high school, And I'm like, "That probably should never have happened." "I should not have had that much power at such a young age." I'm like, I don't even know if I've ever... I have fired a few people as an adult, but I'm like, at 16, that's a big, you know

Jill: Yeah 

Holly: a big deal.

Jill: Yeah.

Holly: And so it's funny, 'cause now I look back and I'm like, that totally was, exacerbated my kind of, control freak, type A personality, and I really put myself down for that for a long time.

I was like, oh, man, people think you're total control freak, And honestly, I'm like, you know what? I am. And that is the only person that I would ever want planning my wedding. That's the only person I'd ever want running my festival or convention, is somebody who is so type A and such a control freak that you know that everything is going to be- going to according to plan. Every detail's gonna be taken care of, right? you don't want somebody who is type B, type C personality doing that kind of a thing.

Jill: That's a good point. 

Holly: Yeah. 

Jill: Very good point. Okay. So what is something people may not know about you?

Holly: That's, an interesting one that I probably shouldn't say to you, Jill.

But I honestly don't really love attending events that I'm not in charge of. If I'm in charge of it, I am there. I will socialize all day. I will be, on the stage leading things if I need to. I will do it, and I will talk. I will be, happy and positive, and I genuinely love being there.

But if it's somebody else's event and I don't have any part in it, I'm like, "I don't wanna talk to people. I don't know what to say. I just would rather be at home with my kids reading a book, snuggling on the couch." And so that is something that people would never, ever think, 'cause of course they think you're an event planner, you wanna be out all the time, you wanna be socializing.

And I'm like, "It's Friday night. I'm not leaving this house." So

Jill: It's interesting, but that's how you create your balance.

Holly: Yes. Yes.

Jill: I do. I 100% agree with you. That's good. That's good. Yeah. I feel it, and I am, I'm okay with it 

Holly: Oh, good 

Jill: because I would much rather you have balance in your life

 Holly: yes

Jill: and spend time with your family, 'cause that's important right now.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: All right, so now one of our other favorite, questions, and this one of anybody who's in the education world is always a, an interesting one. But, what book are you reading right now?

Holly: Oh, my word. I'm reading all of the things. Does this not even surprise you?

Jill: Not at all.

Holly: That I have, 10 books that I'm actively reading right now? I'm going through the Entre Leadership by Dave Ramsey for the, fifth time in my life because it's just pure gold. and, as things grow and scale, I'm a control freak. I have a hard time letting other people do other things.

So I'm trying really hard, but things are growing beyond my capacity, and so I'm like, I have to be able to delegate things and, let other people do a little bit of stuff. But, he talks about how to train people. it's just great. 

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: I could listen to it over and over again.

So that's one that I'm constantly listening to. the kids and I are reading, and Dad, are reading through The Iliad and The Odyssey right now. 

Jill: Wow. 

Holly: The kids are obsessed with it. Really? It is so fun. They literally bought costumes on Amazon with their own money, 'cause they're little entrepreneurs, to be Poseidon and Aries and Hermes and Athena and, They've 

Jill: That's awesome. 

Holly: It's amazing. It has become a total obsession, and I'm like, if y'all wanna be obsessed with Greek mythology, I am not fighting that whatsoever. No. They love it. They're out there in the yard playing war, and they've got a trident and I know. it's crazy. I'm like, "You guys are so fun. You're such weird little homeschoolers," and I love it.

Jill: No, they're educated.

Holly: They, yes, yes. Yeah. And that's, I'm like, we love reading classics and stuff, so

Jill: That's awesome 

Holly: We're reading that as a family right now. But I'm also reading Gregor the Overlander with them. Like, the new one by Susan Collins, and that one's so fun.

My husband and I, we call it our, book club, but it's really just the two of us. Oh, that's awesome. So we read Brandon Sanderson together. We're in the middle of, the deep throgs of The Stormlight Archives and it's like these 50-hour long books and stuff, and we'll read a couple chapters, and then we'll talk about it together.

And, you know, it's fun. So I'm like, I'm always, always, always reading. I've got, like, three other books just sitting on the nightstand that I'm thumbing through and stuff, and 

Jill: And are you it's fun an Audible person, or do you, have to have the book in front of you?

Holly: I do both. I do switch back and forth.

Because if I can listen to a book while I'm doing something else- So if I'm at the gym and I'm exercising, and then I can listen to a podcast, I'll do that rather than listen to music pretty much every time. But, I started listening to books as I fall asleep, and I find that I don't remember anything the next day.

Jill: That's right. 

Holly: So then that me either doesn't work, so I have to do those- ... in print. So yeah, it, I'm- Both, which is fun. 

Jill: I- I am the It

Holly: keeps things interesting ...

Jill: same way.

Holly: Yes, yeah.

Jill: And, a multitasker, so 

Holly: Yes, absolutely,

Jill: yeah ... if you can be doing your hair in the morning and listening to a podcast 

Holly: Oh, 100%

Jill: yeah. 

Holly: 100%, yeah.

Jill: I am, I'm right there with you. 

Holly: Yes. Okay. 

Jill: So I would imagine your mom, I have not had the chance to meet her, but I would imagine your mom and dad have left a huge impression on you. 

Holly: Yeah. 

Jill: And they must be phenomenal people.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: So what is something, a lesson that you've learned from them?

Holly: Yeah, so my parents are awesome. My mom is the type that, she got from her mom, so really it's just a, her maiden name is Knuth, and so it's a Knuth family trait of the ideas of you can sleep when you're dead kind of a thing. 

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: You just, you do not rest. There is no rest in this household. And so we are just go, go, go get 'em women.

And I 100% got that from my mom. I attribute that to her all the way. Like all growing up, I remember one time coming home my senior year I was planning prom, and I was, like, you know, on the dance team. It must've been homecoming week or prom week or something where it was, like, so busy. We've got floats.

I'm the manager at this job, right? And I've got, like, all these things, way too much that, you know, again, like, a 18-year-old should've been dealing with. And I just came home, and I was crying, and I had to go from one place to the next place. She just gives me a big hug, and she's like, "Take a deep breath.

You've got this. Go back out there." And I'm like, "Okay." And that is just how we live our lives. You know what I mean? We just, you just keep going. You just gotta keep going, and it's awesome. I just love her so much,

Jill: That is awesome. I'm glad that, she's such an influence in your life 

Holly: Yeah, me too

Jill: 'cause she seems pretty amazing 

Holly: Me too 

Jill: I would imagine. And we have been working with you, with the Chamber for quite some time. You have been instrumental in ribbon cuttings and grand openings 

Holly: Yeah

Jill: and grand reopenings, and- 

Holly: Yes 

Jill: and we're grateful for all that you have contributed and invested in the Chamber.

I would imagine you probably have a little bit of an impression of what the Chamber does for our community.

Holly: Yeah, absolutely. No, I love the Chamber. The Chamber's the best. And it's so funny 'cause sometimes I'll hear people say, "Oh, is it really worth it to be a member of the Chamber?" And if it's on Facebook, I am on there, white on rice.

I am like, "Da, da, da, da." "It's amazing to be a member of the Chamber. Like, just go in and talk to Jill. She's got all the knowledge. She's got all the connections." And I'm like, the emails that are being sent out, you know, I'm like, I read every single one because I'm like, I wanna know what you guys are doing so that I can know what I need to be doing.

And, you know-

Jill: What to participate in 

Holly: there's so many opportunities that you guys are putting out for people. I think that, I try to take the time to be like, this is marketing. This is advertising. You know what I mean? Like, if I am attending this event, or if I have the Chamber come, then, that's more advertising for the person that I'm hosting the event for and stuff. And it has just been so instrumental, especially with events. You know what I mean? It has just been just ... I couldn't have started any of this without the Chamber, any of it. Thank you. Because I just remember coming in and sitting down with you, when I was new in town, and I was like, "I think I'm gonna do events."

And you were like, "I think you are gonna be good at events." And I was like, "I know I'm gonna be, but how do I do it?" And you were just completely instrumental in all of that. Oh, thanks. And I loved being able to just pick up the phone and call you and be like, "Jill, I need to know stuff about this."

And I'm like, your whole team. I'm like, your whole team is fantastic. They're constantly reaching out to me for, "Hey, I need to tag you in this," or, "Do you know anybody who does this?" And I'm like, "Absolutely." 

Jill: So That's awesome 

Holly: It's just, yeah, I could not speak highly enough Of the chamber

Jill: Thank you very much.

I am blushing because 

Holly: You're so sweet 

Jill: I love it, but I am glad to be able to say I was right.

Holly: Yes.

Jill: You have been fabulous.

Holly: I know.

Jill: Yeah. 

Holly: You're awesome.

Jill: Well, thank you so much. Thank you for being with us. congratulations on the big success with 

Holly: Thank you

Jill: Home Educated Foundation. I think that is such a necessary, thing in our world right now

Holly: Yeah. Yes

Jill: and protecting families, educating families giving them options. 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: I mean, come on. These are all the things that we should be doing, and you are doing it perfectly. thank you also for your contributions to events. People need that. Thank you. 

Holly: Yes. 

Jill: They are so grateful for your help.

Holly: So true.

Jill: And just thank you for being you. 

Holly: You're awesome.

Jill: We appreciate it.

Holly: Thank you, Jill. It's been so great being here.

Jill: Have a great day.

Holly: Thank you.