Project Purpose & Objectives
My primary goal for this project was to step up as the project manager to organize, manage, and execute the operational strategy for this year’s Rexburg 4th of July Parade. Beyond just running a smooth event on the Fourth, I wanted to bring a fresh level of structure to how our team communicated with local businesses and city teams. My objectives were clear: keep all moving parts on schedule, build strong working relationships with community stakeholders, and leave behind an organized system that future parade organizers can easily build on.
The Project (Work Samples & Deliverables)
Throughout the project, I developed several key materials and frameworks to keep our team organized and ensure the parade was a complete success:
- Stakeholder Briefing Frameworks: I created organized agendas and briefing materials used during our high-level planning meetings with city rangers, local law enforcement, and municipal leaders.
- Participant Guidelines & Toolkits: I put together clear instructional packets covering lineup schedules, safety rules, and float entry protocols to help participating businesses prep smoothly.
- Direct Merchant Outreach Drive: I led a targeted communication campaign where I personally called over 50 local business owners to share key updates, confirm meeting times, and answer float preparation questions.
- Future Operations Playbook: I centralized our vendor contact lists, meeting templates, and timeline schedules into a master repository so future teams won’t have to start from scratch.
Challenges Encountered
Managing a large-scale public event on a tight deadline definitely tested my problem-solving skills:
- Balancing Different City Groups: Coordinating between city rangers, law enforcement, and local government meant aligning teams with very different priorities and communication styles.
- Managing 50+ Business Schedules: Every business was at a different stage in their float design and planning, which required a ton of direct follow-up and individual coordination.
- Handling Parade-Day Surprises: On the morning of the parade, unexpected schedule shifts and last-minute float questions popped up fast, forcing me to make quick decisions on the fly to keep everything running on time and safely.
Project Processes
To keep everything manageable, I broke my workflow down into three distinct phases:
- Preparation & Organization: I reviewed what worked in past years, set up our project timelines, and designed clear briefing documents for our city and business meetings.
- Outreach & Collaboration: I launched into direct outreach, reaching out to over 50 local business contacts. I also helped lead strategic planning meetings alongside city rangers and law enforcement to map out float staging, route logistics, and safety checks.
- Execution & Documentation: On parade day, I managed on-site logistics, float line-ups, and real-time team communication. Afterward, I compiled all our materials and notes into a clean final package for future reference.
Overview of Experiences
Running this project was easily one of the most rewarding leadership experiences of my college career. Getting to step out of the classroom and into a high-stakes, real-world environment showed me what it really takes to manage complex logistics. Moving between macro-level strategy—like setting up operational frameworks—and hands-on communication—like making dozens of phone calls to local business owners—helped me see the full picture of project management. Working directly with city officials, officers, and community leaders gave me a huge boost in confidence when it comes to leading dynamic teams under tight deadlines.
Key Insights & Takeaways
- Proactive Communication Makes All the Difference: Reaching out directly to stakeholders early on prevented so many potential headaches and last-minute delays on event day.
- Good Systems Leave a Lasting Impact: The best thing a manager can do is build clean, repeatable processes that help the organization long after the project is over.
- Adaptability is Everything: No matter how well you plan, live events will always throw curveballs. Staying calm and adjusting on the fly is what keeps a project moving forward.