“Don Hall is a bull. We have done large scale events and cultural programs together for over a decade. If you want a job done, if you want to dream of a project, even the impossible, Don will do it & do it better than you could’ve ever imagined.”
Kevin Coval
Artistic Director, Young Chicago Authors
“Don Hall cares about your event as much as you do. Scratch that. Don Hall cares about your event MORE than you do. Scratch that. Don Hall cares about things you didn’t even know you needed to care about and solves problems before you even know they happened. He’s that kind of thorough. He’s that kind of invested. He’s worth of that kind of trust.”
Eric Nuzum
SVP, Original Content Development
audible, an amazon company
“Don knows his stuff. He can adapt to any situation and get the job done. He’s also genuine, interested and enthusiastic. He’s one of my favorite people to work with.”
Erin Harkey
Commissioner
City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
“Don Hall performed at the highest level as he managed front of house services for over 1,000,000 guests at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Don is a force of nature with his ready smile, can-do attitude, his attention to detail, and his ability to hire, supervise, and motivate his staff. I am so sorry to see him move on. We will be hard-pressed to find his equal.”
Mark Kelly
(FORMER) Commissioner
City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
“Don is unlike any colleague that I've ever had. Why?
1) He works hard to truly understand the problem or business challenge;
2) He refuses to settle with business-as-usual responses;
3) He both embraces and manages risk;
4) He is fiercely honest;
5) He always aims to be spectacular; and,
6) He loves the creative process.
This list may not seem that unique. The difference, however, is that with Don it is all true. I will always find a way to connect him to anything that matters to me.”
Daniel Ash
President, The Field Foundation of Illinois
“Ridiculously efficient, Don Hall is an asset to any team.
Don is dependable, detailed oriented, customer focused, an excellent team motivator and most of all a fun guy.”
Jennifer Johnson Washington
Director of Special Events
Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events
“For a decade, we at Wait Wait worried every week as to what in the world we would say about the week’s news. But every week, we knew that whatever we said, there’d be a theater packed with a happy, paying audience to hear it. That was all Don Hall, and without him, we would have been making our jokes into empty rooms. And that would have been sad.”
Peter Sagal
Host of NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!"
“Don did an amazing job for us as Front of House manager this summer. He is entirely a self-starter and problem solver and proved he can handle a crowd! Be it grouchy symphony patrons or the President of Poland, all were treated with dignity and ended up happy customers. I enjoyed working with Don and hope to again down the road.”
Jon Scott
Private Events Manager
Millennium Park
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Don Hall on a variety of full scale production events.
From set up to execution to tear down, Don owns it and delivers with ease. His approach consistently comes with a sense of level-headedness, respect, wit, creativity, accountability,
humor, and sometimes, even donuts. To put it as simply as possible - Don makes my job easier.
From our security team to our production crew, there’s a lot of love for Don Hall in this building - and he earned every bit of it. Plus, donuts.”
Stacey Marquardt
Director of Marketing/Special Events at Metro / Smartbar
“Don Hall will make sure that your customer’s experience always rocks. He is committed to doing whatever it takes to make each event a success, eagerly taking on the toughest challenges and making them seem easy. Don’s ability to connect with anyone makes him an ideal leader, a natural customer relations guru, and a reliable collaborator you want on your team.”
JOSEPH FERNICOLA
Patron Services Director
Grant Park Music Festival
Don is extremely well-organized, vastly experienced, detail-oriented, an excellent problem-solver and improvisor when the inevitable curve balls are thrown, and relentlessly (if sometimes loudly) gregarious. In short: He's a consummate pro and a complete pleasure to work with.
Jim DeRogatis
Co-host of "Sound Opinions," author, blogger,
and assistant professor at Columbia College Chicago
Don came to the conversation full of ideas and advice on how to move forward.
We've done events in the past with varying levels of success. Don was able to diagnose some of the issues we were having, gave anecdotes about some very inventive things he's tried in the past and had suggestions for other solutions that could remedy some of the problems we've had. His advice and expertise brought renewed focus to our efforts.